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!
Showing posts with label southern literature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label southern literature. Show all posts
Friday, September 27, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
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.
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.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
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.
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.
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