The Rabbit is on the Run

I have a new book out called Rabbit on the Run. This is a novella of southern literature--quite a departure from what I normally write. The story is set in the Depression-era south, about a field worker named Gordon Mosely who is running for his life from a lynch mob determined to see him swing from a rope for a murder he didn't commit. You can see the cover over in the right sidebar or click the link above to find where the story is available as well as read a little trivia about the story's concept.

If you're into southern literature, then may I also recommend my novel, Lathem's Lament. Despite taking place in different times, I think both stories go well together and compliment one another, especially if you're a fan of a bygone era.

These will probably be the last of the old southern tales I write for a while. I tend to write any story idea I fall in love with, regardless of worrying about staying within the boundaries of a certain genre, as some of you may already know. I'm working to try to finish several books I've already started, which I mentioned in this post and provided sneak peeks of the book covers. While I'm still planning to release those books, new ideas have come to me that I've fallen in love with and some of those have taken priority. My usual plan is to write the first draft of a story and then push it aside to mellow while I return to other works that have, hopefully, already mellowed. Lathem's Lament and Rabbit on the Run are two of those from the last batch of ideas that I've now harvested (so to speak). Carniville is in the editing process right now. Youthanasia and Consuming Darkness are still up in the air.

Lately, I've been returning to my roots: writing horror, and this is reflected in my next batch of story ideas. Currently, I'm hard at work on a story called What Goes Around, about nine children who vanish from a carousel in 1958, in front of their parents. Sixty years later, the children miraculously reappear when three teenagers sneak into the amusement park and spin up the old carousel. I've written nearly one hundred pages of this book, but recently put it aside to edit Carniville. I'm anxiously looking forward to returning to it as well as beginning some other stories I've recently had ideas for. That's about all the inside scoop I have to offer at the moment, and why I've been so aloof from my blog. Hopefully, I'll have more stories ready to publish very soon, stories that all of you who're reading my blog or my books. I want you to be satisfied with what I put out there for you. Thanks for stopping by, and keep a lookout for my next releases!

Better late, than never

I know it's been a while since my last post, and I apologize for that. Since that last post, I released my latest novel, Lathem's Lament. It seems that a new release would be an exciting occasion for any author. So, you might be wondering why there wasn't more fanfare. Well, that's because I've been very busy--er, distracted--lately. You see, I've been concentrating my efforts in areas unrelated to writing. Namely, I recently gained custody of my youngest son, which is a huge relief and something I've been working toward for some time. However, there are still some legalities I must contend with, which are causing distractions.


But, of course, you didn't come here for any of that extraneous stuff. No, hopefully, you're here to learn more about my latest book. Well, thanks for your interest! Let me indulge you. Lathem's Lament is a Southern Gothic that I released April 4th. It's the story of few residents of a Georgia farming community in the summer of 1952. The main family, the Whitfields, are worrying about their oldest son, Lathem, as he fights in Korea. In addition, they also must contend with failing crops, mounting bills, some nefarious neighbors, and racial clashes.

The plot of the book came to me after reading several authors, namely, Faulkner, Caldwell, Steinbeck, and, probably more importantly, John Grisham. It may strike some people as odd to see Grisham's name among those who influenced a work of southern literature. First, I want to point out that I was largely inspired by William Faulkner's presentation in his book, As I Lay Dying. I thought it was brilliant how he told the story from each character's point-of-view. Of course, Faulkner is probably best known for his stream of consciousness, which is something I don't necessarily enjoy, but did execute. In my book, each chapter is from a different character's perspective, even their thoughts. What better way to get to know the people in the story than to get inside each one of their heads? Second, I have to give John Grisham a large part of inspirational credit, because it was his book, A Painted House, that really fueled my desire to write a southern novel. After reading his book, Lathem's Lament had taken root and began to grow quickly in my mind.

If you're a fan of southern literature, I highly recommend you read Lathem's Lament (of course, you saw that plug coming, didn't you?) Also, if you're not really a fan of southern literature, I'd still recommend it. Despite the rural southern setting, this book is an engaging character study, chock full of diverse characters with varying situations. And, what Southern Gothic doesn't have a supernatural element? As an added bonus, I've included the first chapter of my next story, Rabbit on the Run, at the end of the book. (You can find a lineup of my next couple of books here.)

So, if you haven't gotten a copy yet, see the book's page on my website for links where you can get your copy today. I think you'll enjoy it. And, if you do, please, leave a review. I'd certainly appreciate it. Thanks for stopping by.

Sneak Peek!

I may or may not have said in the past that I will no longer give any sneak peeks of any works in progress because the design can dramatically change before I actually release a book. Well, screw that! I'm feeling saucy. Maybe it's this beautiful weather. Maybe it's because my math studies are going so well. Who knows? Better yet, who cares?

I know I enjoy getting glimpses into other writers' minds when they share where they are with a story, especially when some of those stories are still near the edges of their radar in terms of being released. I figured I would share some of the things I am working on and give you a bit of information about their status in the process. A word of warning before we proceed, however. Keep in mind that some of these books are still in the creation process, so they are still very much apt to change. In addition, the synopses on the covers you will see are most likely going to change. Currently, these are placeholders, but they do reflect my intentions (more or less). Side note: you might think I'm a bit odd for creating the book covers before I've written the story. "That's not how (insert famous author's name here) does it!" Well, f***k (insert famous author's name here)! is what I say. I'm not that person and this is how I do it and find inspiration to keep plugging away. We cool with that? Okay then, so, here we go...


First, I present to you, Lathem's Lament. This is a Southern Gothic novel I have been kicking around since 2010. I wrote it after reading several classical southern writers such as Faulkner, Steinbeck, and Caldwell, to name but a few. I enjoyed many of their stories so much that I decided to try my hand at a story that was brewing during my reading. This is the end result. This story is already in print, but won't be available to the public until later this month or (very) early April. I've received a lot of positive feedback from my beta readers and have a couple of other beta readers going through it now. Anyone familiar with Faulkner's As I Lay Dying will see a similarity in the book's format. I really loved how he wrote each chapter as a different character's POV and wanted to do that with one of my own.


Next, we have Rabbit on the Run, another Southern Gothic, this time from the Depression-era. Currently, this is a novella. I just finished the first draft of this story this past week. For some reason, I'm finding that writing southern literature is loads of fun. I questioned whether southern literature still had a sizable audience and then remembered that Joe R. Lansdale is doing pretty well, so I guess the answer is Yes. Anyway, I show some of the hideous mentalities of society in this story, about a black man wrongfully accused of killing a white girl and flees a lynch mob. Hopefully, it will meet with a warm reception. I'll have to see what my beta readers say first.


Youthanasia is my first foray into real science fiction. It deals with the pros and cons of curing aging, something that really piqued my interest when I listened to a presentation given by a scientist named Aubrey de Grey. He's very passionate about this field of study and claims that we will eventually cure aging, and probably sooner than anyone thinks. If that doesn't grab your attention and give it a good shaking, then you need to check for your pulse. Needless to say, the gears of my imagination began to spin and I came up with this story, which follows a geneticist who has secretly taken a serum he and some other researchers developed, which stops the aging process. The reader gets to see the pros and cons of this polemic subject first-hand from the character's POV and decide for themselves whether they would want to live forever, or not. While researching this story, I corresponded with a biologist in the field to pick his brain on some of the finer points. Hopefully, I will do his feedback justice. Regardless, I will dedicate this book to him and probably send him a free copy for all of his help.


This is a book I'm sure I've mentioned in the past. Carniville is a locked-room mystery I created using an apartment complex of sideshow workers when they were not touring the freak show circuit. First, I wanted to try my hand at writing a locked-room mystery, something which seems very difficult for me not only to solve when reading one, but also to develop using my feeble brain. Secondly, I decided, failing to achieve that first point, I'd at least have an interesting cast of characters for a good crime story. During the writing of this story, the words flowed nicely. Eventually, however, I hit a brick wall with the plot, so I put it aside (yes, these other stories are what happen when I fall into a rut during my writing). I will let this one mellow until I can return to it with a solution for traversing that wall I mentioned. The cover's too damn good to let go to waste!


Last, but certainly not least, is Consuming Darkness. This is the first novel I ever wrote. This is what started it all. Yes, you can blame this abomination for the madness I unleash upon the world from my twisted, depraved mind. Originally, this was titled The Shadow People. I've rewritten it three times (so far). There's another rewrite waiting, I just haven't begun yet, but I have a good idea of what I want to do with it. I hope that this book will eventually be a fresh new horror story (in case you don't know my feelings for the horror genre to-date, here it is) with an admiring nod to Lovecraft's Call of Cthulu.

So, there you have it. Several of the books I have lined up for your future reading pleasure. I can assure you, that's certainly not all of them. There are a couple of other stories in the works, at various stages, I just don't have covers for them, so there isn't really anything to show.

UPDATE: Seems I forgot to link to my feelings on the current state of the horror genre. Consider it fixed. Like I said, I have a feeble mind.

Getting my knowledge on!

When I was younger, I didn't care for learning mundane school subjects. I didn't care for Literature because I hated reading the things my teachers wanted me to read; they always seemed stuffy and non-entertaining. And I didn't even want to consider math. Word problems only gave me headaches. If Bobby had 12 red apples and someone gave him 5 green apples, how many apples would Bobby have? My answer: too many damn apples. Math became nonsensical to me after basic arithmetic. Who's bright idea was it to toss in the alphabet?!

I managed to squeak by Algebra and, surprisingly, did very well in Geometry. I guess, because it was mainly remembering postulates and theorems. I left Geometry with a final grade of 104--sweet! I still needed another math credit to graduate high school, so I ended up taking Business Math, which was essentially learning how to balance a checkbook and other practical shit. Yeah, back then, I thought I was cool.

In retrospect, I realize I was a naive dumbass. It wasn't until I was in the Army that I finally began to understand the value of education. The Army taught me how to teach myself. I was fortunate enough to score well on the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery), which opened up the spectrum of military jobs I could choose from. I was initially going to become an infantryman, but my dad curtailed that by asking, "What are you going to do when you get out?" and then answering his question with: "There's not a big demand for killing people." So, I chose to repair helicopter engines, although, I had never worked on any kind of engine in my life. With no previous exposure to draw upon, my education for that particular job was a true learning experience.

I managed to graduate engine repair school and worked as a helicopter mechanic during my service. Luckily, every helicopter I worked on flew successfully, which is even more lucky considering I was required to fly with the test pilot after major overhauls. When I was discharged, I floundered in several menial jobs. I really wanted to be a fireman, but didn't know how to go about getting my foot in the door. The best thing I could think to do to minimize my odds was to enroll in technical school to become an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician); another field I knew nothing about.

Unlike my classmates, I paid for the education out of my own pocket. I hadn't occurred to me to apply for any grants and/or scholarships. Since I didn't have much money and paid the tuition out of my own pocket, that was just an added incentive for me to buckle down and do well. My class started with somewhere around 30+ students. Many washed out quickly. I studied harder so as not to piss away my money. Fortunately, I graduated with about 12 others (only about 7 of us went on to become state certified). I eventually got a job with an ambulance service, and not too long after that, I finally became a fireman at a local station.

I had realized a major goal early in my life. Eventually, however, the stress and low pay (can you believe the salary was only $18.6/year?!) took its toll on me. I knew I had to get into another line of work. During a Sunday shift, I sat down in the station's kitchen and looked through the classifieds. I had composed a list of the qualities I wanted in a career; it was numerous. I began going through the job listings, first the As, then the Bs, etc. I compared whatever I knew about each job against my list of criteria. What really caught my attention were the salaries for Programmers. I didn't know shit about computers, not to mention, programming, but those guys were making some serious bank. In contrast to my paltry salary, they were rich! I decided that was what I wanted to do.

Since I didn't know where to begin, I knew I needed to talk to people more knowledgeable in order to find out what I should learn and how to transition into this new field. First, my father-in-law donated his old 286 computer to me. Second, I went to the local bookstore and browsed through the various programming books. I had no idea what made VB different from C or Pascal different from the rest. I remembered that there were a LOT of jobs listings for C programmers and...man, those salaries! I ended up buying a book to learn the C programming language. Later, I learned that I had chosen the more difficult of the languages as my first. However, I persevered and, within a year's time, I was writing small programs. Of course, these were not overly complex, and it took much trial and error, but I managed to learn the fundamentals. It was time to start circulating my resume.

Obviously, I simplified the aforementioned process of my learning to program. I studied for several hours every night when I arrived home from work, and read chapters of my (many) books during my lunch breaks at the jobs I had after leaving the fire department. But, I did manage to bridge the gap and transition into a career programming computers. I won't bore you with those details. Suffice it to say, that I have been doing it since 1995. During that time, I've continued to stay abreast of the latest technology by reading books on those subjects. But, that isn't what prompted me to write this post. Recently, I've become interested in learning things I neglected in my youth.

Since math and I have never gotten along well, (with encouragement from my friend Mark Mans) I decided to try learning advanced math. Just like when I started learning to program computers, I have my sights high: to understanding advanced Calculus. Of course, I'm not delusional. I know that's a huge undertaking and I won't get there in a year's time, and probably not in two years. So, instead, I've gone back to the beginning and started brushing up on arithmetic and pre-Algebra. I plan to become proficient in each discipline until I can progress to the next, and then, the next. I've purchased several math books from Barnes & Noble and am nearly finished with the pre-Algebra book. It's exciting to finally comprehend the things in school that gave me such headaches long ago. Now, we're at the crux of this post.

While I've been good about studying fairly regularly on my own using the books, there was still something lacking. Recently, I discovered the Khan Academy website. There, anyone can create a free online account and learn a wide array of subjects using their instructional videos. Of course, I jumped right into the math disciplines. The videos are beneficial for helping to simplify difficult concepts. If you enjoy receiving rewards to fuel your motivation (as I do), there is an achievements section in your profile to view badges you obtain when you reach certain milestones. In the past three days, since stumbling onto this website, I've spent somewhere between ten and fifteen hours watching videos and practicing lessons. I've discovered the fun in math. Math can be sexy!

I know those last two statements probably sound weird, especially if you don't really care for math. Many people don't like math. I can understand. Heck, I used to be one of those people! Time has changed my opinion, though. I don't intend to change careers by becoming more proficient in math, but I sure don't see how it can hurt to broaden my knowledge. So, if you're interested in learning math (or, science, humanities, etc.), but don't see yourself going back to school, then try it for yourself. After all, it's free, so why not give it a try.

As for my writing, if you came here hoping to learn of my status, then I won't disappoint you. I've recently been busy editing a Southern Gothic novel called Lathem's Lament, which I wrote several years ago and put in a drawer. My wife has been asking me about it, so I decided to take it out and finish it. Currently, it's being read by my beta readers. Stay tuned to learn more about it and when it will be released. And, as always, thanks for stopping by!

Status Update and Cover Sneak-peek

I haven't posted any status updates in a while, for those who might want to know what's going in the world of J.R. McLemore. Let me appease those few people now. If you recall, I posted a while back a list of projects I was working on. Well, that list has changed.

I'll get to the changes in a moment, but first, let me assure you that The Old Royal is still slowly marching its way toward publication. It is currently in the hands of a third beta reader and I am anxiously awaiting feedback. Hopefully, there will not be any major changes needed. I'll review the feedback, make the necessary edits, and hand it over to a fourth beta reader. When I receive the story back from that last reader, I will go over it one final time and then publish it. I know this sounds like a lot of beta reading, but I want it to be the best story I can deliver and I feel that having more people look at it and point out faux pas for me to address is the best way to ensure a quality story.

In that previous post mentioned above, I said I had a southern Gothic book called Lathem's Lament that I needed to edit. This has not changed. Nor, I am sad to admit, have I done any editing on this story. I promise, though, I will. My thought was to release Lathem's Lament simultaneously with another book, which I will mention in a moment. Since Lathem's Lament is not crime fiction, I was hesitant to release it separately. I thought it would be better received if it was released along with a crime story for those readers who don't care to read southern Gothic. We'll see what happens closer to the release date. Maybe I'll release it separately, maybe not.

And now for the change. But, first, let me be open here and confess that I tend to flip-flop between projects. I will get excited by a story idea before I finish outlining it, only to start writing prematurely. Once I realize that the story needs more time to mature, I abandon it with the intention of returning to it later. I've done a lot of flip-flopping during the previous months. I finally settled on a story called Carniville that has been lurking in my Story Ideas file for a while now.

I turned the plot over and over, filling in obvious plot holes and sketched a cast of characters that I felt comfortable with. I pitched the idea to friends who provided enthusiastic feedback and, after feeling comfortable with the notes and outlines I've made, decided to proceed. Carniville is a locked-room mystery. It is the story of a murder that takes place at a small apartment complex in Florida where sideshow freaks live when they are not touring the carnival circuit. When the fat lady is murdered in her apartment, and her husband becomes the prime suspect, a resident name Blake feels obligated to expose the real killer in order to clear the husband's name.

I'm not very deep into the story--only about 50 written pages so far--and I am very excited by what I currently have. I've never written a mystery, especially a locked-room mystery, so this is a real challenge for me. I feel that it's coming along very nicely. In fact, I'm so excited about it, I've already developed the cover, which I've included below. I welcome any and all feedback regarding the cover and what you think of my short synopsis. Does it pique your interest? I hope so. Also, I hope you'll stick around to read it and The Old Royal when I publish them. Thanks for dropping by!

One of those days

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.

2012: The Lineup

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 Idea Flood of 2012

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!