Scene of the Crime

One of those days

2012-03-04T09:33:00.000-05:00

I've been juggling several projects recently. I'm excited about getting through another round of editing for The Old Royal. That just means it's inching closer to publication. I know there are some guys I work with who will be happy to hear that. But, alas...

On the tail of the good news comes some not-so-good news. Work on Rabbit on the Run has slowed to a stop. It seems my motivation to write dries up when I sit down to work on it. I'm still excited about the story. It just seems like Royal is sapping my motivation. Who knows? Perhaps when I get The Old Royal out the door things will pick up for Rabbit. This doesn't mean I'll let this story slip through the cracks. Hear me now and believe me later: I fully intend to complete this novel and have it published this year.

Of course, there is also Lathem's Lament to look forward to. I've already completed one editorial pass on that story, so I don't have to contend with creating something anew. This is perhaps the only occasion when editing isn't such a drag. After much thought, I've decided to release Lament and Rabbit simultaneously. I came to this conclusion after I realized that I was jumping around genres. Since it is a Southern Gothic and Rabbit also has similar characteristics, I've decided it would be best to release them together. That way, I can give my readers who want crime fiction a book while also reaching out to some new readers. Lament is a book I wrote several years ago and I refuse to see my efforts go to waste. Besides, I really like the story and think others will, too.

However, this post wasn't meant to be a status update. I wanted to express my frustration with the state of my writing. On the surface, it seems like I'm not being very productive. My blog posts are lagging, stories seem to be stalling in progress, I'm becoming distracted by external activities, and I've gained some weight. Yeah, I know, that last one has nothing to do with writing. But, it still sucks, especially since I was so good last year and lost 50 pounds.

Now that I give it more consideration, I think I'm just in a temporary funk. My writing hasn't really hit any brick walls. This is just a temporary mental thing that everyone experiences from time to time. I just need to stop dwelling on it and move on. I'm about to meet with a writer-friend for our weekly lunch where we talk about reading, writing, and practically anything else that interests us. I always enjoy our discussions because we're very like-minded. I'm sure it'll be fun and I'll get motivated again. Thanks for stopping by and listening to me rant. I promise, I'll try not to do this very often.

The magic of writing

2012-02-19T16:03:00.000-05:00

To be honest, there is no magic to writing. Disappointed? Well, let me explain what I mean.

When I think of the magic of writing, I think of a couple of things. First, I think of the words the author used to tell his/her story. As an author myself, I sit and watch my characters interact in my head, kind of like watching a movie. I transcribe the action and dialogue to the page. I also try to throw in some description to convey to the reader what the place looks like, what smells might be in the air, and anything else that helps draw the reader into the story. I strive to create an experience for the reader.

For me, this is extraordinarily difficult. As I'm writing, the scene is playing out. I like to think of it as typing the closed-caption for a TV show or movie. You've got to be quick, get the words down while the action is happening. At least, this is how I write. I don't find myself sitting at the keyboard lolly-gagging with just the right adjective or verb to make a scene pop. That comes later, during the revision process. That's where the writer is supposed to smooth the edges and polish the story until it shines. When I am writing a first draft, I grab the first words that come to mind as I watch those scenes in my head. But, writing the first draft for a novel is a laborious task. I don't do it in a week, or even two. It usually takes me a month or two. Within that time, I am also reading novels for entertainment. I often find myself reading a book and wondering, Wow, this writer's awesome! The way he/she worded this is spot on!, which inevitably leads me to thoughts like this Damn, why can't I write like this?

This is the first bit of magic that comes to mind when I think of the magic of writing: how the author can create such a beautiful work of art from words when my own stuff feels so stilted and awkward. Let me dispel the myth of this kind of magic. Every writer experiences these feelings at some point during their writing, usually when writing first drafts or in the early stages of revising. That's the point of revising, to polish out those rough spots and find the right words to evoke an emotion. Beta readers are instrumental during this process. And, any author who pens a first draft and thinks he/she is Hemingway or Faulkner, well, you're delusional and your writing is probably shit anyway.

As I was editing The Old Royal today, I realized that, as I was making changes and strengthening the story, it was becoming more and more like I wanted it. I was cutting repetitive crap, fixing stupid typos, and filling in large plot holes. It's becoming sexy to me! Yeah, that might sound weird, but if you've ever written a book, or even a short story, and experienced that sense of jealousy as I mentioned, then you probably get what I'm talking about.

The second bit of magic to writing is how someone can sit down and produce something as long as a book. Before I ever wrote my first book (a novel called The Shadow People, which still hasn't been released...yet), I often thought it ridiculous that anyone could write so much for so long. Then, I did it. It took me three months to finish the first draft. I set out to write a thousand words every day, but didn't always succeed. There were days where I didn't make it to a thousand and others where I didn't even sit down to write. But, I made up for those days that I had slacked off by doubling or tripling the words I wrote subsequently. Since then, I've written numerous short stories, started novels, and completed about three or four.

What I'm getting at here is that there is no magic to writing a book. What it takes is determination. Now, I know that bit of advice gets old. People who say they want to write a book realize the dedication and perseverance it takes and either lose their motivation or put it off because they can't commit the time or they aren't disciplined enough to carry through. There is no magic there. Believe me. I know. I was once like those people who always wanted to write a book, but didn't think I was up to the task. Finally, my desire to do it outweighed my procrastination and lack of motivation. I made myself sit down and do it.

That's how I feel about the magic of writing. I've pulled back the curtain and seen the little man hiding there, trying to keep the process shrouded in a veil of mystery. Now, I'm not saying that there isn't any magic in books. The experience of being transported to another place and time through words is real magic that exists between the writer and reader. So, what are your thoughts and feelings on the subject? Feel free to weigh in with a comment. Thanks for stopping by!

2012: The Lineup

2012-02-06T18:21:00.000-05:00

I've been busy as hell trying to get some projects closer to completion. While I've been heads down working, I haven't really given the blog much attention. When I happen to think of it, I flush with embarrassment because it seems like I'm neglecting a loved one. I don't want to neglect any loved ones, especially my readers. So, I thought I'd give you guys (er, and gal(s)) a glimpse into the things I have lined up for this year.

First, I'm trying to right a wrong by publishing The Old Royal. I said in a previous post that I hoped to release this by the end of January. I had to eat crow in the previous post. I'm happy to say that my wife returned the manuscript to me and assured me it didn't require a rewrite as I had initially suspected when I jumped the gun. I am more pleased to say that I managed to edit nearly a third of the manuscript this past weekend, which, for me, is an astonishingly immense amount of editing to accomplish. I think I've said before how much I hate editing. I'd rather have my fingers pounded with a ball peen hammer. So, I hope to have this completed and handed over to my beta readers soon.

Second, I am still in the early editing phases of a Southern Gothic called Lathem's Lament. I mentioned a little bit of what it's about in this post. This is a story set in the 50s in rural Georgia. It's mainly about a family dealing with life at home while their son is fighting over in Korea. The story follows the family as well as some of the neighbors and each chapter is told from a different character's point of view. I know it's a deviation from my usual crime and horror fiction, but it's a story that I had in me and begged to be written. I obliged and hope I do it justice and that my readers will enjoy it. There is a crime that takes place in it as well as a supernatural event. Anyway, I'm working on getting it ready to hand off to the wife, too. When I release it, I hope to hear some positive reviews for it. After all, the readers are the final judges.

In addition to this vintage story, I have a Southern Gothic/crime caper in mind that I've been itching to write. I've already started it, but haven't gotten very far with everything else in line ahead of it. This is a story set in the early 30s (also in Georgia—can you see the theme here?) about a black man on the run from a lynch mob for murdering a white girl. I'm still a little sketchy on the ending because I haven't nailed it down, but I've got some ideas about how it might end. You'll have to stay tuned to find out more about it. The tentative title is Rabbit on the Run. If I can execute it the way I see it in my head, I think it'll be a fantastic read.

I mentioned a ball peen hammer earlier, which brings me to this last project. Another book set in rural Georgia, this time in the 70s. The protagonist is a Vietnam vet who witnesses a meeting between some members of the Dixie Mafia and a politician. He's running for his life as the Dixie Mafia pursues him (mainly a thug who enjoys using a ball peen hammer on his victims) and, at the same time, trying to expose the corruption he has recently discovered. I'm excited about this one, but I'll be lucky if I can release it this year. The title I have in mind is Greasing the Squeaky Wheel.

There you have it! Four big projects, all in various stages of the writing/editing process. I hope some of these sound as exciting to you as they do to me. Check back to learn how I'm progressing and watch for the stories that interest you most. They're coming. I don't know when, but I can assure you, they ARE coming. As I get closer to the publishing date for each, I'll provide some sneak peeks at the covers. Thanks for reading!

The Old Royal release date pushed back

2012-01-31T13:44:00.000-05:00

*SIGH* Okay. So I said earlier that I wanted to release The Old Royal near the end of January. Well, here we are, the end of January and sadly I have to announce that I am not even close to releasing the book. (I guess my audience of one will be disappointed. Sorry about that.)

I've handed the manuscript over to my primary beta reader (my lovely and beautiful wife) who is still working on going through it. I don't envy her the job of proofing my work because...well, editing is a shitfest. There, I said it. Reading is one thing. But, reading something that you know may contain flaws, plot or otherwise, puts you on your guard. Not to mention, cross-referencing some fact(s) that may crop up hundreds of pages apart for accuracy. No, I don't envy her task, although that is what I do several times before ever handing it off to one of my beta readers. And, believe me, it sucks to read a book over and over and over. Even if you wrote it, I guarantee you will eventually come to hate reading it.

I think I painted a bleak-enough picture of the process so you will understand how badly it sucks. Just the other day, when I asked her how it was coming, she said I could read the notes she's already made. I told her I didn't want to do that, that I would prefer to wait and just hear the whole impression at once. She said, "Well, you could get a head-start on fixing the problems." That's never good to hear. I asked her if they were big problems. Basically, from what she alluded to, it's close to a rewrite, I think. I might be over-estimating the magnitude of said "problems", but nevertheless, it looks like the book will not be out for a little while.

Whenever she finishes, I will correct whatever is wrong with it, shaping it into the story I thought it already was and hand it off to the next beta reader. I usually get the opinions of at least three different people. So, now that I've made my announcement and eaten crow, I'll continue editing and writing the next couple of books in the queue. I've decided to quit trying to predict releases for this very reason. It sucks to be ambitious and announce a tentative release date only to miss the mark by so much. Until I get better at judging my progress, I'll just keep quiet about future releases until they are much closer to actually being finished.

In the meantime, I urge you to get a copy of one of my other books if you haven't already done so. Hopefully, you've read one...and enjoyed it. So, why not help a struggling author out and get another? I'd certainly appreciate it. You can find links to the various formats in the right margin. Thanks for reading and stayed tuned for updates as I get closer to the release.

P.S. This picture pretty much sums up how I feel...

R.I.P. David Gold & Peter Steele

2012-01-20T19:59:00.000-05:00

I recently stumbled upon the band Woods of Ypres by following a series of links sent to me by my wife. She wanted me to see some creepy photos or something on a blog. I clicked links and followed a rabbit hole, which eventually brought me to Woods of Ypres's music video that I've posted below. I'm a big fan of death metal and various other forms of hardcore metal. My favorite bands are too numerous to list, but at the top of that list are Obituary and Type O Negative. T.O.N. is the number one spot, by the way.

Last year, it saddened me to hear the news that the lead singer and bassist for T.O.N., Peter Steele, had died. I own a copy of each of their CDs and concert DVDs and hoped to see them in concert one day. Then, I heard the tragic news of Peter Steele's death and realized I'd never get to see them live. When I came across this new band, I was excited. I love their sound. I love the video. I think David Gold really rocked that shaggy beard and his vocals kicked ass, too.

As I read the comments and Googled his name, I learned that David Gold died in a car accident in December. He was a very talented artist and it sucks that, like Peter Steele, he had to go so soon. So now, at the top of my list between Type O Negative and Obituary, I've added Woods of Ypres. I dedicate this blog to the memory of both Pete and David. R.I.P. guys, you'll definitely be missed. Fortunately for us, we can remember them through their music. I hope you enjoy the videos.

Woods of Ypres - I Was Buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery

Type O Negative - Black No. 1

3-Day Book Giveaway

2012-01-11T09:12:00.000-05:00

For three days only (Jan. 11 through Jan. 13), my ebook Majoring in Murder will be given away for free on Amazon for Kindle. If you've already received a copy, help a starving artist out by recommending it to your reader friends. And, if you enjoyed the book, please (I can't stress this enough), write a review or, at least, rate it. I would definitely appreciate it!

Majoring in Murder is the story of an average college student's transition from mundane academia to a life where he rubs elbows with some nefarious criminals who blackmail him to rub people out. Jason Mashburn has to deal with one of life's darkest taboos, murdering others. His biggest hurdle, however, is trying to find a way out of his predicament without putting his family in more jeopardy than they already are, all while keeping his double-life a secret. This is the first in a series of the metamorphosis of a hitman.

You can find it here: Free copy of Majoring in Murder. I hope you enjoy the story and please remember to review or rate it. Thanks for stopping in. Tell your friends.

Awesome Sauce

2012-01-09T09:23:00.000-05:00

Saturday night I attended a bellydance competition in Atlanta with my wife, Lara. She was one of the contestants. She performed an Egyptian cane dance that she had recently choreographed and, boy, was she nervous. I mean, who wouldn't be, right? Having someone judge your performance is not very different than publishing a book, releasing it out into the world for others to enjoy...or, bad-mouth. They're both artistic creation and interpretation. It makes you vulnerable to do something like that.

So, we get to the studio (nearly an hour and a half early) and take our seats to await the show. Other dancers started arriving. At one point, my wife noticed the arrival of one dancer and made some comment about her being very good and that she would no doubt win. Now, I know nothing about bellydance or these other dancers. Well, that's not entirely true. I know only the little bits I glean from my wife, which isn't much.

Well, the first and second contestants danced and did a mighty fine job. My wife was a bundle of nerves, I'm sure. She was, no doubt, thinking of everything that could go wrong. Lara was the third contestant to dance. Fortunately, everything went smoothly. There was no technical difficulties with her music or her routine. (Although, the last contestant's music CD failed to play and she had to improvise to another song, which she had never heard. I think she did a marvelous job at improvisational dance, even if I'm not educated in bellydance. She surely had more nerve than I did to get out there and just take that leap of faith!)

When it was over, and the judges tallied their votes, the MC began announcing the winners beginning with third and second-place. Two women who did a phenomenal job took those positions. I was perplexed by this news as I thought one of them would have won. One of the women (it alludes me which one it was) was the dancer my wife predicted would win. I was not expecting what came next. The MC called my wife's name for the grand-prize winner! Yes, you read that right. We were floored.

Lara went up to take her place beside the other two dancers and I thought she was going to cry. Hell, I could've cried, I was so happy. I waited as she hugged and thanked the other dancers and judges. She told me later that one of the judges (there were two by the way--both professional bellydancers), said her technique was executed perfectly. And, the woman running the sound, who was also from Egypt, commented that she was proud Lara represented the dance so well. Man, I couldn't be more proud. Therefore, I decided to dedicate this post to my wife, Lara, whom I couldn't love more. By the way, the post's title is an inside joke between us. She'll get it.

Here's a video one of the other dancer's husband shot. I don't know who he is, but I want to thank him! I hope you enjoy watching it:

The Idea Flood of 2012

2012-01-07T15:28:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I finished my initial revisions for The Old Royal. I printed out the manuscript and am ready to hand it over to my wife, who will go through it with her editing pen (and, hopefully, not give me anything below a grade of B-). All right, so that was just silly. No, she doesn't actually grade my stories. Although, being an English professor, she could. I doubt I could stand that though.

Each revision from here on out will pass through several of my beta-readers. I'll make changes based on their feedback. Hopefully, it will meet with receptive, open arms, and not receive the cold shoulder. Of course, I'm sure this is every author's wish.

While I'm floating in limbo (is there really such a thing for a writer? I think not), I have begun the first-round iteration of editing an old Southern Gothic story I wrote in early 2010. It's called Lathem's Lament. I wrote it while I was bending the covers on some Erskine Caldwell, Steinbeck, and Faulkner novels. I really enjoyed reading those writers' stories and attempted to write one of my own. I think the plot is engaging and I'm eager to see it in print. I stuffed it in a desk drawer and only recently took it out again. So, I'm also eager to rediscover what happens to the characters and re-experience their trials and tribulations. It's been more than a year since I've thought about that story, let alone read any of it. Hopefully, it won't need any major rewriting.

In addition to editing Lathem's story, I have several ideas rushing into my mind, tackling each other, as they vie for my attention. Not only are there story ideas begging to be written, I've got a host of characters lined up who continue to walk onto the stage in my mind's eye. These are unique characters who I find intriguing and want to cast in some of these story ideas. I think they can definitely enhance the right story and make it really pop.

But, the main thing I want to point out is that The Old Royal is still marching toward publication, even if it is using baby steps to get there. I'm still hoping to release it by the end of this month. In it's wake, I'm remaining busy with other writing projects, all of which I want to release soon. I hope you are as excited about them as I am and I hope they live up to your expectations and give you hours of entertainment. In the meantime, check out some of my other stories, if you haven't already. Links to places where you can find them are over to the right, up top. Yeah, right there! Sorry, you can't see me pointing.

Thanks for stopping by!

Vacation pics from the Keys

2012-01-01T14:21:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year!

I wanted to start the year off with some pictures I took while spending my Christmas vacation in the Florida Keys. I should be editing right now, but my family always complains that I don't upload any of the pictures I take. To remedy that, I've just spent the last two hours separating the best pictures, resizing and uploading them to share with all of you good folks. So, here they are! I hope you enjoy them. Feel free to leave a comment telling me which are your favorites.

Updated: Okay. These are still too large to display properly. However, if you click the images, they show up full size.

Okay, adding those got tedious pretty quick. There are loads more in my album on Facebook. If you want, hop over and check out the rest. I really hope you've enjoyed them. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to get back to editing. Thanks for stopping by.

Back From Vacation: Boo, boo! Hiss!

2011-12-28T09:48:00.000-05:00

Just got in from my vacation in the Florida Keys last night. It was such a shock to return to cloudy skies and temps in the high 40s. I miss the sun and warmth.

However, I was able to finish the first draft of The Old Royal. I started my first editorial pass early during our trip. I thought I would probably get through it while I was away. Boy, was I wrong! I only made it through thirty pages. Not even a dent. Perhaps I need to reconsider my mid-to-late-January release. Oh well. Fortunately, this week at work is slow. With everyone taking their vacations, it's a virtual ghost town. Hopefully, I'll get a lot accomplished with the revision process.

My Feet Hurt: An Update Status

2011-12-21T14:25:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone!

I hope your holiday season is progressing happily along. This title pretty much summarizes how I feel. Not trying to be whiny (that'd be a horrible of me since I am fortunate enough to be in a nice location), but my feet really do hurt. We're staying just off the main drag, Duval Street, only three blocks from South Beach. Whenever we go anywhere, we walk. I've walked from one end of Key West to the other. I got to see Hemingway's house, the southern-most point of the continental US, Highway 1's zero mile-marker, Mallory Square, Higgs Beach, etc. And, my feet are sore.

I've taken an ass-load of pictures and hope to take more. There's so much here to see and do! This morning, I laid out on South Beach and read some of Duane Swierczynski's, The Wheelman. So far...Awesome! I'm completely loving it. This guy can spin an engrossing crime story.

However, the best thing about this trip so far, aside from the typical vacationy stuff and time with family, is the part where I finished the first draft for The Old Royal. I thought I would have completed it two days ago. God knows I was at the finale when I'd left off at home. But, I didn't want to rush it, so I took my time, thought it out, and wrapped it up yesterday. Now, I've got about six days to try to complete an editorial pass through it. I think I can squeeze in the time for that. If not, I'm going to make the time. I'm still shooting for a mid-to-late January release for the book. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

I hope everyone's holiday season is great! Thanks for stopping by.

Hello, Vacation!

2011-12-16T21:04:00.001-05:00

So, tomorrow morning, we're leave for the Florida keys where we will spend our Christmas vacation. I can't wait. I've got my swimming shorts packed, plenty of short and t-shirts, my camera (for plenty of pictures I plan to share with you all), my cell phone, which also has my Kindle app (so I can read plenty of crime fiction), and my laptop so I can finish working on The Old Royal, which, by the way, is near completion.

Currently, I'm reading Victor Gischler's Suicide Squeeze. So far, it's freaking awesome! Gischler's the man! I've also packed Duane Swierczynski's paperback, The Wheelman, which sounds like a kick-ass book. I hope I'm not disappointed by it. Something tells me I won't be.

I've been looking at pictures of Key West and they look beautiful, an island paradise. I imagine there will be plenty of photo opportunities. We'll see. Like I said, I plan to share a lot of the pictures I take with everyone when we return, but I don't want to even think of coming back when I haven't even left yet.

While there, I'll wrap up the first draft of The Old Royal. I worked on it quite a bit today and have reached the climactic end. I'm giddy with anticipation of its conclusion and I doubt you'll be disappointed. Of course, once I finish it, I'll start in on the editing. Yuck. That's the part I dread the most, but I'm excited about getting it out of my head and onto the page. I want it to be the best story yet. Let's keep our fingers crossed that I do it justice in the editing phase. Right now, I'm just daydreaming of sitting on the beach as the sun sets over the ocean (snapping some pictures, of course) and working on my story. Reminiscent of Ernest Hemingway, but with more of a Raymond Chandler twist. What can I say? I love crime fiction.

So, here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Kwanza, Happy Chanukkah...(whatever your preference, please don't be offended if I left one out) from the Keys.

Cover sneak peek: The Old Royal

2011-12-10T16:59:00.001-05:00

Okay, I know I said in an earlier post that I planned to provide a sneak peek of the cover to my newest novel, The Old Royal, sometime early next year. Well, all that's changed. I'll show you the cover, but first I have to divulge some back story about it. The back story is important to me. If you don't care about it, just scroll down to view the cover.

Truth is, I can't wait. I've spent most of today working on the story. I'm nearing the 250 page mark with the first draft. I know. I know. A cover sneak peek seems premature when I haven't even finished the first draft. Here's another truth, I'm excited as hell about this book! I vow to finish it as soon as I can (obviously, I plan to make it the best story I can, otherwise I wouldn't waste my time).

Before settling down to write this morning, I spent a little time working on what I want the book cover to look like. What can I say? This is how I help motivate myself when it comes to writing my stories. There's always opportunities for the self-doubt bug to settle in and deter a writer from finishing a WIP. Well, to combat that, I find that tweaking book covers, inside matter (e.g. chapter headings and layout formats), and mulling over the plot looking for new conflict and resolutions help me stay excited about a work-in-progress.

Something you may not know: The Old Royal is a novel I started writing back in 2009. My wife thought the concept was original and interesting. In short, she was excited about me writing it. However, I was bitten by that self-doubt bug and got a bad case of the complacencies. The story became stale and I didn't want to write it any more. I set it aside and eventually forgot about it. I attempted to participate in NaNoWriMo this year, but just didn't feel ready to write the story I had in mind. I reset and began writing a new story. That one wasn't ready for me to tell either. Stories just seem to do that. One minute they seem hot and ready to play, the next moment, they're giving you the cold shoulder. It's rough.

Flustered, I decided to withdraw from NaNoWriMo. I knew I wasn't going to cross the finish line, so what was the point? I looked back through some of the stories I'd started and abandoned. I came across The Old Royal and pitched the plot to the guys I work with. They expressed a keen interest in it. Hell, one of them even said, "If I read that synopsis, I'd buy it!" That was enough to renew my interest and stoke the fires of motivation for me to continue writing it.

Since resuming the story, I found that I was able to get over the plot hurdle where I had dropped the ball. Motivation is a cool thing like that sometimes, stripping away the blinders leaving you with a clearer view for the solution to a problem. I'm plugging away happily and hope to have this book ready for publication early next year. Hopefully, very early. Say, January-ish.

The Old Royal is a story about time-travel, the old adage about the grass not always being greener, love and love lost, realizing one's dreams, and a lot of embedded short stories. I won't tell you too much, because I don't want to give anything away. Besides, you can read the synopsis on the back flap, which is all displayed in the image below. Now, without further ado, here is the cover...

Click to enlarge

Comments and criticism are welcome. Thanks for visiting!

Don't count on Santa Claus this year!

2011-12-07T21:59:00.001-05:00

It looks like Santa Claus will be, er, tied up this holiday season. However, all is not lost! Why not give the reader in your life the gift of horror. My anthology is available digitally and in paperback from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. Did I mention they were cheap? Hey, look at that, a double bonus: cheap and available without incarcerated Santa's help.

If the reader in your life enjoys crime fiction, then my novel, Majoring in Murder is also available digitally or in paperback from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Act now through Smashwords and you can purchase the digital version of Majoring in Murder for only $2.99 by using the coupon code, VF76C. Hurry before this offer expires on 12/15!

Majoring in Murder: available in paperback!

2011-11-30T18:14:00.001-05:00

My novel, Majoring in Murder, about a college student-turned-hitman is now available via CreateSpace. If you haven't yet read it and don't own an eReader or just prefer the printed page (as I still do), then you should pick up a copy. While you're at, pick up copies as Christmas gifts for the readers in your life.

The paperback edition should be available on Amazon and B&N soon. It takes roughly 5 to 7 days to appear on Amazon. I'm guessing it takes longer than that to hit Barnes & Noble. In the meantime, you can check out my author page on Amazon to see the other books I've written. Tell your friends and check back often for updates.

Currently, I'm working on a time travel novel called The Old Royal. So far, everyone I've pitched the idea to has said it sounds awesome. I'm still in the early stages of writing it, so I can't really say too much about it. Believe me, I want to. I'm really jazzed about the story because it has so much potential. I've got a lot of it written already, but I don't want to build up a lot of hype and then have the story fizzle out. I hope to release a sneak peek of the cover early next year, maybe late January or early February once the manuscript is finished. If it sounds interesting, I encourage you to check back here for updates.

As I did with the release of my anthology, I'll leave you with some details for Majoring in Murder:

Page Count: 220
Category: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Hard-Boiled
Trim Size: 6" x 9"
Synopsis:
Jason Mashburn is a typical college student with a promising future. His biggest concern is making good grades to keep his dad happy until he moves into a new dorm. Little does Jason know that his new roommate comes with baggage that would set Jason's life on a new course. When Jason finds himself under the control of a Mafia boss, Jason must find a way to protect his family as he attempts to stay alive and out of jail, all while he figures a way to get himself out from under the boss's thumb.

My anthology: now available in paperback

2011-11-26T20:34:00.001-05:00

For anyone interested in getting a paperback edition of my anthology, An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories, you are in luck! I recently published it through CreateSpace as a paperback. It's available right here.

Below are some of the details to whet your appetite:

Page Count: 152
Category: Fiction / Short Stories
Trim Size: 5" x 8"
Synopsis:

From the mind of J.R. McLemore come eight strange and disturbing short stories:
When the Dead Whisper - If the dead had a secret, would you want to hear it?
Jason's Last Wish - Can a cancer-stricken boy get a second chance at life?
Western Justice - Do the sins of our fathers come back to haunt us?
Hush, Hush, My Love - When a relationship sours, is it wise to look for love elsewhere?
Paranoia - Is a retired cop suffering from severe paranoia, or something else?
Sweet Charlotte - Can someone save Charlotte from her abductor before it's too late?
The Show Must Go On - Can a death-row inmate's nightmares give us a glimpse into the hereafter?
Footprints in the Snow - Can a young man learn a life-altering lesson on a rural stretch of road?

Majoring in Murder will be available in paperback soon. Watch for it!

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T10:23:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to take a moment to wish all of my readers a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you are enjoying the holiday with friends and family, getting your fill of holiday meals, or just relaxing while you enjoy your downtime.

My wife and I are relaxing at home in peace and quiet. Her playing her videogames while I work on verifying the proof for my latest paperback. We will be visiting family tomorrow to celebrate Thanksgiving. In the meantime, we are simply enjoying doing our own things in a leisurely way.

As I sit and ponder the meaning of this holiday, I realize I'm thankful for so much. Health and happiness probably topping the list. The love of friends and family. Of course, my readers and the ability to reach them is on that list too. Not to mention, the freedom to express myself artistically and without censorship. These are only a couple of things I am thankful and truly grateful for.

What about you? What are you thankful for?

Is this the future for book covers?

2011-11-18T19:17:00.001-05:00

I came across this blog entry today and thought the cover was very cool. I wanted to share it with my readers.

Is this what the future of book covers will be like? It's cool to consider the possibilities. To be honest, I haven't heard of this author, but his cover is so intriguing, I might get a copy of the book when it is released just because of the creativity behind it. Just run your mouse pointer over the cover to see the effect. Cool, huh?

Here is the original blog post from Galleycat. Also, thanks to Nathan Bransford for sharing the link on his blog.

Victor Gischler's The Deputy, FREE!

2011-11-17T10:00:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure if this is for a limited time (Victor didn't say if this would change), but Victor Gischler's The Deputy is free. According to his blog post, you can find it anywhere ebooks are sold.

Now, if you're not familiar with Mr. Gischler's work, let me just say that I bought his novel, Gun Monkeys, sometime ago because I heard it was a hard-boiled tale with hitmen. Hitmen? Hard-boiled? Those are two things right up my alley, so you better believe I got a copy. At that time, I was reading the likes of Raymond Chandler, Ross MacDonald, and Dashiell Hammett. I wanted to see if this Gischler-guy could write entertaining hard-boiled, hitman, crime fiction. He did! I absolutely loved that book. Since then, I've picked up a few of his other books: The Deputy and Shotgun Opera. I you're a fan of hard-boiled crime fiction, you should do yourself a favor and read Gischler. I doubt you'll regret it.

A couple of links you might find useful:
Victor's Blog
Amazon author page

Coupon for my novel on Smashwords

2011-11-15T09:59:00.001-05:00

For a limited time (that being 1 month), I am discounting my novel, Majoring in Murder, by 40% off the regular price of $4.99 on Smashwords only.

How? you ask.

Simple. Just go to Smashwords to purchase a copy of my latest novel, Majoring in Murder. Enter this coupon code (code: VF76C) prior to completing your checkout (in the shopping cart, there is a box to enter the coupon code).

Viola! That's it. You will have just saved a buck ninety-nine (that's right! a $1.99 off) and received an enjoyable crime drama to enjoy during the holidays. Speaking of holidays, you can purchase copies as gifts for friends who enjoy reading. What a fantastic idea, huh?

Be sure to act before December 15th, though. After that the coupon will no longer work. Again, that coupon code is: VF76C. Act now!

Majoring in Murder is now available!

2011-11-14T21:05:00.001-05:00

My novel, Majoring in Murder, is now available on Amazon and Smashwords.

It will be available soon on Barnes & Noble as well as in paperback from CreateSpace. If you enjoy crime fiction, especially the hitman sub-genre, then make sure you get your copy today. Check back for availability updates!

Here's the cover and a synopsis:

“As a college student with a promising future, Jason Mashburn gets an education that will change him forever. Jason's only concerns are studying hard in order to keep up his grades so he can please his dad. But, when a mafia boss blackmails him into knocking people off, good grades are the least of Jason's problems. Experience the metamorphasis of a killer as Jason recounts his story, descending into the depths of the underworld as he receives an education in dealing death. Majoring in Murder is that story of young man's transformation from studious academic to cold-blooded killer.”

Throwing in the proverbial towel

2011-11-08T13:56:00.001-05:00

So, I was participating in NaNoWriMo this year and I was up-to-date with my word count, progressing smoothly with my story. Yesterday, after writing my required amount of words, I seemed to run out of gas plot-wise.

Prior to beginning the marathon of NaNoWriMo, I made some notes and discussed my plot with other writer, hoping to iron out any kinks. Well, apparently, I didn't map my outline well enough, because the plot seemed to lack the action I wanted. In addition, I think my red herring was more pink than it was red because it didn't distract the reader from the mystery as much as I wanted. I guess what I'm trying to say is the same thing that Bugs Bunny used to say, "I must've missed that turn in Albuquerque!"

When I lost that feeling of enchantment the story held for me, I remembered another story I started some years ago about a man who is able to visit the past where he attempts to steal a famous author's life by beating him to punch by writing his novels first. My wife was a big fan of that idea when I told her about years ago. She still is. And, when I ran the idea by my co-workers, they absolutely loved the idea. Their enthusiasm about the idea was so palpable, that I've decided to shelve my current work-in-progress (yes, you read that right; I refuse to give up on it because I still feel it's a great story given the proper preparation) in favor of continuing with that long forgotten work-in-progress whose title is The Old Royal.

And, for those of you wondering whether I plan to use this for NaNoWriMo, the answer is No. To bring in a piece that I previously worked on would be cheating, and I don't cheat, not even when it would only be cheating myself. I am hereby officially declaring defeat and gracefully bowing out of the contest. Best of luck to everyone still plugging along at their novels. I hope you make it.

NaNoWriMo is here!

2011-11-01T09:21:00.002-04:00

Alas, my favorite holiday, Halloween, has come and gone. (Who says alas? I guess I do. How lame.) Well, never fear, NaNoWriMo is hear. For those of you that are not aware of what that is, it stands for National Novel Writing Month.

The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel within the month of November. There is a website where you can register (it's free and doesn't take long) to record your progress, make friends (known as writing buddies), and encourage one another. I like it because my friend, Mark, and I enter and motivate each other by checking our writing progress. Seeing if you can out do or even keep up with the word count is a challenge.

If you think you have a novel inside you, let me encourage you to join, get busy writing, and free that book. Believe me, you'll feel great once you accomplish it. Also, if you want, add me as a writing buddy. My username is mxlemore.

An additional word of encouragement: don't worry if you can't make the finish line. Heck, I didn't last year simply because the story I chose to write was able to be told in less than the projected 50k word count. There's nothing wrong with that. The Writing Gestapo isn't going to show up and break your legs. If nothing else, you will have at least started writing a story. That alone should feel good and prod you along to beginning that inner story.

Happy writing and best of luck!

Status Update: My Writing Projects

2011-10-25T18:01:00.000-04:00

So, it's been a while since I gave a status update on my novel, Majoring in Murder. Well, I finished tweaking the eBook format today for the Nook and Kindle. In addition to that I worked on formatting it for the paperback edition I hope to publish through CreateSpace. I've never self-published a paperback, so we'll see how that turns out.I sent the Nook version to a new beta reader and hope to have it back sometime early next week unless he finishes before then, which he might. He said he was a fast reader. I've got my fingers crossed that he likes it. I expect to publish it in early November.

NaNoWriMo is fast approaching and I've been giving some thought to what I want to write during that time. At first, I was thinking of writing a non-fiction book about making silicone masks. I still plan to do that, but as I was looking through my idea file, another story caught my attention. One that was begging to be written. It's sort of different from the stories I normally write. This one is less horror and crime, although there are some seedy characters in it. I like to think it has a stronger sci-fi element to it, which really isn't my forte, but nevertheless, I'm going to take a stab at writing it. We'll see how it comes out. The non-fiction book will follow sometime soon after that.

Also, I began editing a Southern Gothic novel I wrote last year called Lathem's Lament. After reading Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, I wanted to write a book in a similar vein. I wasn't all that excited about it when I finished, thinking I had failed as I put down that last word. When I returned to it today and began reading, however, my excitement was renewed. If all goes well, I hope to release it sometime early next year.

That's pretty much what I've got on my plate. I plan to be busy and productive. I'll let everyone know when I release Majoring in Murder. In the meantime, here's an SNL video I thought you might enjoy.

Picture of my silicone Halloween mask

2011-10-19T22:01:00.000-04:00

So, I added some hair to the silicone Halloween mask I've been working on.

I'm not so sure the hair on this mask works. It's too thin. Unfortunately, I only had one green wig to cut up and there's not much left of it. But, I like green for this mask. It would be better if it were curly so it had more body. Overall, though, I think it's pretty creepy. What do you think?

A video to help get you in the Halloween spirit

2011-10-19T17:09:00.000-04:00

Halloween is fast approaching. The leaves are beginning to turn brilliant colors and fall off of the trees. The temperature has dipped enough to warrant overcoats. Soon, television stations will be airing horror movies. If you are like me and can't get enough Halloween fright crammed into your daily schedule, let me try to help. Enjoy this creepy video that showcases many of the evil kids from the Supernatural television show.

Making Halloween Mask Progress w/ Video

2011-10-16T21:16:00.002-04:00

I took a video of my wife wearing my first silicone Halloween mask. I still need to paint it and add hair, but so far the movement looks good and the mask wears comfortably.

This is the second pull I took from the mold. The first had several flaws due to air bubbles. Also, a lot of the clear coat stuck to the silicone. Another lesson learned: always thoroughly clean the mold before casting the silicone.

Here's the video:

A Rant to Our Government

2011-10-06T15:00:00.000-04:00

I have no intentions of turning this blog into a soapbox for politics, but I think this guy's got some valid points and needs to be heard*.

*Contains explicit language

Halloween Mask Concept

2011-10-04T09:28:00.000-04:00

Halloween is less than thirty days away and I've completed my first full head silicone mask. That one was a trial run in order to identify mistakes in my molding/casting process. I encountered a few problems and have learned from those. However, I need to create another mask in order to execute the changes to my process. Below are pictures: one of me wearing the freshly cast, unpainted first mask. (If you zoom in, you might see the flawed seam. My back mold broke during the demolding process and I had to superglue the cracks :(); the rest of the pictures show my second sculpture using oil-based clay, which is still a work in progress. I have to smooth out the details and get the symmetry right, but this gives you an idea of what the finished product should look like.

As you can see, I'm going for an evil clown look. Who doesn't love an evil clown? I've taken pictures of the first sculpture and Photoshopped various makeup patterns that I am considering using. I tested my new airbrush setup on the first mask I made and wasn't very happy with the results. Maybe it's my naivete with the airbrush and silicone paint, but the white I sprayed on came out glossy. I don't want glossy. I'm glad I tested it on a rough mask first. I went out and bought some grease paint from Party City and plan to test that on the same test mask. Hopefully, it will come out the way I intend. As for the airbrush and silicone paint, well, I guess I need to research that method of painting more to improve my technique and avoid the glossy shine.

In addition, I am considering punching the hair, but that might not work since time is running out and hand-punching hair takes forever. Also, I've yet to do it myself. Keep in mind, I've only learned to do this my watching tutorial videos on YouTube. I've seen other guys make mistakes and learned from them. Not only that, I've made my own and am learning from them, changing the way I work to avoid making those mistakes again.

If you're reading this and wondering, Hey, what about your novel? Well, I'm working on it too. I'm dividing my time between the two tasks. I'm happy to report that I'm halfway through the sixth revision, which is going much faster and easier than the previous (It should since I've cleaned up much of the manuscript on previous iterations). I hope to pass it off to one or two beta readers sometime this week.

Now, the pictures:

Me wearing the first mask I cast. This is obviously unpainted. A rough draft, if you will.

This is the second sculpture I am currently working on. Keep in mind, it's still a work in progress.

Book Review (in progress): These Guns For Hire

2011-09-28T10:48:00.001-04:00

Disclaimer:
I have not finished reading this book. I'm currently half way through it. This is an anthology edited by Joe Konrath.

Even though I have not finished reading this book, I already give it 5 stars. If you're a fan of the crime genre, especially the sub-genre of hit men, then you really need to read this book. There are 31 stories inside from authors you've heard of and some you probably

haven't. Lawrence Block, David Morrell, Ed Gorman, Victor Gischler, Max Allan Collins, J.A. Konrath, and many more.

As of yet, I haven't read a story I didn't like. They range from the most calculating, professional killers to the comical. There's even a story where a lemur is the target of a hit! I know. At first, when I read that, I thought, Really? A hit man is supposed to take out a lemur? How good can it possible be?

Trust me. It's that good! I must admit, I was skeptical when I read that the stories were an eclectic bunch, taking place in foreign locales, involving supernatural elements, and lemurs. As I've mentioned, so far, every story I've read has been stellar. If you haven't already read this book, buy it. You won't regret it.

Status update and cover sneak peek

2011-09-23T09:10:00.000-04:00

I'm getting very close to finishing an editorial cycle on my hit man novel. I've probably said this many times in several of my posts, but the fact is, editing really sucks. If you want to be an author, it's a necessary evil. I mean, sure, I could just hurry through the process (as many authors tend to do), but that wouldn't be fair to the story or to my readers. When I start writing a book, I have a vision of what I want to say and where I want to take my reader and what I want them to experience. The editorial process is where I'm supposed to polish and fine tune the manuscript, getting it just the way I want it. So, with that said, just know that it should hit virtual bookshelves soon. Here is a sneak peek of the final cover for it:

I welcome all feedback concerning the cover. I think the image works very well at giving the reader an idea of what this book is all about. Well, as much as an image can anyway. Of course, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. It took me nearly one hundred prototypes to get this one just right. Maybe I will post some of the earlier concepts for readers who are curious about what I rejected.

In addition to editing the novel, I'm still working on my silicone mask for Halloween. I received some new supplies this week (gypsum cement, an airbrush, and some Psycho Paint) and hope to get to work applying the plaster some time this weekend. I hope to post some pictures of the mask as I progress. If you're interested in creating your own silicone masks or just curious about the process, feel free to contact me. I've got plenty of advice learned from my own mistakes so far as well as links to video tutorials and material suppliers.

It puts the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again!

2011-09-15T14:35:00.000-04:00

Since Halloween is approaching, I decided to post some truly disturbing things to help get you in the mood. Without further ado...

I hope you enjoyed Loco's New Song. Stay tuned for more atrocities from The Scene of the Crime.

Halloween isn't far off and I'm starting something new

2011-09-15T09:44:00.001-04:00

If you didn't already know, Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. Yes, it even trumps Christmas. For me, at least. I know a lot of people would probably be surprised by that statement, but it's true. I still can't put my finger on exactly why Halloween is my favorite holiday. I mean, there's obviously the trick-or-treating, which I am much too old for now so I just sit at home. The days get shorter, which is kind of depressing to me. I enjoy long sunny days because I feel like I can accomplish more. There are the Halloween episodes of sitcoms I enjoy. Although we're reduced to only seventeen channels on TV because I refuse to pay the cable company's exorbitant rates for hundreds of channels of shit. (BTW, what has happened to TV? Even with only seventeen channels, most of the programming is garbage: hour-long infomercials, dancing shows, talent-less talent shows, et al. Okay, I've digressed. I'll leave that for another post later where I can be a curmudgeon and rant) Schools' Halloween Carnivals featuring games and kids running around in costume having a grand time. I'm not in school any longer and we rarely go to my daughter's school unless we're there to watch her band performance or some other activity she is involved with. Besides, I don't think her high school even has any Halloween event. These are things that come to mind when I think of Halloween. You might be asking yourself, why do I love Halloween if none of those things seem enjoyable to me?

Well, the answer is: that is not everything I think of when Halloween rolls around. In addition, I must say that the aforementioned are things I enjoyed as a kid, things that can't quite be recaptured but they stick with me to this day. Of course, there are also haunted house attractions to visit and I thoroughly love that! Mainly, I think there is something in the air this time of year that gets my mojo flowing. Maybe it's just the ushering in of fall. Fall is also my favorite time of year, when the trees begin changing and the Georgia heat begins to subside. I also find that when Halloween approaches, I become more active with my writing and creative endeavors. For instance, this year I've started to make silicone Halloween masks. Growing up, I was always captivated by the latex monster masks stores would put on display this time of year. They were always too expensive for me to purchase though. As a kid, no matter how cool the masks were, I couldn't convince myself to save that much money, let alone part with it for a single mask. There was always something better looming around the corner that I spent my money on. So, I never ended up purchasing one of those ghoulish masks that can easily be found at Party Cities, Halloween Expresses, and Spencers.

Recently, I visited a few websites that sell silicone masks. The masks are top-notch quality and fit so well that the mask moves with your facial expressions. Instead of spending hours trying to get a latex special effects appliance to fit on your face, transforming you into some ghoulish creature, you can simply slip the mask on and become what you want. Of course, these masks aren't cheap. The prices range anywhere from one hundred dollar to five or even eight hundred dollars. You definitely get what you pay for, so you can imagine how silly the cheaper masks look compared to the more expensive masks. Last year, I managed to purchase two pairs of prescription theatrical contact lenses that I wanted to use this year. I picked a silicone mask that was an evil clown and waited before making the purchase. In that time, I managed to talk myself out of parting with five hundred dollars for the mask. What if I wanted to be something different the next year? Hell, I'd be stuck with the clown mask and out half a grand. It just didn't seem practical even though the mask does look super awesome.

I did some research and found some people making their own silicone masks. There were even tutorial videos that some teens had posted on YouTube. I looked into the supplies needed to create the masks, etc. It was cheaper than the single mask I was prepared to buy. Not to mention, I could create whatever I could dream up. I could be an evil clown this year, next year, I could be a rotting corpse, or whatever. So, I took the leap and bought a gallon of Dragon Skin FX Pro silicone, eight pounds of modeling clay, an armature, buckets of plaster, and various solvents needed. I commandeered my wife's dance studio and shut myself away to create a half-face mask.

I learned a lot from the process of creating that mask. The first lesson, don't use silicone for a half-mask; it's much too flimsy. Next time, when creating a half-mask, I'll use either latex or a urethane rubber. Even though that first mask was unusable, I still have it as a keepsake. It feels and looks just like human skin and is very pliable. I was lucky enough to have mixed the coloring pigments just right. I felt it was time to try my hand at a full-head mask, just like the one I was thinking of buying. I molded the clay on my armature, built retaining walls, poured the plaster, and demolded it. Unfortunately, the plaster molds cracked during the demolding process. I had purchased the wrong type of plaster, a plaster that was not hard enough for creating mask molds. Fortunately, my sculpture came out with very minimal damage and I was able to repair it. I've since ordered some Ultracal 30 gypsum cement to create my mold.

Until then, I am trying to edit my hit man novel that is nearing the editorial phase. I hope to have it out soon. While my favorite holiday is fast approaching and I'm getting excited about making scary masks, I don't want to take my eye off the prize and let my novel languish. So, if you're interested in mask making or scary monster masks in general, check back often to see my progress. I promise to post pictures of my creations. Thanks for stopping by.

Savannah and Tybee Island, Georgia

2011-09-08T10:05:00.009-04:00

After nearly forty years of living in Georgia, I finally visited Savannah. While there, my wife and I also ventured out to Tybee Island. If I'd known how awesome Savannah is, I would have made it a point to visit much sooner. The city is rife with peaceful squares, monuments, pubs, restaurants, and plenty of photogenic wonders (some of which I wanted to share in this post).

Whether you believe in the supernatural and want to embark on a ghost tour or you simply want to get away from the hustle and bustle of your mundane life, Savannah and Tybee Island are locations you must put on your to-do list. We spent two days in Savannah and an additional day on Tybee. I took my camera with me the majority of the time so I have hundreds of pictures. Here are a few:

SAVANNAH

TYBEE ISLAND

What the ???

2011-09-01T09:11:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I'm one of those authors who Google themselves and their books to see whether my SEO keywords are working. I'm not sure of a better way to track this and how well my books are doing out in the wild. Today, Amazon and B&N reset the monthly sales figures, so I wasn't surprised to see that I had no sales when I checked. Although I will admit it's disappointing to see zeroes or that stupid beige line that Amazon displays.

So, I Googled "An Adverse Anthology" and saw a link to some site called bookchart.info. I've visited it before and was shocked to see that my collection was #97 in the US. Of course, it had dropped to #109 or something, so yeah, that's just my luck. Nothing to get all excited about.

When I clicked it today, the chart reflected that I had entered the Canadian chart at #18! EIGHTEEN! What?! (You should be able to see it here.)

I was shocked and so happy to see that, but then reality bit me and I knew that this had got to be short lived. After all, it just entered the chart. By tomorrow, I'll probably be off of it at a position greater than 100. Or, whoever is in charge of such things might realize the error of something they did and I'll be replaced by some big-name author.

Oh well, anyway, I'm going to bask in the rays of my current position while I can. Even if it means I just post it here on my blog where no one seems to visit, which brings me to another thing. When I began writing, all of the advice was about how to finish writing a book, that people wanted to do it but didn't have the fortitude. Well, I will tell you this: writing the damn book (hell, even editing it) is cake compared to marketing the blasted thing! But, I digress. That's a post for another time. If you've wandered over here and read to this point, THANK YOU! Please, leave me a comment, or if you've read my work or purchased my anthology, leave a review. I'd surely appreciate it.

Book Review: A Dangerous Man by Charlie Huston

2011-08-31T09:02:00.008-04:00

Disclaimer:
I have no intentions of turning this blog into a book review blog. There's already enough of those out there. Instead, I'd rather tell my readers about other great books that are out there. Nor am I going to give you a blow-by-blow commentary as many reviewers tend to do. I suppose I should disclose how I'd rate the books I've read. In that case, let's just go with a generic 5-star system. Five stars is a great book. Three stars is average and one star plain sucks. This book would definitely get five stars.

Last night, I finished reading A Dangerous Man by Charlie Huston. This is the third book in the Henry Thompson series. I haven't read the first two books, but I've already ordered them from Amazon. If you enjoy hit man books, then this one is a must read. Also, you don't have to read the first two in order to enjoy the action in this book. There was some backstory mentioned that I suspect was covered in the previous books, but that didn't hinder this story much at all. If anything, it piques the reader's curiosity to discover what happened earlier and encourages them to purchase those books to find out. At least, it did with me.

In this book, we follow Henry Thompson as he fights to kick his pill habit. Henry has somehow been blackmailed into working as muscle for a Russian mobster named David. Henry's mentor is another Russian, an enforcer named Branko. His face has been reconstructed so he is not recognizable as his former self. Obviously, there was major shit that went down in the previous books and Henry has quite a few enemies looking for him. Henry is tasked to shadow a rising rookie baseball player named Miguel, who has a gambling problem and his friend, Jay. Henry's task: to protect Miguel and Jay from getting into trouble because David has taken an interest in the athlete. Needless to say, trouble ensues and Henry has to handle it. Man, does he handle it!

In addition, David's sister-in-law, Anna, keeps pestering David to avenge his nephew's death. A death that came from the hands of Henry. Eventually, Anna enlists the help of her family. Two of her relatives come to America to search for Henry and make him pay for what he did to Anna's son. Again, this is backstory probably detailed in a previous book, but Huston does a stellar job of quickly alluding to what happened. The men find Henry, but only after David tasks him with eliminating Anna.

That's all I really want to say about the story. Believe me when I say that there is plenty of action and sub-plots happening. Like I've said, if you're into hit man novels, this is one you should definitely read. I intend to put up more posts about good crime books I've read, so stay tuned and thanks for stopping by.

Finished another iteration of editing

2011-08-29T09:28:00.002-04:00

Saturday, I completed another iteration of the editing process for my college hit man book, Majoring in Murder. There are some plot holes pointed out that I need to go back and rewrite or smooth out. Hopefully, I'll finish the next phase sooner than this last. Of course, rewriting and fixing plot holes is a huge drag, but I want to publish the best story I can for my readers. I hope all of the hard work pays off and all of you will enjoy the story when I finish it. In addition to the editing, I've already created the cover for the book. I hope to post it soon, once I'm closer to publishing the book. I want to give everyone a sneak peek at it before it hits the virtual bookshelves. I'm quite proud of it. It only took me somewhere in the neighborhood of 55 tries and a lot of artistic criticism to get it the way it currently looks.

Price Reduction Announcement

2011-08-15T10:18:00.002-04:00

Just a quick announcement for all of those holdouts wanting a cheap read. If you are one of these frugal shoppers with exquisite taste, then you are who I am aiming this post at.

My short story collection, An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories, has been reduced to 99¢. You can find links to Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords in the right-hand column of this blog. Please, help me out by telling your friends. And if you enjoy it can you leave a favorable rating? I'd appreciate it.

Stay tuned for my next novel--hopefully coming soon--called Majoring In Murder.

That is all.

Reality Check: The Truth About Writing

2011-08-13T10:02:00.004-04:00

When I first began writing six years ago, I thought it would be a miracle to finish the novel I was working on at that time. I was surprised to discover that writing the first draft of a book was easier than I thought, for me at least. I had the main idea emblazoned in my mind and could see the events unfold as if I were watching the movie. I was excited. I thought I'd be the next Stephen King! I was naive.

Editing that first book was a lesson in perseverance. I'd never edited anything that big in my life and spent several weeks just trying to determine how to tackle the monumental task. I'd grown lazy. I would look at the stack of printed pages and wonder how I could possibly get through it all. Then I would walk away, turn on the TV, and leave my worries in the room with my manuscript.

I eventually finished editing the book. As of this post, it's still not 100% complete. I gave it to my wife to read and received a lot of constructive criticism. My wife is brutally honest about my writing, but she's also my biggest fan. Despite the flaws in my writing that make me sound mildly retarded, she still loves me and it makes me love her all the more.

Since that first book, I've written three more books--many still waiting for their first editorial pass--and loads of short stories. I always daydreamed of sending out my manuscripts to agents, publishers reading what I'd written, and receiving that elusive book deal that would set me on the path to join the ranks of famously successful authors. I was naive.

I followed blogs of literary agents, editors, publishers, and other established authors in hopes of gleaning all the knowledge about the industry as I could. I read books on the craft of writing and discussed the semantics of writing and grammar with my wife, an English professor. I read voraciously, both in my genre and more broadly. I read the classics that I had neglected to read in high school when I thought I had better things to do than read. I tried to be a sponge, soaking up as much knowledge about reading and writing and publishing as I could manage. After polishing my short stories--often running them though nine or more revision cycles following the input of my beta readers--I sent them off to print magazines who were looking for stories like mine. I was giddy and confident in the submission stage. I received my share of rejection. Too many, in fact. I was naive.

After subscribing to many different magazines and reading what they chose to publish, I began to grow callous and convinced that the editors wouldn't recognize good writing if their lives depended on it. I pushed those toxic thoughts aside still convinced that they were true. I tried to convince myself of the opposite. Writing is very subjective. Some people absolutely love heavy hitters like James Patterson and Stephen King as evidenced by their millions of dollars. I'm convinced either of them could publish their laundry list and it would land them on the best-sellers list. I've read books by famous authors that went counter to many things I'd learned about what not to do in your writing. How could that be? How could their book get published by disregarding some of these most basic rules? I learned that when you've built a loyal following and have a good track record under your belt, editors tend to be more lenient with your work. You have more creative say so. I was naive.

A couple of my stories managed to find homes in a few magazines. I continued to follow what was happening in the publishing industry, feeling that if I didn't hurry and create my masterpiece to get published I was going to miss the boat. A digital revolution was underway. Electronic books came on the scene and there was talk of how it would change the publishing landscape. Agents and Publishers scoffed. Physical books were still the dominant force. eBooks were just a fad. I scoffed right along with the big boys and turned up my nose at self-publishing. Self-publishing at the time was taboo, usually proof that an author had admitted defeat and sought to publish his/her book at a vanity press. I wasn't going to quit. I knew I had talent as a writer. But, still, I was naive.

Since the digital revolution, the publishing industry has changed dramatically. Digital media has taken hold in a big way, major book sellers have gone belly-up in its wake. The stigma of self-publishing has changed. Many talented authors--as well as those who are truly bad--have embraced self-publishing, opting to forego the traditional path, bypass the gatekeepers standing in their way, and reach an audience directly. I've watched this trend take hold and evolve. I've read extensively about self-publishers who have gone on to be successful. Many of them post their sales numbers and preach the gospel of doing it yourself. No longer was self-publishing a taboo thing. Although some still associate it with bad writing, self-publishing, like the publishing industry, has evolved. Now, I'm not as naive as I once was.

I still believe I'm a talented writer. I decided to try my hand at self-publishing. I experimented by taking one of my shorts and published it myself. This way, I thought, I could experience how the process works and determine if it was worth pursuing. If nothing else, I could get my name out there and possibly build a following. My first published work, the short story, Hush, Hush, My Love (available for free on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords) was more successful than I would have imagined. On Smashwords alone, it has been downloaded more than 300 times and received 4-star reviews. It was also reviewed by Red Adept Reviews, garnering three-and-a-half stars.

Following the success of Hush, I decided to release something larger. I put together a collection of short stories that magazines had rejected and sold it as An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories (Amazon, B&N, Smashwords). I've received accolades from many readers I know who have purchased the book. In my ability I am not naive, but I also know that my writing can always improve. Neither am I naive to think I will reach the writing pinnacle to stand with the likes of many of my favorite authors. I've learned much during the last 6 years and I'll continue learning, improving, and hopefully entertaining my readers.

In the beginning, I was intimidated by the task of editing something as large as a novel. Today, that's not daunting at all. Finishing a book--ending up with a polished gem--is just the beginning. There's still marketing to do, formatting, uploading, pricing, etc. I'm currently teaching myself how to edit videos in hopes of creating studio-quality book trailers as promotional tools for my future work. Maybe I'm still naive, but this is reality.

Editing, editing, and little new writing

2011-07-09T20:48:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since my last post because I've been busy. During the previous week, my family took a college touring trip up the east coast to Maine. There was a lot of driving involved--3,300 miles worth--but, it was worth it. That might sound like a huge drag, but since I'd never visited any states north of Virginia, it was rather fun. Even driving in Manhattan during lunch time was an exciting experience. Let me just say that driving on the roads with NY cab drivers was like the wild, wild west! We saw several ivy-league colleges, ate in some fine restaurants, and saw some beautiful parts of the country.

Now that I've returned, I worked on a novel that I had put aside while driving up the east coast. All was going well for a while and then I hit a brick wall. I didn't necessarily get writer's block because I can still write. I just ran out of logical ideas for the point I reached in the story line. I have the majority of the story outlined, but there is one part in the middle where the details are fuzzy. Well, that just so happens to be where everything petered out. I've put the story aside for now while I brainstorm to come up with more ideas to drag the story out of the mud it seems to be caught in.

I had a novel idea during the trip that I had to get out of bed to write down. I think it will make a great book and can't wait to get around to outlining the plot. Another cool aspect of this story is that I had the idea while I was in Maine. We were listening to The Green Mile in the car, too. My idea is a similar style to how Stephen King tells his story. Anyway, time will tell if I can pull off execution of that story.

My wife recently finished reading my hit man novel. She's the second beta reader to have finished it and now I'm excited to finally get back to revising any mistakes and plot holes. It's also a daunting task. Printed, the book is nearly 300 pages. Today, I managed to revise almost 50 pages. At this rate, it'll be a while before I'm ready to hand it to the next group of beta readers to get their input.

In other, non-writing, news, I'm on the Atkins diet. I started a week before our trip and lost nearly 11 pounds. During the trip, I cheated when we reached Newark, DE and ate at Catherine Rooney's, which is an Irish pub. I couldn't resist not having a Guinness there. Also, I wanted to have some delicious seafood in Maine. In all, I gained 2 pounds during the trip, so that's not too bad. Since returning home and resuming my diet, I've lost an additional 6 pounds. So far, so good.

That's all I've got to report for now. Hopefully, some idea will come to me for the current novel I'm writing. Until next time, I'll continue being good on my diet and editing the hit man novel.

A motivational moment

2011-06-18T14:44:00.003-04:00

I've recently gone back and perused J.A. Konrath's older blog posts on his Newbie's Guide to Publishing. If you're an indie author and haven't read Konrath's blog, I highly recommend doing so, otherwise, you're missing out on some great information.

During my reading, I've come across several posts where he talks candidly about the emotions new authors experience when they first start out in this business. It's refreshing to know that I'm not alone in my self-doubt and frustration. Nor am I alone in my obsessive tendencies to Google my name and check my sales stats on my various distributors' websites repeatedly throughout the day. While these affirmations are nice, the most valuable insights are learning from his experiences with self-promotion.

While I'm ignorant about advertising and marketing, it's nice to know I can go somewhere to learn from someone else's mistakes and successes. Especially, someone who is succeeding in the field of writing. More often that not, when I feel depressed about my low sales, feel like I'm a voice quacking in the void, or that I'm just another face in crowd, I can read Joe's posts and begin to feel better about the things I am doing, gain a sense of motivation, and know I need to stay the course.

An update on what I've been doing

2011-06-18T13:58:00.003-04:00

Forgive me. It's been a while since my last blog post. Why does this sound like a Catholic confession? Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It's been *insert time here* since my last confession. Maybe I feel guilty for not blogging more frequently.

Lately, I've been working on a new novel. The working title is called Pass the Buck and, of course, it takes place in Atlanta. I'm not delving into details at this point as the story is still in its infancy, but from the feedback I received when I pitched the idea to friends, I'm very excited about it. I hope I can do it justice and deliver a highly entertaining story my readers. Time will tell.

My college hit man novel, Majoring in Murder, is still in the editorial phase. I've gone through it several time and felt comfortable enough to give it to two of my beta readers (one of those being my wife, who is marking it up as if I was one of her students). Hopefully, she'll be finished with it soon so that I can make my revisions and give it to some different beta readers. This is always such a daunting process for me. I hate editing, as do most writers I know. Also, the honest feedback can sting sometimes and make any writer doubt themselves. But, it shouldn't be too long until I can offer up the book to the readers.

I pitched the idea to a fellow writer friend to co-author a book together. Since he writes science fiction and I enjoy writing crime fiction, we have to come up with an idea that will appeal to both of us. I've got one fairly solid idea and the seeds for another. He's supposed to be brainstorming about some ideas too, so we'll see where we are after July 4th when we reconvene to discuss whether we really want to go through with writing a book together. So, stay tuned for that.

As you may know, and in case you don't, I released my anthology, An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories ,earlier this month on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. If you haven't yet purchased a copy, you're missing out on some really entertaining stories. Also, I've lowered the price from $2.99 to $2.25, which is quite a bargain for 8 stories. Did I mention they were very entertaining? In addition, I've uploaded a more professionally formatted version for both Kindle and Nook on Amazon and B&N. Unfortunately, I have yet to try this Smashwords. This brings me to another point...

I recently came across a series of posts by another indie publisher, Guido Henkel, who gave quite a lot of insight into professionally formatting one's eBooks. His series is definitely worth a read if you want to make your eBooks look their best. The information he presents is priceless, in my opinion. I will warn you ahead of time that it gets fairly technical if you're not familiar with HTML.

In the past, when I uploaded my manuscript, I would simply submit a Word document that was complete and polished. The frustration came when I would upload it to Amazon, view it in the Kindle emulator, tweak it to make it look as I wanted, and then do the same at Barnes & Noble, only to discover that it needed more tweaking to look right for the Nook Color. Once it looked nice in the Nook Color, I would view it in the older Nook emulator and see that it looked hideous. Talk about wanting to pull my hair out! And then there's Smashwords "meatgrinder" where they highly advise you to upload a Word document and adhere to their style guide specifications. Guido's series will eliminate that frustration (at least for Amazon and B&N) and make your manuscript look like you want it to on any eReader device.

I've reformatted my anthology using his steps and tested it on my Nook for PC app, the Kindle app on my smart phone, and the Nook Color I own, and I must say, it looks stellar! I still need to test uploading an ePub version to Smashwords to learn how well their meatgrinder handles the format and I'll do a post to tell you what I learn. I plan to incorporate these techniques into every eBook I publish from this point forward.

Now that I've added another, professionally formatted, title to my repertoire and I'm struggling with self-promotion and experimenting with price points. I've sold several copies of my latest short story collection, but nothing like I was expecting. Of course, I don't have an extensive back list or anything, so I imagine what I'm experiencing is just par for the course. Hopefully, things will pick up as I build my oeuvre. Again, time will tell.

Another title released!

2011-06-04T16:44:00.006-04:00

I released a collection of short stories today that I've been working on polishing for quite some time. Well, I finally finished. This new book is called An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories, which you can see in the sidebar to the right. It contains 8 short stories that I hope will stir your imagination and emotions. Here is the jacket description:

"From the mind of J.R. McLemore come eight strange and disturbing short stories:
When the Dead Whisper - If the dead had a secret, would you want to hear it?
Jason's Last Wish - Can a cancer-stricken boy get a second chance at life?
Western Justice - Do the sins of our fathers come back to haunt us?
Hush, Hush, My Love - When a relationship sours, is it wise to look for love elsewhere?
Paranoia - Is a retired cop suffering from severe paranoia, or something else?
Sweet Charlotte - Can someone save Charlotte from her abductor before it's too late?
The Show Must Go On - Can a death-row inmate's nightmares give us a glimpse into the hereafter?
Footprints in the Snow - Can a young man learn a life-altering lesson on a rural stretch of road?"

At the time of this blog post, it is available on Smashwords here. I've uploaded it to Amazon and B&N, but it is still in the approval process by those distributors. When it is available there, I will update the links in the sidebar, on my website, and everywhere else I can think of.

So, if you've come by, stopped and read this blog, I do hope you'll get a copy of my book. I doubt you'll be sorry you did. Also, for $2.99, it's less than a single copy of most popular magazines.

Oh, one more thing, if you do happen to get a copy, please rate and/or write a review for it. It doesn't matter if you hate it, leaving a review makes my day. Thanks for stopping by.

Coming soon!

2011-05-04T09:09:00.003-04:00

I've been busy assembling an anthology of my best short stories which I will self-publish very soon. I handed the stories over to my wife last week to proof for me (did I mention she's an English professor? No? Well, she is and the best editor and all-around-everything I know of). Well, she handed them back to me yesterday and I sat down to have a look at what she found. Wow! There was quite a bit of editorial marks on most of the pages. Keep in mind, many of these stories had already been through a rigorous editorial process (some of them went through nine iterations of extensive editing with feedback from several beta readers), yet she still made corrections.

This proves a couple of points:

1. You can't please all of the people all of the time. No matter how awesome you think your work is, there will always be someone who thinks it stinks or could be a little better. In addition to this, just know that reading/writing is very subjective. What appeals to one person isn't necessarily going to appeal to another.

2. If you want, you can practically edit a story forever in hopes that one day it will be perfect. While editing is extremely important, falling into the never-ending cycle of editing to perfection is something every writer should avoid like the plague. Falling into this trap will stop your productivity and most likely drive you mad. Besides, even the famous writers can read one of their own books after publication and find areas that they feel could be improved.

So, with that said, I am in the process of going through the story lineup and addressing the editorial remarks my wife made. It shouldn't take me long and I will, of course, post another blog when I am ready to release the book on Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords. By the way, in case I haven't told you what the name of the book is (my memory is getting worse in my later years), this is it: An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories.

I hope you'll buy a copy, but more importantly, I hope you'll enjoy it!

Self-publishing: status report. Part II

2011-04-24T19:07:00.003-04:00

Happy Easter, everyone.

So, I have some good news to report in this status update. I was reviewed over at Red Adept Reviews. You can read the review here.

If I haven't already pointed this out, I will now just so there is no confusion. HUSH, HUSH, MY LOVE was an experiment in self-publishing. Sure, I wrote it and had it published in a professional magazine, but I also used it to venture into the world of self-publishing, familiarize myself with the process to put it up on Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords.

Well, one thing I learned was that you can give away stories (and books) on Smashwords. On B&N and Amazon, you can't. This is unfortunate because my short story is very short. I wouldn't charge anything for it if I was able to get away with that. Mainly, my intention was to put the story out there for free just so I could increase my audience, get my name out there to people who have never heard of me. Hopefully, my strategy has worked despite me having to charge for the damn story on Amazon and B&N. To any readers who purchased the story from either of those markets, I want to thank you and to apologize. I appreciate you parting with a buck to read my story. I apologize that is was so short. However, I hope you enjoyed it very much despite its brevity. I will be releasing an anthology soon with more short stories (all longer than HUSH, I promise). I hope you'll read it and enjoy some of my other work.

My downloads at Smashwords has slowed, but I think this is to be expected. The last time I looked (this afternoon), I had 169 downloads. I have no idea what other self-pubbed authors would expect, but for me, that is awesome! That's just in a month and the month isn't over yet. It surprises me because I am virtually unheard of, and like I said, this was an experiment, so I am very excited about that number. Also, I've sold two units on B&N and five on Amazon when I looked today.

I'm still researching marketing strategies, reading posts on the Kindle Board, as well as blog posts by Joe Konrath, Amanda Hocking, and other self-pubbed authors in addition to formatting and proofing my anthology. I'm eager to release the anthology because there's no feeling like seeing that people have taken an interest in something you've created.

I've traditionally published short stories in the past. As a matter of fact, I'm waiting for word on two short stories now. The thing I love most about self-publishing is the quick turnaround we writers have with our work. When I'm ready to give readers another story, I don't have to sit on my hands for months waiting for them to get it. All I have to do is design the cover and format it (all of which is under my control) and then upload it. It's as simple as that. There's none of this waiting and waiting and...

Lastly, I'd like to give a personal thank you to everyone who has downloaded a copy of HUSH. You guys rock! I appreciate it more than you know.

Self-publishing: status report. Part I

2011-04-11T19:45:00.002-04:00

Okay, so my short story, Hush, Hush, My Love, has been available on Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords now for nearly two weeks. Here's the lowdown on what's happened during that time.

B&N was the last one to make the story available. Despite the note on their site that says it takes anywhere from 24 to 48 hours, it took considerably longer. Almost a week! That's crazy slow, so just be forewarned.

Smashwords is my favorite of all the platforms so far. Why, you ask? Well, for starters, they are quick about making the work available to readers. As per my previous post, I had a lot of downloads quickly. Of course, that could be due to the story being free. To date, I've received four 4-star reviews. That really made my day to get those. The majority of the downloads came during the first two days and have since tapered off, but I am still seeing downloads each day.

On Amazon, I've only sold two copies. :( Not impressive, I know. I managed to sell one on B&N so far. If truth be told, I'm actually happy that I sold anything on Amazon or B&N. I mean, I haven't gone all out and tried to do any heavy marketing. Also, Hush is a short story. A very short story, at that, so asking someone to pay to read it is a long shot. (Although, I must admit, it's a damn good story and I think anyone who parts with a buck to read it won't be disappointed.)

So, there you have it. I've probably made $1.50 total from the story. But, that's not why I self-published the short story to begin with. The reason Hush is out there is two-fold. First, I wanted to make it available as a promotional tactic, in order to put my work out there and let readers see what I create. The other reason was for me to test the waters with self-publishing and experience the steps necessary to make my work available on the various platforms. So far, the experience has been very easy and pleasant.

For those who do not know, I am working on putting together a collection of my best short stories. The tentative title is An Adverse Anthology: strange & disturbing short stories. I'm nearly finished composing it and I hope you'll check it out when I publish it. Of course, you can bet I will make it known when it hits the various distribution channels. Also, I hope you'll come back to see what I have in the pipeline for future releases.

Thanks for reading.

Experiences in self-publishing

2011-04-01T18:58:00.005-04:00

This is probably the first post of many about my experiences with self-publishing. Recently, I've been reading a lot about authors embarking on this path and their stories. Most of these authors you may have heard of. Well, that is, if you're into that sort of thing. If you're reading this blog, I imagine you probably are.

So far, everything I've heard from these authors has been compelling enough for me to dip my proverbial toe into the self-publishing waters. If Amanda Hocking's or Barry Eisler's story doesn't excite you--well, you need to check for a pulse.

I began putting together my publication earlier this week. Actually, truth be told, it took me longer than that to construct the cover image and get it just right. I owe a shout out to James (a colleague at work) who gave me invaluable information to help me out in that department. Thanks, James! You da man. I managed to have everything prepared and uploaded my work to Amazon and Barnes & Noble Wednesday afternoon. That night, I went through the Style Guide on Smashwords, heeded its advice, and when finished, submitted my work to Smashwords.

Amazon and B&N state that it could take 24-48 hours until the work is available in the marketplace. If Smashwords gave an estimate, I don't remember what it was. When my submission was received by Smashwords, it said that I was number 808 in the queue. Needless to say, I figured it would be the last to hit the market. I was wrong. I received an email from Smashwords during the wee hours that said my book was available for download. Wow. That was fast.

My story did not hit the market on Amazon until today (Friday). Barnes & Noble still hasn't finished processing the submission. On the first day the story was available on Smashwords, I already had 89 downloads and received three four-star reviews. Although the first reviewer gave away one of the twists in the story. I can't believe he did that!

I wanted to release this story for free, as a promotional device to reach readers and spread my name. Well, the unfortunate downside to that plan is that Amazon and B&N require authors to sell their work. Smashwords, on the other hand, allows you to give work away. So, as a side note, let me apologize to anyone who is turned off that my story is only for sale on Amazon and B&N. It's not my fault. I would give it away on those platforms if I could, but alas, I can't.

So, there you have it. My experience so far with self-publishing. It has been exciting and pleasant. I hope it continues to be. Now, I must spread the word, let others know it is out there, available for download, and hope they get a copy. Even more, I hope they enjoy it and help spread the word.

So, if you've managed to read this far, I hope you've gotten something out of my experience thus far. Also, if you haven't yet read the story, here is the link so you can check it out. Free Smashwords copy. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy(ed) the story and I hope you'll come back for more.

Decisions, decisions.

2011-03-20T12:34:00.003-04:00

I can see light at the end of the tunnel. There are less than 25 pages remaining until I finish editing my crime novel, MAJORING IN MURDER (btw, that's the working title. It could still change). I'm excited as hell because this means I am close to handing it over to my beta readers for their reactions/feedback. Of course, this is also a time of apprehension for me as a writer because it means I have to release my creation into the world to see if it has wings to fly.

In addition to finishing the editing process (well, the bulk of it anyway), I need to decide whether or not to query agents when the manuscript is complete or self-publish. Lately, I've been keeping up with the news about authors selling their books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, etc. and the perception of self-publishing is changing. In the past, self-publishing was equivalent to failure. It was the last resort of a desperate author who wanted their work in print. They had exhausted their list of agents and publishing houses only to face rejection after rejection. Considering a vanity press or P.O.D. publisher was to admit defeat, that your work wasn't considered commercially viable by industry professionals. Your writing talent was not validated.

It appears that those days are waning. One only needs to look at Amanda Hocking and J.A. Konrath to name two examples or authors who've been successful self-publishers. With the plethora of eReaders in readers' hands, eBooks are beginning to turn the tables in the publishing industry. No longer does an author need to convince an editor that their book is a mega bestseller that will benefit the publishing house with riches. There is no gate keeper who decides whether they think your book is commercially viable. I can't express enough just how subjective this industry is. Just because your work doesn't appeal to a few people doesn't necessarily mean that it will not appeal to a larger audience. Also, authors can make more money self-publishing because the split many eBook sellers offer are larger than those of the traditional publishing houses. Let's also not forget that the author maintains all rights to his/her work, not relinquishing them to a traditional publisher who can stop print runs of an author's back list when they feel it is not financially sound for the publisher. Self-publishing is free. All an author needs is a computer to create the electronic file, an internet connection to upload the work, and no limit to the number of copies sold. Ever.

Those are just some of the benefits of self-publishing. Some might say that with traditional publishers the author will receive help/funds marketing their work. This is not necessarily true. Unless you are already a best seller, the publisher will most likely not spend marketing dollars on your new book. They tend to spend that money on authors they know have a large fan base. This is almost unheard of for debut authors. These authors must market their books themselves in most cases. Also gone are the days of fat advances. There again, if you're a mega bestseller (ie - Stephen King, James Patterson, et al.) you can expect hefty advances because the publisher knows they will most likely earn that money (and much more) back.

So, with all of that being said, self-publishing is looking more and more appealing to me. Sure, I'd like to receive validation that my work is commercially acceptable, but why? If I might only receive 14% off the sales of my work and I have to do all the leg work to market my book, why not just self-publish it since I'd do that anyway and I could earn more money from each sale? To not do that seems ridiculous.

Of course, there is more research I need to do before I pinch my nose and jump into self-publishing. I've done some research already. Hence, where I pulled the above information. But, I want to be aware of any pitfalls and snafus that may arise. So far, however, there don't seem to be any real problems that I can find. The self-publishing world seems to be the wild, wild west where authors are releasing their work, marketing to reach their audience(s), and are reaping the rewards of the D.I.Y. novelist. I want to get in on the ground floor before the big publishers realize they are becoming obsolete and change the self-publishing world so they can still make money to pay their large staffs.

So, what do you think? Is self-publishing a current fad? Do you think it will change dramatically? If so, how long do you think it will last and how will it change? I welcome your comments.

Waiting is the hardest part...

2011-02-27T19:46:00.003-05:00

Okay, so it's been nearly half a month since my last post in which I said I was submitting short stories. I'm pleased to say they are out at the respectable publishers I chose to send them to and now I am anxiously awaiting word from the editors. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that at least one will be accepted. But, of course, it would be great if they all received acceptance.

I think I said in my last post that I was submitting two stories, but since then I sent out yet another. So, there are three out making the rounds instead of just two. It's been a while since I've submitted anything and I forgot how frightening and, at the same time, exciting it is to await the editors' responses. Hopefully, I will have good news to post soon concerning any feedback. If, that is, I haven't worried myself into a knot.

Let the submissions begin

2011-02-13T17:59:00.004-05:00

We're half way through February and Valentine's Day looms on the horizon. I finally pulled myself away from editing my novel in order to submit two short stories. Actually, the second of those short stories won't go out until tomorrow. I packaged the manuscript according to the publisher's guidelines, trying to follow their instructions to the letter--very important! My wife is mailing it off for me tomorrow since she goes by the post office and I don't.

Anyway, I am excited to be awaiting word from editors/publishers regarding my submissions. Having been on hiatus during the holidays leaves me feeling unproductive even though I have been editing. I hope to hear good news soon and post where my stories have found homes. Meanwhile, I will continue editing one of my novels and get it into shape. With any luck, I should begin querying agents/publishers later this year after I polish the manuscript into the best story it can be. I also hope to get a few more short stories ready to submit soon. Stay tuned to see where my stories wind up. Thanks for stopping by.

A gift for other writers

2011-01-22T10:24:00.010-05:00

Yesterday, I came across a post on Nathan Bransford's forums where a writer had inquired about ways to keep track of submissions. I responded, telling about a program that I created to do just this. It's called Submission Tracker. I made this program last year after reading a different post somewhere where a few writers were commiserating over the chore of keeping track of manuscripts during the submission process.

As a software developer (yes, that's still my day job), I decided I would create an application for myself to help keep track of my own submissions because there was no applications out there that already did this (I didn't do any extensive searches to determine this, but it's been my experience that there are few apps out there for writers). I created a rudimentary program and added functionality to it when I deemed it necessary throughout my own submission process.

I've been using it ever since to keep track of my stories, markets, and submissions. Since reading that post in the forums, I've decided to make my program available to other writers who feel a desire to use it.

Some of the features:
1. Ability to enter story details. This includes: Title, word count, genre, number of drafts.
2. Ability to enter publisher information. Name, publication type (webzine/print, paying/non-paying), approx. response time, two web addresses (useful for home page and submission guidelines for quick reference).
3. Quick reference history for stories that have been submitted. Shows current submission location and prior submitted locations (if applicable) with publisher's response.
4. Grid view listing of current stories on submission, stories written, and publishers, each on their own tab.

I'm making it available free of charge, downloadable at the bottom of this post on a couple of conditions.

1. The software is available as-is.
2. Do not contact me with any bugs you find in the software. I created this app for myself and I program every day. In my spare time I write and do not want that time to be used programming. It's a free program, after all. If you find you don't like it, simply uninstall it.
3. This is a Windows application. Unfortunately, anyone using a different operating system will not be able to use it.

With that said, I would like to add that I will more than likely enhance the application by fixing any bugs I find and adding new functionality to make the app more robust. But, as I've already said, I don't enjoy programming during my time away from work, so these enhancements may be slow in coming. While I do not want people sending me bug reports, I am open to receiving wish lists for features. If there is something lacking that you think would make the application better, feel free to email me.

Here are a few screen shots:

This is a detail view of a submission.

This is a list of publishers I entered into the program.

A shot of the new story and new publisher dialog screens.

This is the submission history from a single story. Notice the context menu (right-click) to view detail, edit the entry, or delete it.

If you find yourself interested in using the Submission Tracker application. You can download it here. Check back for future updates. Perhaps I will add a feature that you find useful and, remember, if there is something you'd like included, you can always send me an email requesting it. I may or may not include it depending on how useful the suggested feature is, but you never know. I hope the program makes tracking your submissions much easier. Thanks for visiting.

Georgia's deep freeze

2011-01-10T16:48:00.007-05:00

Woke up this morning to snow. I was happy to learn that my company closed due to inclement weather. That gave me an opportunity to edit my novel. I was able to finish the first pass of the hit man novel I'm working on. Now I'm ready to begin the second edit.

I took time out to go outside with my new Canon Rebel T2i camera and take some pictures of the snow. It was nice to come back inside with my family where it's warm and watch news coverage of people trying to navigate the treacherous roads. If you've been following me, you know I was involved in an accident in December when I rolled my Jeep after encountering an icy bridge on my way home from work. Well, needless to say, I learned a valuable lesson from that and won't dare drive when there's a chance of having icy roads.

The photos above show the beautiful snow we received. Let's just hope that when everything freezes tonight we don't lose power, which is typical in Georgia during winter weather like this.

New Year, New Opportunities

2011-01-05T19:18:00.004-05:00

We're five days into 2011 and I'm excited by the opportunities that await. Most blogs I've read since the first have discussed resolutions. I'm not going to do that. Why? Simply because I don't believe in resolutions. Instead, I want to tell you what I'm up to and what I'm planning to do this year.

Currently, I'm four chapters from finishing the first pass of my editing process for one of the novels I wrote last year. Many times, when I do a read-through of one of my first drafts, I am embarrassed by how horrible it reads. There are so many awkward parts that I wonder if I will ever get the damn thing published. Of course, that's why the edit process exists, to chisel away all of that awkwardness and confusion and finely tune the prose to be smooth and beautiful (hopefully). I'm pleased to announce that am very satisfied with this first draft's story so far. I was expecting the clunky awkwardness, but it has been a pleasure to edit so far. I hope the other two novel manuscripts waiting their turn will be as enjoyable on the first read through.

In addition to my ongoing editing, I am preparing to circulate two short stories to publishers and hope they find homes. With the new year, many publishers submissions should open to fill empty slots within their magazines. So, needless to say, I'm anxiously waiting for that to happen. I'll be even happier to receive another acceptance letter, those are always exciting!

Also, I am considering entering NaNoWriMo again this year. As I write this, it sounds like it will be fun. I guess my annoyance of feeling rushed from last year's has worn off. Not only that, but in retrospect, I came away from it with a third novel for the year. I didn't complete the novel within the specified time, but it was close and if I can do that again, then I think it's worth the effort. This time, however, I'll make sure to get my notes and outline complete before November 1!

I love reading and I buy books every week from Barnes & Noble. I should also admit that I'm a slow reader, so my queue of books to read is much larger than the books that I've finished reading. I'm thinking about whittling down my queue before I buy anymore books. Otherwise, I'll have to build another set of bookshelves, which is inevitable, but at least I can put it off for a long while.

On another artistic note, I purchased a DSLR camera around Christmas because I wanted to dabble in amateur photography--I really enjoy looking at great landscape photos. I asked myself, why not take pictures that mean something to ME? I mean, that's how I became a writer, right? I'm extremely new to digital photography...hell, photography in general. My first lesson was that the hobby I chose is very expensive! The camera I bought is a Canon Rebel T2i. It set me back a substantial amount, so I'm working on the basics and learning the camera's functionality before spending anything further. I hope to shoot my own videos--did I mention it also records video? cool, huh?--in addition to photos so I can put together book trailers in the future. If I become worth a shit and take any photos worth posting, I'll probably post them on the web site.

Well, that's about it for now. Plenty to keep me busy. I'm hoping 2011 will be a prosperous year for my artistic outlets. Now, time to go edit.

Year's end

2010-12-29T09:22:00.004-05:00

Before we slipped into the new year, I wanted to wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. I hope everyone's Christmas was spectacular. I know mine was despite suffering injuries in an auto accident on the 15th when I had a nasty run-in with some black ice on a bridge over the Etowah River. Everyone who sees pictures of the crash tells me I'm lucky to be here today. I couldn't agree more.

I'm spending the week leading into the new year with my beloved wife and my youngest son, so I couldn't be happier with that. In the meantime, I'm busy editing one of my three novels written this year. It's the story of a college student who has been blackmailed into performing executions for the mafia. So far during my re-read, I've found it to be entertaining. I only hope I can polish the rough edges and emerge from the editing process with the gem I envisioned. Also, I'm nearly finished with the edit process for a short story I wrote called MAN'S BEST FRIEND. The feedback from my first readers was much better than I anticipated. I have some more feedback I'm waiting to receive and then I will begin shopping the story around to various markets.

With the new year comes the prospect of publishing new stories, and hopefully, a novel. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and working diligently to produce the best, most entertaining material I can. I hope I will succeed. Thanks for reading. See you all in 2011!

Catching up

2010-12-03T19:57:00.002-05:00

Okay, so my last post was really short because I was on Thanksgiving vacation. In it, I said I would elaborate more on my NaNoWriMo results. Well, here it is.

I didn't cross the 50k finish line, but I did participate at least. I managed to finish the first draft of that novel (and yes, it will be a novel, more on that in a bit) with 41,865 words. I was doing pretty well with making the daily word count of 1,667 words. In fact, I was usually well ahead of that number, averaging about 2k words a day until I got closer to the end of the story and then I slowed down because I knew I didn't need to kill myself when I wasn't even going to get 50k words. Also, I may participate in 2011, but if I do, I plan to outline the proposed story more thoroughly. This time, I half-assed my preparation and outlined only the first couple of chapters before NaNo began. I had the main story arc all planned, but after those couple of chapter's outline and I was off-road writing, so to speak.

While I finished the story in under 50k words, I still feel it will be novel length when I finish the extensive editing I plan to take it through. During the writing of the first draft, I simply did a brain dump, getting the meat of the story on the page and foregoing all the description and scene setting. I imagine when I go back and flesh that out more thoroughly, the story will really blossom. Also, I feel really anxious to work on it, to stand back and see the forest instead of the individual trees. I think the characters are strong and the story is gripping. I enjoyed writing it and look forward to returning. This isn't usually the case with some of my stories. I know, that sounds bad, like I write shit and bury it. That's not what I meant though. I mean, that usually, when I finish writing the first draft of a story, I'm more excited to start something else because I've been in that world for so long, it's beginning to become tiresome.

For a writer, you're exposed to the intricacies of an environment and at the mercy of the characters who populate the world for much longer than the reader, who reads it much quicker than the writer creates it. After a while of that long creation process, a writer tends to get tired and wants a change of scenery. Or, at least, I do. I can't speak for all writers, but that's the way I am. I am almost always eager to start something new when I'm half or three quarters through a long piece of work. Maybe I'm just impatient that way.

Anyway, I'm eager to return to my NaNo novel to clean it up and whip it into a finished, marketable product. In the meantime, I am keeping to my word before NaNo and I'm editing the previous two novels I wrote. Like I said in an earlier post, my life for the next few months (or possibly longer) will consist of nothing but editing.

I wrote three novels this year and a couple of short stories, one of which is currently making the rounds with selected magazines. I'm going to be a busy busy fellow. Hopefully, you'll check back in to hear my progress with everything. If you'll pardon me, I need to go edit.

Merry Thanksgiv-oween

2010-11-25T14:25:00.002-05:00

So I finally lost my steam with NaNoWriMo while spending time with the family for Thanksgiving. I'm still writing, but my word count has dropped off. I'm within sight of the end of my novel, but not the 50k limit.

I'm being called to come back and resume a dominoes game we are playing while waiting for our food to finish cooking. So, this post will be short. I'll elaborate more later on my novel progress and write some tonight.

In the meantime, I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving!

The skinny on my NaNo progress

2010-11-15T19:28:00.003-05:00

Well, here it is half way through NaNoWriMo. I've written everyday, usually getting around 2,000 words during each session. I will admit that I haven't written today...yet! I spent my free time today mapping out the chapters I want to get down on paper so I know where the hell I'm going, because (you may or may not know this) writing is like traversing a forest with or without a map. Sometimes the map is very detailed, sometimes it is vague, and then there are times when there is no map, just a vague sense of direction in the traveler's (read writer's) head.

I started this whole marathon with a map for the first few chapters and quickly ran out of road. This has made me map my course and later in the day follow the trail until I find myself off-road-writing again. It's very tedious to maintain the pace of 2k words per day (let alone the 1,667 recommended) and produce a first draft that doesn't give the feeling of crap on the page.

Also, I only wrote 1,100 words on the 13th. I just didn't have it in me to produce more than that. I didn't really care at the time, either, because I knew I was ahead of schedule so I shipped my oars and drifted. By today, authors participating in NaNoWriMo should have written 25k words. My word count is 26,298 (and remember, I haven't written today...yet!)

I don't feel quite as cynical as I did that first week and may even participate again, but not too soon. Finding the time to get the words out of my head and onto the page isn't the challenge. I find that the challenge is sitting down to write and not having a clear path of where I want the story to go. Since writing my first novel (which I wrote without any notes or outlines, and which is still lingering in the editorial process), I've learned that I like outlining my chapters before writing. I'm not talking about very detailed outlines, but notes about what should occur in each chapter to progress the story. I keep a separate file of notes for back story or informational tidbits that help me maintain continuity throughout the length of the manuscript.

Now that we're at the halfway point, I've realized that my novel may not make it to the finish line. At 26k words, my story is ready to be finished. I know that might sound odd, but what I mean by that is that the story actually tells itself. I merely transcribe what I see to the page as the story unfolds, even with the mapping process I mentioned. The characters have a story to tell and I just put it to paper (or computer screen) as I see it. Well, this story has pretty much run its course and I know that to try to wring another 24k words out of it just isn't going to happen. If I'm lucky, I may reach the high 30 or low 40 thousands.

Anyway, that's where I am at the moment and what I see in my future. I'm already anxious to go back and read what I've written and judge how well I wrote it. Of course, I know it's a first draft so I'm not expecting a masterpiece, but I hope it's better than nonsensical junk. Like I said before (somewhere to someone, I'm sure), if I'm not going to give it my all, then I'm not going to do it.

If my story runs across its own finish line before the 30th with or without making it to 50k words, I will certainly blog about it. Regardless of whether I "win" NaNoWriMo, I plan to blog how I fared through the relentless slog through the NaNo experience. If that interests you, then stay tuned. Thanks for reading!

Six days of the NaNoWriMo

2010-11-06T18:00:00.002-04:00

Well, it's only six days into NaNoWriMo and already I'm pretty sure this will be the only time I participate. While I support the event and its participants, I don't feel that this marathon is for me.

I love to write. Hell, I've already written two novels this year as well as several short stories. I was planning on taking the rest of the year to edit said novels so I could start querying publishers or agents. Then, a writing friend mentioned that he was thinking of entering NaNoWriMo this year. In the past, we'd both sat on the sidelines. I thought to myself, yeah, this will be a fun competition to see if we can both do it.

Well, I registered to participate and tried making an outline and some character notes for a story that came to mind. This was five days before the start of the event. I'm happy to report that I am actually ahead of schedule. My stats say that I am scheduled to finish on the 28th if I can keep the same pace. Yay!

However, let me tell you how it really is. I think I'm doing as well as I am only because I know I've got the stamina to actually finish a novel. I've done it several times already. Those novels were not done at marathon speeds though. I had ideas for those stories, fleshed them out in my head, outlined several chapters, and wrote some character notes before beginning those stories. I then committed myself to a thousand words a day with the exception of the weekend, which I deemed my time away from writing. Occasionally, I might write on the weekend if I was feeling especially creative. I could finish a first draft in about two and a half or three months using that method.

With NaNoWriMo, I have to writer EVERY day. Not only that, as it's not a very big deal, but one must maintain at least 1,667 words a day in order to reach the fifty-thousand word goal by the end of November. That may not seem like a lot, but for anyone who writes and holds a full time job knows that it is quite a lot of writing. With the aforementioned technique that has been successful for me, I may not get a thousand words on certain days. I would try to make them up on subsequent days. God knows that there are those days when the words come hard.

This leads me to a problem with NaNoWriMo. I think the main focus of this competition is the word count, and not the story. I've heard advice that says if you are staring at a blank page, you should write nonsensical stuff until you break through the block. Okay, I can accept that. I assume they mean open a scratch pad and do that nonsensical writing there. But, I've heard people say no, just write it into the draft to get the word count. Are you kidding me?

Also, I've heard a literary agent say that following NaNoWriMo, their inboxes become inundated with queries for NaNo drafts. Are you kidding me? While I can see a writer outlining their entire novels ahead of time and writing everyday during November to get out the target word count, I think the finished novel should be longer than a flat fifty-thousand words. (Unless, of course, you're Steinbeck, Hemingway, or Faulkner). Also, when that first draft is finished, there is a lot of editing that must be done. I actually know of a writer who thinks his first drafts are publishable--and this guy has been writing for a while, albeit he's not very good.

So, here is my opinion of NaNoWriMo: I think it is good to help a writer get into the habit of writing daily. That is invaluable. Also, I think that it unlocks the mind at certain times during the writing process to release creative energy. These times usually come when the writer is below his target daily word count and near the beginning or end of a scene. He/she is forced to think of description, dialogue, etc to fill in the gaps. Also, I think that having a writing buddy to compete with is a nice friendly form of motivation and competition. It's a way to help urge each other on to write and cross that finish line.

Those were the positive aspects I can see in all this. The negative? Well, said writing buddies don't help motivate when they've thrown in the towel on day one and / or won't post their daily word counts. I have several writing buddies that have zero word counts. That's not much of a writing buddy, if you ask me. Also, with day jobs and other personal responsibilities, striving to make that word count becomes paramount while the other aspects of the novel tend to fall by the wayside (this hasn't personally happened to me yet, but I know others have experienced it). That stringent daily word count gives writers tunnel vision, focusing only on reaching a number. Their story may have come off the rails a long time ago, but the writer won't know it until they go back for a re-read.

Like I said, it's only day six and I'm already feeling the pinch. I'm not one to easily quit something when I put my mind to accomplishing a goal, so I know I won't throw in the towel. Also, I don't feel like doing something half-assed, so I am striving to turn out a reasonable first draft, something that I can edit into a fine story. But, I'm finding it very difficult to go to work and then sit down at night to get my words on paper, and then find time to chart a course in my outline for where I want to go the next day. It's hard fucking work, harder than going at your own pace.

Anyway, that's my opinion six days in. If you're involved in NaNoWriMo this year and want to become my buddy to check my progress or motivate one another, my username is mxlemore. Look me up. But, don't count on finding me next year. Also, stay tuned for more of my rants while I'm slogging through the NaNo trenches.

NaNoWriMo is afoot

2010-10-26T19:11:00.003-04:00

As a writer you'd of thought I would have participated in NaNoWriMo. You'd be mistaken.

I've never participated in the National November Writing Month marathon because I felt like it was more or less for writers without the discipline to force themselves to sit in the chair and perform a brain dump of that story rattling around in their head.

It wasn't until my friend, and fellow writer, mentioned that he was thinking of participating that I seriously considered whether I would participate too. I mean, it's been several years since I set foot on the path of the writer and I've learned a hell of a lot along the way (and still have So much to learn). I've weathered several years of NaNoWriMo without succumbing to the peer pressure of feeling that I should participate. However, all of that's about to change.

I know my last post said that my foreseeable writing life would be mainly editing, but this is a temptation I guess I can't pass up. When my friend and I discussed it, my mind immediately shifted into overdrive trying to come up with a good story. I came up with something. Something that I'm still trying to flesh out in various text files to use as road maps when I begin writing.

I don't want to give away too much, but I'll say this...I've been toying with the idea of beginning a series centered around a private dick. What can I say, I dream of being the next Raymond Chandler! So, there's P.I. at its center. Second, drawing on my horror background, I knew I wanted something that tapped into the reader's fear. Well, I think it's safe to say that clowns fill the bill in that majority without crossing over into the supernatural.

That's all I want to say for now, in order not to give away too much. So, if you like crime fiction and want the added scare of the antagonist being a clown (read and you'll see how this all fits together).

[long undocumented break]

Okay, I realized (after a long interjection and unrelated subject matter from my wife) that that is all I have to say on this subject...except with sporadic updates during the month on my progress, so stay tuned!

Editing is my life...

2010-10-15T16:13:00.004-04:00

at least, for the next couple of months probably.

Currently, I have two novels and one long (long for me anyway) short story to edit into shape so that I can start shopping them around to publishers.

As I said before, I was ready to reread my short story, FETCH, to see if it turned out remotely how I envisioned it and whether it was any good. I've managed a read-through-slash-edit and I think it turned out just fine, how I saw it anyway. Whether it's good is still up for debate since readers' tastes are so subjective. I've given one copy out to a colleague at work to gauge his response and hear his feedback. Normally, my wife is always my first reader, but with school in session, I decided not to add my story to the stack of papers she has to read from students. If she knew this, I like to think she would appreciate it.

As far as the novels are concerned, I might shelve the first as it's a southern gothic set in the early 50s and I don't think there's much of a market for southern gothic anymore. I loved writing the story and I think it's really good (of course, a read through will determine if that opinion is still valid), but I'd hate to spend months editing it, whipping it into shape, only to find that I can't sell it. The second book, on the other hand, is a crime drama (still trying to find a catchy title, other than DOUBLE DEALING) that I am extremely excited about. It's in the vein of Block's Keller-series books. Mine is about a college student blackmailed into contract killing for the mafia.

If the execution went well then I think my readers will enjoy it. While it's hard to have your readers root for a killer, I think in this case it might work as we get to see how the protagonist deals with his dilemma by satisfying the mafia while trying get himself out of the situation.

So, with two books and a long short story waiting for my editorial pen, I won't be doing much new creation for a while. Well, maybe. I think I'm addicted to the creative process and probably won't be able to stop myself from taking a break to pen another short story or two. Time will tell. Until then, let's keep our fingers crossed because the editorial process is where the writer gets to stand back and look at what he/she has created. It's a chance to see if all those days of filling the blank pages has amounted to anything worthwhile. It's also (for me and probably a lot of other writers) a fragile time when doubt runs rampant.

What the???

2010-10-06T20:02:00.003-04:00

I know, I know. Two posts in one day? What the hell am I thinking, huh?

Just wanted to say that the first draft of my short story (mentioned in the previous post) is complete. It's tentatively titled FETCH. It's the longest short story I've ever written. Hopefully it's entertaining. I think so, but I'll have to wait until I go back to read it over to see if that's the case. Stay tuned.

Wrapping things up...

2010-10-06T18:26:00.002-04:00

I've completed the website redesign and have moved closer to finishing the first draft of a new short story (which I should finish after this blog post). I've gotten to a point where I can see light at the end of the tunnel with my second novel's first draft. There are some notes I made while writing it where I noticed that I broke the story's continuity and discovered a change in the beginning that would be more compelling to the story overall.

I've set the novel writing aside in order to write the short story, but I plan to resume the novel writing tomorrow or Friday. I'm excited about the story's potential, but I know I face and arduous editing process. For those of you who keep up with word counts and page numbers, I'm currently at 56 thousand words and 249 pages. Keep in mind I'm still working on it. While the word count is very low for what I usually write, it should go up when I go back and add the pieces from my notes. Also, I didn't go into much character or scene description during this first pass as I just wanted to get the story from my head to the page. I'll flesh out the descriptive stuff during the editing process, after I have a chance to see the forest for the trees. That's the part I love the best: re-reading my work to see what the story "feels" like from a distance.

Also, if that page number sounds high for such a low word count, know that I write all my stories using the standard manuscript format, even first drafts. So, I have double-spaced lines and I use Courier New font with one inch margins.

So, there you have it, where I'm currently at with my work. A second novel's first draft nearly finished, a first novel's initial draft waiting for editing, and a short story that will soon enter the edit process, too. In my future is much editing, a process I don't like, but necessary nonetheless.

I'll probably break up the monotony of so much editing with writing some more short stories--there's always a supply of short story ideas waiting in the wings that want to be written. The good thing is that their creative process is much shorter than a novel's, so that's appealing. I'm already putting together a list of markets where I want to submit the short story.

Stay tuned to find out how things work out. So far, I've got one story published in a commercial magazine. Let's see if I can carve more notches in my keyboard.

Shaking things up a bit

2010-09-22T18:54:00.001-04:00

As I said in my last post, I wanted to redecorate the website and my blog. Well, I managed to take care of the website. As for my blog, I changed the name and the banner picture. That's probably all of the changes I'm going to make to the appearance. The other change(s) I plan to make is to the content of my blogs.

What I set out to do from the start was blog about my endeavor to become a professional novelist. It feels like I've deviated from that goal, instead blogging about things I've read literary agents saying. While that can be informative for aspiring writers, there's more to it than me regurgitating what they say. Also, I'd like to share more of my own, first-hand experiences.

Recently, I've discovered another aspiring writer. Albeit, one who apparently has a big head start on me and has more experiences. I went back to the beginning of his blog posts and began reading. I found his blogs entertaining, informative, and very motivational. Then it dawned on me: this is what I had envisioned for my own blog. So, from this post forward, I want to return to my original idea and follow through, sharing my experiences as a writer working to make it in the publishing industry.

I hope you'll visit often, share your own experiences through the comments, and become a friend. Thanks for visiting.

The new website is live!

2010-09-18T13:03:00.001-04:00

Yay! I've completed the redesign of my website and I must say that I am extremely happy with it. It looks much cleaner and more professional. Please bookmark it and visit periodically as I will continue to update the news feed on the side and add more short fiction to my bibliography when they become available. Also, feel free to leave comments letting me know what you think of the new look and feel. I hope you enjoy your visit.

Please stand by while I redecorate the blog...

2010-09-07T19:44:00.000-04:00

I realize I haven't posted anything in quite some time. That's because I am hard at work on my third novel. It's a crime novel, currently called Double Dealing, but that is more than likely going to change. I have a list of titles that have come to me during the writing process that I like more.

But, I digress. Now, to the point. While writing my first crime novel, I've been reading hard-boiled crime fiction to keep my mind on track as I write. Here's something I've learned in the process. I love hard-boiled crime fiction!

While I set out to write horror and dark fiction, which I still like, I've grown to enjoy the shoot-em-up crime novels better. Also, I find it easier to come up with more appealing ideas I want to write about in crime fiction than I do in horror or dark fiction. So, instead of branding myself as a horror author, and while I'm still extremely early in my writing career, I've decided to redecorate my blog (and the website, eventually) to reflect the genre I've come to embrace.

I mean, seriously, wouldn't it be odd to brand one's self as a crime writer and have their website feel like a crypt? That, to me at least, is counter intuitive. So bear with me, dear friends, while my website undergoes some cosmetic changes.

Changes in the publishing landscape and my fear

2010-07-03T11:33:00.000-04:00

I've been following blogs and forum posts concerning how eBooks are changing the publishing industry. If you haven't been following this trend and you are a new author, you should probably start reading up on this more.

Recently, I read a topic in author Christopher Moore's forums about eBooks and how this could impact the writer. Now, for those of you who do not know Christopher Moore (shame on you!), he is a successful author of satirical novels and a very cool guy to boot. I highly recommend you read some of his work and possibly visit his website.

I wont go into all of the details of that thread, but instead leave it up to you to read what he was saying in it. However, I will say that I became very concerned with what I read. Now, Moore is a veteran author. Like I said, he is also very successful, and if he is concerned with how the digital world will impact the publishing world, and more specifically, writers, then that worries me.

As an aspiring novelist, it scares me to think that trying to break out in publishing is going to become even harder when the market is inundated with more and more content by people who self-publish. It's already hard enough to get your foot in the door. When more avenues are introduced that allow untalented writers to get their work out there, it will be even harder to find quality material. It means that there will be more garbage to dig through to find that proverbial diamond in the rough.

I think there are pros and cons to this whole situation, however, I think the cons are beginning to outweigh the pros. Some of the pros include: making it easier for new authors to publish and distribute their work; reaching a wider audience; and for authors who are actually good but always faced rejection to finally break out.

Now to address the important cons. While making it easier to publish and distribute content, authors (good and bad) will find the market more competitive to make themselves known among the plethora of material. Marketing a work now is already very competitive. Readers will have to weed out a lot of horrible writing before they find a writer who is actually good. eBooks will more than likely become cheaper as the market is flooded, thus making it nearly impossible for newer authors to make a living by their writing. Not to mention the digital piracy that has harmed the music industry. Just imagine what it will do to the publishing world. In the aforementioned topic, Moore says that he has musician friends that were living on royalties. Now that piracy has changed the music industry, those friends, that thought they were finished touring, now have to go back out and perform to maintain their lifestyles. He goes on to say that while that's fine for musicians, what would authors do in the face of piracy? It's not like an author can pack a stadium to read his work to an audience. Something that makes you think, right?

With all of the ramifications the digital medium is doing to other markets, especially publishing, I think the effects are out of the scope of this blog. I urge you to begin keeping yourself informed of how it will affect the market. If you're like me, you will probably find yourself worried about the future of the printed medium.

Jealousy and inadequacy, fuel for the fire?

2010-06-19T22:27:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure if the title completely captures my feelings on the following subject, but these were the first two words that seemed to come to mind.

My wife subscribes to Entertainment Weekly. She left a recent copy lying on my side of our bed, opened to a review of a new novel.
"What's this doing here?" I asked.
"I wanted you to read that," she said.
I picked up the foled magazine and read a review of The Passage. Now, I saw several mentions of this novel on some headlines feeds I subscribe to. The headlines I glanced at mentioned that this was a hot new book, a breakout hit, etc., but I thought nothing of it at the time. I mean, c'mon, there's always some breakout hits, right?

Well, I read the review, which also summarized the plot. At first, I felt jealous, and then I felt, maybe not inadequate, but defeated, as if I was late to the party or something. The reason I had this latter reaction was because this plot sounded similar to a novel plot I came up with a couple of months ago. I usually run all my story ideas by my wife who, as a college English professor and well-read individual, I listen to very closely.

She thought there was enough similarity in our plots that she wanted me to see this book's reception since it was released. The reception was obviously very good. I mean, when a relatively unknown author has a breakout book that receives a lot of positive praise and a seven-figure deal, well, who wouldn't be jealous, right? The defeat I felt was that his book began with some political overtones that captured the present, which is the same as my idea. However, in The Passage there is a span of time (said to be a century in the review) that elapses in the story. Mine doesn't have this.

Another similarity is that there are zombies. Well, maybe that's a vague term. In mine there are people that can be classified loosley as zombies based on something integral to the plot. In The Passage these creatures aren't necessarily zombies but "viral" vampires? Whatever that is, it sounds like it may be close to zombies and I've actually heard someone say the resemblance is close.

To get back on topic, I couldn't help but feel like someone had beaten me to the punch of what my story was about. Now, like I've said, I haven't read this book. And I probably won't as I don't want to take anything from it when I end up writing my own story. But, I fully intend to go ahead and write my story once I finish writing my southern gothic tale. The story I have in mind feels like something unique and very interesting, so I'd be a fool not to write it.

I'm just saddened that while I'm in the middle of writing one story and sitting on another great idea, another writer has stumbled upon some aspects of my plot and beaten me to the punch (or publisher) with it.

Wallowing in Southern Gothic

2010-04-24T18:21:00.000-04:00

Broadening my reading spectrum has turned me into a monster! I've come to the realization that I am really enjoying dystopian literature as well as southern gothic tales. Since venturing outside the boundaries of horror, I've found myself perusing the stories of Margaret Atwood, William Faulkner, Ray Bradbury, John Steinbeck, and the list goes on. Certainly these writers are not popular within the horror genre and if you had asked me what I thought of their work only a year and a half ago, I probably would have scoffed and said that I'm not much interested in their type of writing. Ah, how naive we are in the beginning.

Dystopian stories, I can understand liking, but never did I think I would embrace southern gothic. I actually hated Faulkner's As I Lay Dying upon completing it (which I believe I've mentioned in a previous blog). Now look at me, still can't pull my nose out of the southern gothic novels! Next on my reading list is Erskine Caldwell's Tobacco Road. While I am really enjoying the stories of these southern characters, people whom I'm actually a part of, I find that I'm also doing research.

I've recently begun writing a new novel. A southern gothic tale called Lathem's Legacy, which I also mentioned in a previous blog, so I won't rehash that here. My point is, I never thought I would find myself writing anything remotely close to the genre I'm writing now. Also, I should mention that so far (15,000 words into the story--roughly 65 pages) I haven't experienced any dread at approaching the blank page. This is something of a treat for a writer. With my first book, The Shadow People, there were many days when I sat down to write and found that the words were difficult to muster. It was a real chore to get my thousand words out of my head and onto the page. I'm grateful to say that I haven't experienced this yet with the new novel. Of course, I probably just jinxed myself and now will suffer an extreme case of writer's block.

Yes, fifteen thousand words is still very early in a novel, but I am using a new technique of outlining as I go that seems to be helping me navigate my storyline and giving my fuel for each future writing session. It feels great to be writing a novel again, one that I am eager to stick with above and beyond any other writing projects that happen to pop into my head. And before this becomes something of a nonsensical rant (I feel like I am beginning to babble), I just want to point out again how wonderful it is to read outside of one specific genre and come out with a book idea you never thought you would entertain in a million years. Who knows? This could be my big breakout novel and to think I never would have considered writing it in the not-too-distant past.

Spring is in the air, and so is writing fever!

2010-04-10T17:14:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I've blogged anything. Some of this has to do with my new job, which keeps me very busy. Some of it is because I'm lazy when it comes to blogging as I tend to focus much of my writing on my short stories and novels.

I mentioned last that one of my stories, Hush, Hush, My Love, would be in a forthcoming issue of Shroud Magazine. I am anxiously awaiting that issue, which is the 9th issue by the way. I expect it will probably come out sometime in the Summer. Please, be sure to pick up a copy. If you like it, send me some feedback via my website.

I've begun work on a new novel. Something much different than my normal work. As anyone who knows me or my writing know, I usually write only horror or dark fiction with an occasional science fiction story thrown in for fun. Well, since I've been reading outside of my genre, I've discovered a huge goldmine of fantastic stories and authors. Namely, the Southern Gothic writers. I recently read Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, the first Faulkner story I've ever read. At first, I hated it. I got hung up on Vardaman's POV stream-of-consciousness. The story stuck with me though, like a popcorn kernel caught between your teeth. I worked at it, mulling the story over in my mind until I finally developed an admiration for it (I still don't like Vardaman's POV though). I read Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, and now I'm reading The Grapes of Wrath. The first Southern Gothic books that started my love of this sub genre were Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and John Grisham's A Painted House. I look back on each of these novels with a fondness and took something away from each one. The novel I'm currently working on is in this same vein. It's called Lathem's Legacy and I'm using many of the different techniques from the aforementioned authors to create this piece. From Steinbeck's use of dialect, to Faulkner's use of character POV to tell each story, to Lee's and Harper's way of introducing grotesque characters who are realistic, believable, and at the same time, slightly pitiful.

This is a story about Georgia farmers during the early 1950s dealing with one of their family members fighting overseas in the Korean conflict. I am trying to write in such a way that doesn't show southern people in a bad light. I wanted to tell the story of a family that was respectable, such as the family in To Kill a Mockingbird. Through a changing POV for each chapter, I want to give the reader a sense of the characters: the way they think and act, and how they view their family and peers. The overall story arc is centered around how the family deals with the absence of Lathem, the oldest boy of the Whitfield family. There are several subplots, including an illegitimate pregnancy, one person's struggle with living in the shadow of an abusive alcoholic father and town scoundrel, the bond of friendship between a boy and a mentally handicapped man, and the defense of a friend in the face of danger.

When I first set out to write, I never thought I would pen anything outside of horror. If you'd have told me that I would try writing a Southern Gothic novel, I would have scoffed at the idea. Since reading the previously mentioned books, I've grown a deep appreciation for these writers and their stories. I never liked the idea of setting any of my previous stories in the south. I don't know why since I am a southern native. I guess I just felt that the south wasn't an exotic locale for a story. But, since reading several stories about the south, I've learned a lot. Especially, that writing about a place you know makes the work of adding verisimilitude that much easier than making up a location from scratch. Also, combining traits of people you know to create new and varying characters opens up a whole new world of exciting characters to live in my stories.

In addition to the Southern Gothic novels, I've also been reading more dystopias. Aside from Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World, I've read Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and begun reading Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, which is simply brilliant. This caused me to begin a short story (maybe it will turn into a novella, time will tell) called Jurisprudence. This is the story of a man who receives a summons from The State to appear in court. He has no idea why he is summoned as he can think of no circumstance when he has broken the law--this sounds much like the premise of Kafka's The Trial, which is in my reading queue, but is not a ripoff, I assure you. Throughout the story, I want to paint the picture of a dystopia where corporations rule the country and people are merely grist for the mill, keeping the cogs of the business machine turning. Through the actions and dialogue, I want the reader to get a sense of what this future world is like. Not until the main character's trial does the real drama unfold. This story, as well as the novel mentioned above, are both still works in progress, but they were born out of ideas that came to me as a result of exposing myself to new worlds through reading various books outside of my usual genre.

I guess this post is just a case in point of my original advice to throw caution to the wind and pick up some books you normally would never have read. You never know how a book will impact you and change your outlook on things. If it weren't for me adhering to this philosophy, I would probably still be churning out bland horror tales.

I'm going to be published. It's been an arduous journey.

2010-03-20T11:45:00.000-04:00

I mentioned in my news feed earlier in the month that I was going to be published in Shroud Magazine. My story, Hush, Hush My Love, will be in the 9th issue. That means it will probably be out this summer. If you haven't heard of Shroud, and you're a fan of horror and dark fiction, I urge you to get a subscription to this magazine. The editor, Tim Deal, is a really nice guy and puts together a top-quality magazine. It's definitely worth getting a subscription. Also, I want to share my story with you, so even if I can't persuade you to buy a subscription, at least buy the 9th issue. I'm sure you'll find that your money was well spent.

I just want to say that this news has put me over the moon. I've received a substantial number of rejections. I've entered stories into contests, sent them to all the magazines that I think would enjoy them and received only rejection. In retrospect, I think some of the stories I submitted deserved rejection. I was more naive early on, and now that I've learned a lot and my writing's matured more (although, it still has more maturing to do), I can look at those earlier stories with a more critical eye. I see why they didn't work at the time. For some of them, the story was weak or cliche. My dialogue was not up to par. Even though some (only a few, mind you) of those stories received a warm welcome from my first readers, the editors at the various magazines where I sent them thought otherwise. So, for Tim to send me an acceptance letter was a welcome relief.

I'm very happy with the story, too. It's called Hush, Hush My Love. Like most of my stories, this one came out of nowhere. But, unlike the rest of my stories, this one had some hypnotising quality to it. Thinking back to the writing process, it almost seems mystical, like I can't quite identify why this story, among all of the ones before it, should stand out in my mind so. If I could put my finger on the aspect that makes it stand out from the rest, I'd try to harness that ability so I could write nothing but publishable stories. But, unfortunately, that's not the way the writing process is. Even the big names write stinkers from time to time.

I guess it's just a sign that says my writing is getting better. It doesn't mean I won't write stories that are bad. I think it just means that I'll write fewer stinkers; the ratio of good to bad is finally beginning to shift. I hope you'll pick up a copy of Shroud Magazine's 9th issue and read my story. If you like it (or even if you don't), I'd appreciate you leaving me some feedback on my website.

Reading outside of your genre

2010-03-20T10:24:00.000-04:00

Most writers have probably heard that to improve their craft they should read widely, even outside of their genre. While there are many who do this without hesitation, there are some who find it painful to venture beyond the comfort zones of their favorite genre. In the past, I was also guilty of this latter habit.

My favorite genre has always been horror. My bookshelf had no diversity among the authors that sat atop the shelves. One would only have to look at my titles to see that Stephen King was my favorite author. I had heard the advice to read widely and avoided doing so. Eventually, I received some books a friend was throwing out. While sifting through the boring non-fiction titles in the pile, I came across some John Grisham books. I knew he had a reputation for writing novels about lawyers. While this did not appeal to me in the least (I have a distaste for lawyers, which is a long story in itself), I took them anyway. Who would turn down free books, right? The two Grisham books I took with me were, King of Torts and A Painted House. One night, after having finished yet another Stephen King book and feeling like reading something very different, I scanned the books in my queue and saw A Painted House. I pulled it from the shelf and began reading it.

Never have a enjoyed a book so much! I was delighted to find that John Grisham had written a superb non-lawyer novel. It was like a revelation to me. After finishing that book, I read Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. Yet another great book that I should've read in high school but didn't due to ignorant stubbornness. Since then, I've gone back and read many more classics that I never enjoyed when I was younger. I have also extended my tastes, purchasing books from so many different genres. From satirical to crime/drama to literary. Recently, I read Cormac McCarthy's No Country For Old Men after watching the movie and found the book, as thin as it is, to be a gem of a story.

To look at my bookshelves now, one would see a very diverse landscape of book titles. I find myself looking back on the various genres with an extreme sense of joy. I've knocked down the walls of my favorite genre, left the narrow confines of the comfortable and walked into the daylight, experienced the really great and the awful. My writing has begun to reflect changes from the new experiences I've had when reading authors like McCarthy, Bradbury, Huxley, Orwell, and Faulkner, to name a few. I've seen how more notable authors handle character development, desciption, dialogue, pacing, themes, symbolism, and mood. It helps me identify the flaws in my own work and that of other writers.

Since this epiphany, I no longer find myself in Barnes & Noble, scrounging among the familiar aisle searching for quality horror novels. Instead, I walk down the unfamiliar aisles, scanning book titles and covers for something intriguing. I read the back cover and, if it sounds at all interesting, I find myself buying books by authors I may have only vaguely heard about in the past, if at all. Most times, I'm satisfied with the new books I choose and the story they have to tell. Other, less often times, I find that what I've read was disappointing or outright horrible. But, even these bad books have their own lessons; mainly, how not to do something.

When meeting new writers, I like to discover who their influences were and how widely they read. More often than not, I learn that they only read a certain genre and are hesitant to venture outside of it. While I can certainly understand this hesitation and apprehension, I try to encourage them to break out of that habit. Sure, you can learn how other successful writers in a genre do things. You can even see what's been done to exhaustion and steer clear of those pitfalls, but to not expose yourself to the other stories out there is to rob yourself of an excellent writing education. Reading such diverse material will shed light on new techniques that can enrich your writing and strengthen the skills you, as a writer, bring into your stories.

So, if you're one of those new writers flailing in a shallow puddle trying to learn to swim, let me implore you to come over to the ocean of diverse literature. Wade in. The water's fine. Really, it is. And, I'm sure you'll learn plenty.

Giving this another go!

2010-01-30T18:09:00.000-05:00

I've been away too long from my blog, and from my writing for that matter. I recently got another job, after being unemployed for over a year. Although, I must admit, it was a wonderful year of sleeping in and reading books late into the night. My only regret is that I didn't use my days wisely to accomplish more writing than I did.

Since starting my new job (I've only been there a week), I haven't sat down to write anything and it really makes me want to kick myself. I promised myself that I would sit down this weekend to write. Of course, I've done that in the past and wasted my opportunity because I ended up watching a movie or playing a game instead of writing. Not today, though! Today has been a wet and dreary day outside. Oh, and also cold. Can't forget to mention the winter storm that supposed to be bearing down on us.

Well, I got online and visited some author sites to build my motivation. Actually, my motivation was pretty much piqued already, but it never hurts to read motivational words from other (successful) authors. So, I went to Dennis Lehane, Elmore Leonard, and Cormac McCarthy's websites and browsed for a little bit. Then, before I could let the procrastination bug bite me, I closed my browser and opened my editor. I started close to one o'clock this afternoon.

I worked on the first draft of a short story I started yesterday called Help Wanted. I had only written four pages previously. I finished the first draft today and it came in at a whopping 20+ pages! When I finished it, I opened another short story I had started earlier called Swiftly, the End Cometh. I only had one written page to begin with, but now that I've finished, it's well over ten. I know, that doesn't seem like much, but I looked at the clock when I finished writing and saw that it was almost 6:00 PM.

THAT'S A LOT OF WRITING, PEOPLE! Well, for me at least. Especially, in one day. And now look at this. I'm blogging, which means that I'm writing even more. I've been bitten by the writing bug and damn it feels good!

Okay, that's enough for today. I just wanted to write for any readers out there to let you know that if you make yourself sit down to write (even when you don't want to) you can accomplish a lot of writing. The key is making yourself do it.

One last thing, which I just discovered: my foot's asleep! Argh!

Away too long...but I'm back!

2010-01-07T09:47:00.000-05:00

In my last blog, I spoke about perseverance being the most important thing to aspiring writers. I'm here today (after a lengthy hiatus) to reiterate and drive home that point!

It is with a heavy heart that I must return to the land of the 9-to-5ers. Due to certain circumstances, my time spent at home working on my short stories and novels has come to an end. I must return to work in order to pay down some bills like most normal people. For me, that means returning to an office environment where I will program computers. I know, I know. There are those of you who might read this and think an office job? when you work outdoors or in too-cold or too-hot warehouse jobs that think I'm a big whiny baby. Well, believe me when I tell you, it's not as nice as you think! I've worked in warehouses and outside during the summer and winter, and I can sympathize with you. I'd return to one of those jobs again if the money was there, unfortunately friends, it ain't!

Sure, the money for programming computers is really nice and you don't have to lift heavy things all day. Hell, you don't get dirty doing it and you get to sit down while you work. All of that is gravy...so why am I bitching about it? Because of two things: first, I am a writer (preferably novels and stories instead of computer code) and this is far from the writing I want to do; and second, office politics! Yes, office politics is the bane in the mix, which destroys the enjoyment of all the aforementioned benefits. I know, I've run into again and again.

When starting a new office job, it's usually really nice. The new people you meet are usually nice because you're new and they're feeling you out. Your workload is fairly light, until they determine how capable you are of doing the job. You're enlightened by the large paychecks you're receiving to start filling that dwindling checking account and hold the creditors at bay.

But, then the happy sunlight is obscured by dark clouds as those happy friendly people start turning sour. Your workload increases because they realize what a good worker you are. Others around you slack off and get you to do their work for them by complaining that their stuff doesn't work and it's your fault. Yes, that stuff actually happened to me at my last job. It was great at first, but after having been there for a couple of years and learning the ins and outs of the business, everyone around me began to pass the blame when something went wrong. Where did the blame end up, you ask? Why, with the programmers, of course. So, I am not happy at all by the notion that I must return to that cut-throat environment. I'd rather work in a warehouse or at a fastfood restaurant if the money was there, but it's not, as I've said.

So, back to my driving home the importance of perseverance. I felt myself getting quite depressed with the notion that I had to cut back my writing and begin mingling with the daytime workforce again. Not to mention, I received some rejections between Christmas and New Years for some stories that I thought were exceptional. A voice inside me said, You'll never make it as a writer now! This will suck out all of your motivation to write. That thought scared the hell out of me and when I whined to my wife about being a failure, about the publishing industry being a tight-knit incestuous group that went above and beyond to keep out members, she looked at me sincerely and said that I was getting too worked up, taking my rejections personally and that I could still write.

I realized she was right. I was being too over dramatic. I had cast aside my own advice to other writers. I reread my last blog and vowed that I would not give up my endeavor to continue writing and see my work through to publication. And, I want this to be a prime example to anyone who reads this and feels that they want to give up, that they just can't make it. DON'T QUIT NOW! KEEP GOING, PERSEVERING! Eventually, you'll make it. The climb to the top of writing success is steep and arduous. Persevere.

Perseverance: The most important word for authors

2009-11-17T12:25:00.000-05:00

I've been struggling with demons lately. Of those demons, the worst has been procrastination. I find myself waking in the morning, vowing to accomplish a lot of work on my novel during the day. Instead, I find myself planted in front of the computer reading blogs by literary agents and editors about the publishing industry. I tell myself that I'm not wasting time because I need to know what's going on in the publishing industry. When I get off the computer, I pace through the house, looking for things to do. I might wash dishes, which is actually something that sucks if neglected. I eventually find myself sitting on the sofa, watching television or surfing through the channels to find something to watch. God knows that daytime television is an absolute waste of time to begin with because there's never anything worth watching anyway. Usually, I can pull myself away and plant my butt in front of my laptop to knock out some editing or to write a few pages. My goal is to edit/write 10 pages each day, but recently, that number has dwindled and I find myself compromising with a few pages, varying between 3 to 5 each day.

I'm losing my forward momentum and I realize that to stay on this path is the smooch of death. So, today I asked myself what was the problem. Why was I plagued with this monkey of procrastination on my back? I believe I've found the answer. When I wrote the first draft of my first novel, I made myself sit down and write 1,000 words everyday. During that time, I had days when I couldn't bring myself to reach my goal, let alone sit down in front of the computer. That's just life, we're not machines, after all. But, I also had a penalty system. If I missed a day, that meant that I had to double up the following day. I was pretty firm with myself about this and finished my first draft three months after starting it.

Now that I'm revising that first draft (I'm currently on the third revision) and working on the first draft of my second novel, I've found myself in a major procrastination rut. When I looked deeply at the cause, I realized that some of the problem arose from the blogs I've been reading. Most of the agents talk about certain elements that make a story sellable: intriguing plot, voice, style, believable dialog, rich characterization, visual settings and imagery, etc. I've since gone back and asked myself whether these elements were evident in my work. Feeling a boatload of self doubt, I find it intimidating to sit down and continue to embarrass myself at my laptop. Also, making repetitive passes through a mountain of pages to look at the dialog, characterization, etc. is such a daunting task that it takes the wind right out of my sails. I find myself without the motivation to continue.

Now that I've identified the problem, it seems that the only solution is to just persevere, to lower my head and charge into the task at hand. Internally, I feel as if I'm on a timeline with a quickly approaching deadline that I know I'll fail to meet. But rationally, I know there is no such deadline. My eagerness to sell and publish my first book is getting me worked up. Self doubt is playing into it as well, squashing my motivation. If I don't stop it now, this could be a never ending cycle. I guess this is what writer's block is like. I've heard many writers discuss about this problem, but have never experienced it myself until now. But, I know what I have to do.

When I finish this blog, I'll turn off the stupid TV and plant myself in front of my laptop, and like the Nike slogan says, just do it! I urge you to do the same.

How do you separate yourself from the multitude of other writers?

2009-11-10T12:09:00.000-05:00

With such fierce competition between the numerous aspiring authors trying to get their books published, every author should do what he/she can to make themselves stand out in a publisher's mind so that they will get the recognition they deserve. Now, I'm not going to say that you should pull silly gimicky tricks to make an editor notice your query letter among the heap they peruse daily. No. I'm talking about using your craft to get the attention of an editor. What I am going to say here is very importnant. These are things I've noticed just from reading what publishers produce and communicating with other writers. Frankly, some of it is appalling.

I like to say that seeking a publisher or literary agent is very similar to competing in American Idol. I say this because if you watch American Idol, there are hundreds of thousands of people who audition for that show. Out of that multitude, some actually have talent. The rest? Well, they're disillusioned individuals that think they have talent. Now, I can't sing. If I tried, people might pay me to stop! But rest assured, you won't see me in line to audition for that show. At least I know I can't sing, so there's no use in me trying. But what about all those idiots that stand in line, waiting to waste the judges' time? How can they not know that they suck? I mean, really! Well, I feel that many aspiring writers today are equivelant to these talentless asshats that tryout for AI and think they have talent. Of course, I believe that editors and agents are too professional to tell a horrible writer that they suck as candidly as Simon Cowell delivers the news point-blank. I think it would be a much different industry if editors/agents were so blunt.

I like to follow literary agents' and publishers' blogs to keep abreast of the industry and changes in it. Also, I try to follow some professional authors' blogs (not only because I enjoy what many of them have to say, but because they can teach me things about the craft of writing and the publishing industry). I even follow some of the unpublished writers. Now, the aspiring writers are the best, in my opinion, because they are like a yard stick by which I can measure myself against the competition. For instance, one writer said they were going to write four different stories for four different submission calls they heard about. Well, that's fine and dandy, but I've read quite a bit of this writer's previous stories and they all stank (again, my opinion--well, and a few of my friends' opinions as well). The writer in question comes across too brash, always trying to whip out a story like a switchblade in a streetfight. When a writer acts that hastily, usually their work suffers because of it. This writer is no exception. All it takes is to read this writer's work to see that spelling and grammatical mistakes go unchecked because the writer is too caught up in the daydream of being in print and hurries toward it without heed. As a writer, your work reveals a lot about you. Writers should not try to publish (or self-publish) a piece of work until it is as error free as possible. Otherwise, you come across sloppy and/or lazy.

I also find it embarrassing to correspond with other writers only to learn that their messages are peppered with misspellings or that the idea the writer tried to convey was jumbled and difficult to follow. As writers, we're supposed to be wordsmiths. Our vocation is using words to paint visual imagery to our readers, to efficiently and elegantly describe or convey something to those reading our prose. When I read an email or message from a fellow writer and I see ungrammatical text and the sender is telling me they write, have written, or better yet, are published, I can't help but roll my eyes and wonder whether they are just lying. I mean, what kind of agent or editor would represent such a sloppy, lazy person? I know you may be reading this and asking yourself where I get off thinking I'm God's gift to the reading world. Well, I don't want to come off sounding so high-handed, but goddamn it, someone needs to bring attention to this situation.

I read the work of a professional author recently (I won't mention any names, but this writer is fairly prolific) and I was amazed that a major publishing house represented this writer. I actually thought that the writer must've finished a first draft and submitted it to their agent/editor. Well, maybe I shouldn't say editor, because if an editor did read any of the manuscript, he/she should've wiped their ass with it because to say they read it and then published it that way, well that agent/editor should be fired! So enough of my ranting. I wanted to talk about ways to set yourself apart from this large crowd of non-writers that are also seeking to publication.

First, I must strongly urge you to pay very close attention to your writing. Walk amongst the trees again! Reread your work once it's finished, seeking out those misspellings and unclear thoughts. Fix them! This is called editing. It exists for a reason. I know it's boring and sometimes very tedious, but without it, you may come across to the reader as a moron or lazy. I usually edit my short stories several times before they ever see the light of day. Another trick is to get a couple of close friends (people that will tell you honestly what they think of your story) to read your work and provide feedback. Also, make sure these people are fairly literate. There's no need asking someone that never reads for their opinion. Try to steer clear of people that will tell you that they love your work because they wouldn't want to hurt your feelings by telling you that they did not like what they read. I believe there are a lot of writers out there with this problem. Actually, I'm quite sure of it! I've seen authors with dreadfully bad stories posted on the internet and the comments have all been sugar-coated bullshit about how well the story was written, etc. Please! This does nothing to help the writer improve and only gives him/her a false sense of pride. Make sure you receive honest, educated feedback. My wife is my first reader (she's an English professor) and I listen to most everything she says about what I should correct. However, sometimes I might disagree with her on more subjective things. In which case, I leave it the way I originally wrote it, but this is quite rare.

Okay, I know I've praddled on quite a bit so I'll offer up one more bit of advice: study the really successful authors in the field. And not just one, but several. Get to know why they are successful. You should be able to glean this from reading their work and watching how they write descriptive scenes, their use of narration and dialog and a whole host of other things. You will learn volumes from their writing if you open up your mind to look for these things. Also, read some truly bad authors to learn what not to do. I think that if you follow this advice: learn your grammar, edit (edit, edit), let others provide unbiased feedback about your writing, and learn from the success or mistakes of other writers; you will single yourself out from the herd of talentless twits trying to take away from you that publishing slot.

One last thing: as a writer, you should always be improving and growing. Never stop doing that!

One Word, One Sentence, One Paragraph At A Time: Baby Steps Toward That First Novel

2009-10-22T18:10:00.000-04:00

It's almost NaNoWriMo time again and while I've never participated in this event I thought I'd comment on writing a novel. This is by no means a nut-and-bolt breakdown of writing something as monumental as a novel, but it should spur some motivation in anyone who reads this and wants to make the commitment it takes to undergo the journey to produce something as lengthy as a book. Here's how I do it, in a nutshell...

It's amazing how many people want to become writers, or at least, how many say they want to write a book. Most of these people never make the time to ever write to begin with, but that's a whole different topic I may address later. For those that do make the time and then sit down, trying to write, they soon become frustrated by the monumental task of writing a novel. I didn't have that problem when I wrote my first book, The Shadow People. I read Stephen King's book, On Writing, prior to embarking on the task of writing. (I seem to do everything the hard way first)

In his book, King says to commit to a regimen of 1,000 words every day (and that it is permissible to take one day off each week). He said that in a period of three months, one could have a novel. Granted, there is a lot of other factors that come into play: creativity, a good story idea, and fortitude, to name but a few. I already had an idea, however, and I did as he said. I sat down each day in a closed room and did a brain dump, putting my 1,000 words (or more, sometimes less) down on paper. Well, actually into the computer, but whatever, let's not split hairs here.

After three months had passed I had my first draft complete. I didn't sit and worry about how long the story should be, or suffering through a certain number of pages. I think if any of those concerns had carried much weight I might have been doomed before I started. I simply began strolling among the trees, comprised of words and scenes, until eventually, I came out on the other side and was able to turn and look back at the forest I had traveled through. It was a spectacular feeling!

Oh sure, there were days when I sat and tried to write those thousand words, but nothing wanted to come out. Those days were tough, but I stayed at my desk until I finished, and then there were days when I wrote two to five thousand words. Those days didn't come as often, however. For me, I simply sat down and looked at where I had left off. Once I was reacquinted with my place in the story, I watched as it unfolded in my head like recapping a movie or television show. As it played out, I sat by as a spectator, recording what I saw happening on the stage of my mind. With this technique, it's harder for the writer to pace the floor worrying about how many words he/she has written, or how many more they have to write to be finished for the day. Your job at this point is to simply watch happens and write what you see. The content will make itself: first as a word, then a sentence, and finally forming each paragraph at a time.

Writing is not an easy job. It's hard! Much harder than I first thought. Sitting down to write for one's self takes a lot of the difficulty out of it, but if you're writing for an audience and a living, there's so much more to worry about than how many words you can suffer through. If suffering through them is your primary concern, you shouldn't be writing anyway because then there's no joy in it. So, if you still want to write and you take it serious, just sit back and let your mind play and your fingers fly. Your story will eventually write itself. Just get it from your head to the paper. There's no one else that can transcribe that masterpiece but you, and the second draft is where you worry about fine-tuning it.

Stranger in a strange land: Crossing over the genre line

2009-10-14T11:14:00.000-04:00

When I first started writing, I wrote only horror stories. Horror is my passion. I'm a horror junkie. Whether it be movies, television, or books, I prefer horror. I love all the old slasher films. I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and now I am a huge fan of the show Supernatural. I read mainly Stephen King for scares. Yes, I pigeon-holed myself as a horror writer because it's what I love to read, so naturally it's what I chose to write.

My best friend and writer, Mark, is quite the opposite. He is a sci-fi author. Which stands to reason since he is as passionate about science fiction and space as I am with the dark and my monsters. I do not want to be labeled as only a horror writer, however. When you stand back and look, you'll see that Stephen King, although called the King of Horror, does not write only horror stories. He has written science fiction (the first one to come to mind is a short story called The Jaunt), fantasy (the whole Dark Tower series) and other works of fiction, although I'm not sure quite how I would label them (The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile).

Although I love horror and want to dethrone my idol, Stephen King, I don't want to simply be complacent in the horror genre. I want to spread my wings, flex my creative mind and reach out to other realms of writing. It's definitely a great way to excercise your creativity. I decided to try my hand at science fiction because fantasy and other genres, mystery, romance, etc. do not appeal to me. I will say, however, that they may appeal to me one day, just not right now. Science fiction never appealed to me before, with a couple of exceptions: Stephen King's The Jaunt and Ray Bradbury's awesome story, Mars Is Heaven. I have always loved that story because it broke the stereotypical mold I had of the genre being dominated by pasty nerds in glasses swooning over space stories such as Star Trek and Star Wars. (Note: I enjoy watching Star Trek and loved Star Wars as a child, but Star Wars has somehow lost its luster to me as an adult.) What appealed to me about Bradbury's story was how it did not take place in a space craft among the stars (granted, there is a space ship, but the setting is more like that of Earth). The twist ending was the thing I loved most. I am a huge fan of Twilight Zone-Rod Serling-ish endings. That's what turns my dials up to ten. Another thing that turned me off from the science fiction genre was the notion that the field has been too heavily mined, much like Vampire stories in the horror genre, there just wasn't much unexplored territory.

That last notion is somewhat of a misconception, in my opinion. Sure, the genre has been heavily mined but so has the horror genre, that's why a creative mind is so vitalas well as reading broadly. Stephen King once said that writing is like being ushered into a vast building with more doors than one can open in a lifetime, and as a writer, you're given leave to open as many as you like. It's definitely true with all writing, no matter the genre. I recently read a sci-fi story called Blood Child, which blew me away. Again, it did not take place aboard a space craft, which intrigued me because of my stereotypical view of the genre. It now ranks top in my mind, next Bradbury's story, sitting aloft that pedestal with Mars Is Heaven. I decided to try my hand at writing some sci-fi. I explored the farthest recesses of my mind for a good story angle. I came up with a black hole scenario (again, mined to death). I kicked it around, looking for some new spin on it, but no matter what I dreamed up, it seemed too cliche. After letting the idea ferment for about a week, something came to me. I had the perfect twist ending. I sat down and pounded the story out and began editing it. I had written my first science fiction piece! One that I am quite proud of.

Bitten with the bug, I decided to see if lightning would strike twice. I racked my brain for different scenarios, but my lack of science fiction exposure hindered me. After all, I do not read much science fiction, so I was niave about what had been overdone and what was on the fringes of the genre. For me, it was unmapped territory. I began reading science fiction stories to test the boundaries and get a feel for the style of some notable authors. Finally, another idea came to me. I wrote it down in my Ideas file for later. While I thought I was stuck for ideas days ago, another story emerged from the abyss, bubbling up like Texas-T for old Jedd Clampett. I watched a television show that mentioned The Lost Colony of Roanoke, a subject that has always intrigued me. I turned the mystery around in my mind and got a great idea for a science fiction yarn. A story that I'm currently editing. Since then, I've had some other ideas for sci-fi stories. I've even written my first poem!

My point is this: don't try to pigeon-hole yourself because other genres don't appeal to you. If you give them a try, reading several different stories by several different authors, you may find that you like some of the works in a particular genre and that can open up a new area for you to excercise your writing abilities. This is why I said earlier that while I don't like romance and mystery, it's not to say that I never will. To subscribe to that theory would make me closed minded, and close mindedness (to me, at least) is an author's poison. So spread your creative wings and fly!

Releasing your book into the wild: When is the best time to submit your work?

2009-10-07T11:02:00.000-04:00

I've encountered this quite a bit lately and even wrestled with the question myself. I recently read on a writer's bulletin board a post that basically asked when one should finish a work and move on to the next WIP (work-in-progress for those that don't already know). A literary agent even addressed this question as well, so I decided to further the topic. As I've said, I wrestled with this conundrum myself, but luckily, I've managed to see past it. While I still haven't actually released my novel into the wild yet, I have gotten the inspiration to get it finished much quicker.

Here's my account: I began writing The Shadow People in 2005, before my horrible divorce. It took me 3 months to write the first draft. I set it aside while my life was turned upside down. I tried editing the hard copy in 2006, but felt it was too monumental of a task along with the ongoing divorce, so I quit after 80 pages. In 2007, after remarrying, I pulled out the manuscript and began thinking of how to edit the monstrous thing. I had a ream of pages before me and the mere sight of it took the wind out of my sails. Finally, I sat down with a legal pad and pen and read the whole thing through, creating an outline of revision notes on the pad. I thought it was horribly written and decided it needed a rewrite. I eventually rewrote it, although I don't remember how long it took to do so, but I think it was relatively quick. I put it aside again, to let it mellow. While it was tucked away, I began other novels, leaving them in various stages to work on other projects that felt more interesting. Finally, I stood back and looked at the mess of WIPs I had accumulated, realizing that if I kept on like this I would always have plenty of unfinished projects out there and nothing to show for it. Meanwhile, I kept reading agent blogs and news of debut authors selling their books to publishers. If I wanted to join these new authors' ranks, then I knew I had to get off my ass and quit procrastinating with my work. Like writing a first draft, I vowed to set some limits to accomplish the goal. I committed to editing a minimum of 10 pages each day. With 380 pages, it would take me just over a month. I made it through and it felt great! Now, I've decided to make one more pass, a 4th revision, but this one will be a lighter version since I've already completed the line-edit. I'll look at pacing, dialog that doesn't progress the story, etc. and clean all this up. When finished, I plan to distribute it to my first readers who've expressed an intrest in reading it to provide me with feedback.

The moral of my experience is this: writers are great at procrastinating! Whether they think of it that way or not, it's true. Maybe it's the trepidation we feel toward rejection. I could've continued telling myself that my work just wasn't good enough with each revision. Reading it over and over, feeling that I can do better than this. Of course, as writers, we should constantly be growing in our craft and this means that we will always look back at our older writing and see where we could improve it or express something better than we did. Even the famous authors have published books they can look back on, thinking, Wow, I could've done better than that! At least they're published! This is what finally lit the fire under my ass. I want to join the ranks of published novelists, so I decided to get the story written to the best of my current ability. If you sit on the manuscript, thinking you can always do it better, then you'll probably find yourself in the same detrimental cycle I was in. Eventually, you have to see if it has wings and can fly from the nest.

Banned Book Week: I'm a little late with this...

2009-09-30T17:34:00.000-04:00

but, better late than never. Yes, I'm blogging today about Banned Book Week. I've been poring over the lists and statistics of banned books and I'm amazed. There are some real party poopers out there that want to ruin the fun that literature brings to people. Mainly, these people that challenge a book's worth and merit are parents. They do so because they are supposedly looking out for their child's best interest. Well, that's pretty noble, I guess. I have three boys of my own, but I've never taken to the streets or written my local library or school board because of what my kids are reading. Hell, I'd love it if they showed more interest in reading! Here's some of my opinions about such behavior.

First, be proud that little Jimmy or Sally is reading at all! It's bad enough for books to compete with cable television, movies, video games, and cell phones. Most kids that I know only read a book when it is assigned in school. I must admit, I used to be the same way, shirking the reading assignments my teachers gave me. Now, however, I would be lost without a good book to read while I lay in bed before dozing off, or sitting on the back deck during a pleasant day.

Second, stop whining about what your child is reading (be glad they're reading at all-see first point above). The statistics for people intiating the banning of books show that the largest percentage are parents. Like I said above, trying to protect your child from profanity and sexually explicit material is noble, but do you really need to try to get a book banned because it has the words damn, hell, and ass inside? I think not. Also, I think that shielding your child from such expletives adversely effects them when they get out into the real world. I happened to look at the list of banned and challenged classics and I was amazed at some of the books on the list. There were books that I've read and never would have imagined being targeted for banning. One was To Kill A Mockingbird. I believe it was challenged because the intiator thought the content promoted racism. All I can do is shake my head at such narrow-mindedness.

Third, most of the reasons for these challenges against the books are brought up by people who want the world to see things as they see them. They majority of these people might be religious fanatics, I don't know, but I do know that they want to squash intellectual freedom by imposing their views on the rest of us. Why is it that because someone out there disagrees with something, they have to get up in arms and start a crusade? Reading is just like watching the TV: if you don't like what you're seeing or hearing, turn the channel! In the case of books, close the cover and return it to the library or get a refund, but do not try and ban the book and ruin the entertainment value for the rest of us. Just because we don't see eye-to-eye doesn't mean I have to do things your way, and vice versa.

Now that I've had my say and gotten that off my chest, here is a link to the banned books week website: Banned Books Week

Eschew obfuscation: Why do so many writers try to sound so literary?

2009-09-28T18:50:00.000-04:00

I received an anthology the other day in the mail. I ordered it online from a publisher where I wanted to submit a story. I wanted to get a feel for the type of writing the editors published. All of the stories in the anthology had been published on the publisher's website, but were also winners out of other stories. I opened the cover and began reading the first story. It was horrible!

I will compliment the author on her immense vocabulary, but did she really have to try to use all of her big words in that one story? Was she trying to impress someone? The use of so many uncommon words made the story artificial and labored. I suffered through the story, trying to quickly get to the next. When I finally reached the next story, it too, used flamboyant words throughout and I don't mean one or two scattered liberally here and there. I mean, every other word (well, not quite, but pretty damn close) was some obcsure word to lend the prose some kind of descriptive literary merit. It was horrible and painful to read!

Okay, you may be thinking that I'm being too critical here, but seriously, why must writers go out of their way to sound so literary? Having a large vocabulary is great, don't get me wrong, but do you have to bludgeon readers over the head with your fancy words? I had the problem myself, of trying to hard to sound literate with my earlier writing and occassionally it tries to creep back into my writing. Luckily, I have a constant reader that tells me when I'm trying too hard to sound literate. I was completely unaware that I was doing this until she pointed it out to me. I just knew that when I reread some of my work it was stilted and jagged on the ear, but I couldn't pinpoint what the problem was until it was brought it to my attention.

Now, when I finish writing something, I sit down with it and look for any places that rub me the wrong way. Usually, the places that tend to do this are where I've tried too hard to sound like I'm trying to impress my readers with my words. Falling into this trap is bullshit, and doing so will show in your writing, sticking out like a turd among the flowers. It is my opinion, however, that some authors can actually pull off this feat. If you pick up a book by one of these successful authors and read it, pay close attention to the flow of the narrative. I bet you any amount of money that the author will write as casually as they converse even if they have an extensive vocabulary.

I'm not saying to disregard all of your eloquent words. I'm just reiterating something King said in his book, On Writing, use the first word that comes to your mind. If you do this then you will more than likely write prose that flows unencumbered and doesn't jag on the ear. If you haven't read his book about the craft, I encourage you to do so. It's very informative. In it, he says that language doesn't always need to wear a tie and lace-up shoes. I agree. As you're writing, if you stop to think of a more impressive word to use in place of your small words, you'll come up with one. But, really, do you want to use a word that's only cousin to the word that first came to your mind? It's powerful stuff, that bit of advice. The only writer that really blew me away with the use of his extensive vocabulary without ruining the story I read was T. C. Boyle. He is one of the exceptions to the rule, however. He still manages to deliver beautiful prose wrapped inside those large words, but that is because he knows what he's doing. He's been doing it for decades. If you doubt it, then by all means, continue to write obfuscated prose and feel literate. As for me? I'll read something much less like a college dissertation, thank you.

Will a lofty advance sink your writing career?

2009-09-16T11:47:00.000-04:00

I'm still in the revision process for my novel, The Shadow People, and before I get hard at work editing everyday, I like to read blogs from literary agents, publishers, and other more notable authors to see what's happeing in the writing/publishing world. Basically, I'm looking for knowledge to get me over the hurdle of finding an agent to get my book published. I mean, what writer doesn't daydream about making it big by landing that glorious book deal and large advance so they can tell their boss to kiss off, right? Well, my daydream is becoming more and more tarnished the more I read about the publishing process. First, there are stats that say only so many books submitted are published (can't remember the exact figure, but it's pretty intimidating) and then there's some conflicting information I recently read about advances, which really got me to thinking.

One of the literary agents I follow is Rachelle Gardner. She is an agent with WordServer Literary and she recently posted blogs about advances paid to authors, most importantly, debut authors. I read both of these posts, which can be found here (part 1) and here (the followup). I urge you to read these blogs, they are a little daunting, especially the first one's title. After you read these, there is another blog you simply must read, here by an author saying not to accept any advance a publisher offers you because to do so would undoubtably wreck your writing career before it even gets off the ground.

Now, I'll admit, I read the first two blogs by Rachelle and felt slightly disappointed. I mean, I highly doubt my first book will be something that knocks the socks off literary agents, publishers, or the reading public, but I try to keep telling myself that it might get a warm reception and do fairly well on the bookshelves. What writer tells him or herself otherwise? To do so means that you've already thrown in the towel and declared defeat. What motivation would you have to continue if you thought that way? After I read the third blog, by Joe Quirk, I was dumbfounded. Whose advice or information is right? I mean, I'd listen to Rachelle because she is in the publishing world and I would trust what she has to say. On the other hand, if Joe isn't blowing smoke, then that would logically mean that since Rachelle is working for the publishing world, she would encourage authors to stick with traditional publishing so she could make her cut of the money. Is what Joe says a strategy of the pulishing industry to keep the competition fierce? Do they really share financial information about an author's sales with their competitors? If so, then this is some scary news!

I've got to say that, in his blog, Joe sounds quite bitter toward the large publishing houses. Maybe he got burned early on. Maybe he's like a lot of "writers" out there who think they are stellar literary types who only manage to produce swill when they put pen to paper. Who's to say? I'm simply offering these few links to you so that you can read and compare as I have. I intend to do more research into this to better determine how I might react when I get to this point in my writing career, and I urge you to do the same. It's better to be forewarned when approached with a publisher's offer.

A life of rejection...

2009-09-12T13:30:00.000-04:00

Okay, well, that was a bit strong, but I received two rejections this week. One for a flash story I wrote called Intruder and another I submitted to an anthology for nautical horror called Mark Avery's Final Voyage.

I've got several stories out there, waiting for some kind of response from editors. It's a painful thing for a writer to create something he/she really believes in and then send it out into the world seeking validation from others as to whether it is any good. On top of that, the waiting is nearly unbearable. I realize editors are inundated with large piles of manuscripts, so I understand this. I am not a very patient person, however, but I am learning to be more patient.

Intruder was a story that came to me one night as I was lying bed. I hurried to my computer and wrote down the idea so I could flesh it out the following day, which I did and then revised several times. I had no market in mind when I wrote the story, just a feeling that it needed to be written, to receive life, so to speak. Finally, I found a publisher of flash fiction tales and thought my story was a worthy candidate. It took about a month and a half before I received the rejection email from them. I was disappointed, but at least it's closure and I can still send it out to other editors.

On the very next day, I received word from the editor of the nuatical horror anthology that my story just wasn't right for them at this time. Again, I was disappointed, but I have set it aside until I can find another market for it.

I have three more stories waiting for some response from editors and the wait is killing me. In the meantime, I've decided to just knuckle down and complete the 3rd revision of my novel, The Shadow People, and create more short stories. This time when I write a short story, however, I am going to try to create something more cerebral than the last couple of yarns I've spun.