Hello, everyone. I like to keep you all in the loop with what I am working on without giving away and spoiling surprises. First off, I am announcing that The Devil's Nightmare, my next paranormal thriller novel, will be released October 2011. Why such a long wait? Partly because I want to get the book right instead of slipping through it. Aside from that, we are putting together a big celebration for the book's launch that will hopefully be a lot of fun for all of you and will bring more awareness for the book. As we progress through 2011 there will be a lot of news to announce, but for now I will leave it at that.
For those who have been enjoying my Shades of Night series, I am announcing that the next installment will be available on Amazon no later than the 20th of November. This Shades of Night will be about vampires, but with a twist. The title of this installment will be Shades of Night: Immortal White Trash. I'll post more details about the story soon...
October 30, 2010
October 25, 2010
Just a few days ago I had my picture taking while working as a way to get some newer photos to post around the web. You can see me sporting my new hairdo, a product of a very long and humorous story that I won't tell on here (sorry). I do have to say that with the morning temperatures in the 30s today my head has been quite cold, so hats are a wonderful thing to me right now.
Hope you enjoy the pictures and everything I have coming up. I've got to get going so I can put the finishing touches on the next Shades of Night
, as well as get a bunch of other things done.
October 19, 2010
Writing What You Know
One piece of writing advice that is as old as the hills is to write what you know. This particular piece of advice gets thrown around so much, it has become almost a thoughtless expression of "wisdom." In other words, those who dispense this gem of knowledge don't really think about what it means to write what one knows.
I have thought long and hard about this expression and what it really means, and I realize I probably still don't completely understand it. I think it is important to point out first of all that too many people take the saying too literally. These people want to walk the line in the strictest sense, writing only about things, places and people they themselves have experienced first hand. If every writer were to follow this interpretation, nobody would ever have written about Hobbits, all-controlling future societies, aliens (okay, some people may claim they have experience on this one) or quite a few other subjects requiring an imagination. Those who write less-fantastical fiction still have to rely on getting out of their sphere of immediate knowledge, as they research other places, professions or any number of other subjects to help make their writings believable. Of course those writing non-fiction are the exception since they do stick to what they know or are experts on, but that is a horse of a different color.
To enhance your writing, you will need to step out of your comfort zone, push yourself and research things that you do not know. You will also need to use your imagination to understand a variety of characters from backgrounds and situations that do not match your own.
I have thought long and hard about this expression and what it really means, and I realize I probably still don't completely understand it. I think it is important to point out first of all that too many people take the saying too literally. These people want to walk the line in the strictest sense, writing only about things, places and people they themselves have experienced first hand. If every writer were to follow this interpretation, nobody would ever have written about Hobbits, all-controlling future societies, aliens (okay, some people may claim they have experience on this one) or quite a few other subjects requiring an imagination. Those who write less-fantastical fiction still have to rely on getting out of their sphere of immediate knowledge, as they research other places, professions or any number of other subjects to help make their writings believable. Of course those writing non-fiction are the exception since they do stick to what they know or are experts on, but that is a horse of a different color.
To enhance your writing, you will need to step out of your comfort zone, push yourself and research things that you do not know. You will also need to use your imagination to understand a variety of characters from backgrounds and situations that do not match your own.
October 14, 2010
Busy Month
Octobers are always busy months for me. Besides the big Halloween holiday, I was also born in the month of October. My work seems to start to get crazy in October as well, for obvious reasons. This October is no exception.
That being said, some of you may be wondering where Shades of Night: El Chupacabra in Texas is. Don't worry, the story is still set to publish this month. With a busy schedule, I admit it has been hard to find the time to finish the story to a completely polished level. I also have been thinking it would be nice to publish the story around Halloween. I know I love to read a good scary story in the days leading up to Halloween (okay, and in the middle of July) and so I am hoping more of you will be in the mood for the story by then.
I still have some other things in the works for October, but to be honest most of those will be ready for you to see more towards the end of the month. I promise I am not just sitting on things, but rather I am burning the midnight oil to make sure I get things right.
That being said, some of you may be wondering where Shades of Night: El Chupacabra in Texas is. Don't worry, the story is still set to publish this month. With a busy schedule, I admit it has been hard to find the time to finish the story to a completely polished level. I also have been thinking it would be nice to publish the story around Halloween. I know I love to read a good scary story in the days leading up to Halloween (okay, and in the middle of July) and so I am hoping more of you will be in the mood for the story by then.
I still have some other things in the works for October, but to be honest most of those will be ready for you to see more towards the end of the month. I promise I am not just sitting on things, but rather I am burning the midnight oil to make sure I get things right.
October 6, 2010
Weather, Seasons and Writing
From speaking with a number of other writers - and artists - I have found out quite a few of us seem to draw a high amount of creative energy from rainy weather. I have several theories about why rainy weather inspires so many of us creative types, one of which is that rain connects earth to the heavens.
As I have grown as a writer, I have found all weather changes and seasons have an effect on my writing. As a necessity I must write all year, in the dead heat as well as the freezing cold. It is especially challenging to write a story taking place in the snowy winter when the outside temperature is above one hundred degrees. I suppose I could move to Seattle for the rainy weather, but even they have sunny days.
As I have grown as a writer, I have found all weather changes and seasons have an effect on my writing. As a necessity I must write all year, in the dead heat as well as the freezing cold. It is especially challenging to write a story taking place in the snowy winter when the outside temperature is above one hundred degrees. I suppose I could move to Seattle for the rainy weather, but even they have sunny days.
October 2, 2010
What's a Writer to do?
I love hearing from readers, even if I don't necessarily agree with the feedback. Hearing what a reader thought of one of the my stories helps me to improve and lets me know what the average person thinks, instead of my circle of other writers who see things so differently.
I was excited to hear from a couple of readers on Amazon about my Shades of Night: Wounded Fox story. One reader loved it, saying they are excited for the next installment. Another reader said they were disappointed since it was a short story. Okay, maybe I should make that fact more clear in the Amazon listing. This reader complained that the price was steep for how short the story was. If I could lower the price to twenty five cents, I would, but Amazon does not let me dip below ninety nine cents -- something about keeping the lights on at the server farm.
I have to admit, I don't like readers feeling like they did not get their money's worth. I have bought books and after the fact felt that way, so I know how it is. This reader did not say the story was bad, just too short. I had always heard to leave them wanting more. In any case, this feedback has given me pause, made me consider perhaps changing how I am doing the Shades of Night series. I said before Shades of Night is an experiment. The whole project is not about making money, so quite frankly I don't care about the ninety nine cent price point. I am more concerned about telling good stories, gaining exposure. I have a day job, after all...
Since I cannot give away downloads on Amazon and I cannot go below ninety nine cents, I have been thinking of combining two installments of Shades of Night per download and just releasing the series once every two months. I have not completely settled on this idea, but I am very seriously considering it. What do you all think? Is ninety nine cents too much for a short story that gives you about half an hour (maybe more or less depending on how fast of a reader you are) of entertainment? Maybe I am over-reacting, and that is why I am just mulling things over right now.Let me know what you think, either by posting comments of just sending me a message...
I was excited to hear from a couple of readers on Amazon about my Shades of Night: Wounded Fox story. One reader loved it, saying they are excited for the next installment. Another reader said they were disappointed since it was a short story. Okay, maybe I should make that fact more clear in the Amazon listing. This reader complained that the price was steep for how short the story was. If I could lower the price to twenty five cents, I would, but Amazon does not let me dip below ninety nine cents -- something about keeping the lights on at the server farm.
I have to admit, I don't like readers feeling like they did not get their money's worth. I have bought books and after the fact felt that way, so I know how it is. This reader did not say the story was bad, just too short. I had always heard to leave them wanting more. In any case, this feedback has given me pause, made me consider perhaps changing how I am doing the Shades of Night series. I said before Shades of Night is an experiment. The whole project is not about making money, so quite frankly I don't care about the ninety nine cent price point. I am more concerned about telling good stories, gaining exposure. I have a day job, after all...
Since I cannot give away downloads on Amazon and I cannot go below ninety nine cents, I have been thinking of combining two installments of Shades of Night per download and just releasing the series once every two months. I have not completely settled on this idea, but I am very seriously considering it. What do you all think? Is ninety nine cents too much for a short story that gives you about half an hour (maybe more or less depending on how fast of a reader you are) of entertainment? Maybe I am over-reacting, and that is why I am just mulling things over right now.Let me know what you think, either by posting comments of just sending me a message...
October 1, 2010
Happy October
Today is the first day of October! Not only is this the blessed month in which I was born (on a Friday the 13th!) but it is also the month when so many people's minds start to turn to Halloween and the paranormal. Multiple things are happening this month: I have a couple of reviewers looking at Shadow House
, I will be doing another interview and I will be posting more Examiner paranormal articles as well as interesting information on this blog. Also, the next Shades of Night installment, El Chupacabra in Texas, will be debuting this month!I love Octobers and hope to add some interesting things for you to read and consider during this "spooky" time of the year.
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