Goodbye KnightWatch Press, We’ll Miss You. UPDATED!!!!!

The beginning of 2013 starts with a death close to me and my work.  In the last few days, David Naughton-Shires announced he was closing KnightWatch Press.  Like most small presses in the current climate, it became to much of a draw on his personal finances.  David and crew recently published four of my 100 word drabbles in Little Stories for the Smallest Room (you can buy a copy here before it disappears).  KnightWatch was also slated to release my short story “Stonewall” in another anthology.  Every dealing I had with David and the fine folks at KnightWatch was always professional and they will be missed greatly.  I have the utmost respect for David and I wish him well with his other endeavours.  Good luck sir!

On the flip side, “Stonewall” has struck again.  For those keeping score, this is the second time a press has folded before the story got to print.  It was my first accepted story and after a long wait, the press it was with folded.  I updated parts of the tale and it was accepted by KnightWatch.  Elated, I waited for it to see the light.

But again, it was not to be…

I am left with a big question now.  The rights to the anthology it would have appeared in are now with another press (there is not a signed contract, so the story is free to leave if I wish it).  The press is new and untested, but the man in charge has left a decent impression on me (he’s also working with some other great people to get the book out).  I’m to the point where “Stonewall” needs to see print ahead of Southern Devils and I need some flexibility with the story.  I want it in a book, but if I want to use it in the first Southern Devils book,  I don’t have the luxury of waiting for the rights to revert back.  Things are pretty fluid with the situation right now and once I weigh the options and decide, you’ll be the first or third to know.

Well, 2013 has already started off with a few touches of the bizarre and I’m trying to buckle down to complete more projects than last year.  I have updated the Biblio page with some new stories coming later this year.  A few of them are listed by just the title as I am waiting on some things before making the formal announcements.

Thank you all for the views in the past year and I hope to have a more successful 2013!

Goodnight…

UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!

KnightWatch Press has just been announced as a new imprint for Fringeworks Press.  There will be new anthologies under the new imprint and KnightWatch name and all KnightWatch books not passed off to other presses will remain in print now.  I wish the very best of luck to KnightWatch’s new direction and also to Fringework for letting KWP live on.

The Next Big Thing? I Sure Hope So…

Evening there folks!  Tonight is the night I dazzle you with answers to questions I know have been burning in your skulls.  I too, have now been tagged in “The Next Big Thing” bit of author pimping and I am here to show you around the dark recesses of my filthy and blood soaked mind.    So without further delay, I give you…my answers!

What is the working title of your book?

I have a couple of projects going on right now, so I am going to go with “Southern Devils”

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I have a degree in history and I really wanted to make myself feel better about it and put it to good use.  What good use?  Well, I decided to write about how a voodoo resurrected Stonewall Jackson was sent to fight General Sherman in the South during the Civil War.  I wanted zombies that were a little different and these are purely revenge driven and either once they are killed by a head injury or once the mission they were brought back for is completed, they return to the dust where they came from.  Once I got into it, the problem gets out of hand.  The story arc did the same thing and went from the plots for a single novella to a novella trilogy and then a full novel to deal with the trilogy’s aftermath.

What genre does your book fall under?

Historical fiction that leans heavy on the horror side of things.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

The main cast would be:

General Sherman- Brian Cranston

General Jackson- Sam Worthington

Lt. Mark Duvall- Matt Damon

Dunn- Jason Statham

Hettie- Naomi Harris

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Seeking the ultimate revenge, the resurrected General Stonewall Jackson is sent by Robert E. Lee to hunt down General William Tecumseh Sherman as he embarks on a mission to bring the rebellion in the south to its knees.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I want it to be released from a press and not self-published.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

It has taken quite some time.  Between the research involved and the constant shifting of the tale’s scope, its been hard to finish.  I would say it has taken a year to get to the end of the first book.  The short story “Stonewall”, where the whole saga kicks off, should be out before too much longer from KnightWatch Press in their The Blue, the Grey, and the Scarlet anthology of Civil War horror stories.  The rest of the trilogy should go quickly, but then I’m finishing my first White Creek novel before beginning the ending novel Reconstruction of the Dead.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

As far as something that is a history/zombie mash-up I would say Stant Litore’s The Zombie Biblebooks.  They are a great mash-up of the bible and the zombies we all know and love.  For a look at his work I direct you to go to this little linky here.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

I was inspired by the muse that has taken over my life the last two years, Wesley Southard who pulled me back in, and for the words from Brian Keene when I needed them the most at my first public reading (having him pull a lighter out and wave it back and forth during the end is still one of the best feelings I’ve had since I began writing seriously).

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Funny you should ask that!  Why if you turn to the sidebar and find the Biblio page link, it will take you the complete list of all my work out there.  I’ve been in or have stuff coming out in over 15 books (some are unannounced and not on the list yet) as well as my first novella In Memoriam.

Well, that does it for me! 

There have been some issues with rounding up the next victims.  I’ll get some links up in the next few days so you can go learn about some more great authors.

Goodnight…

The Journey: Novella Thoughts- The End

Here we are friends.  We have arrived at the end of the journey for my first novella, In Memoriam.  The writing and re-writing have been completed.  The edits are finished and the formatting is done.  Now, ready for the world to read is my tale of love, revenge, and hate.

Being done is really bittersweet.  Getting this story finished and out there has consumed two years of my life and countless hours behind my keyboard pounding away on Andi’s story.  Looking back, it was worth every moment.  I have prepared myself for some negative comments and the such from the book however.  One does not simply write a book about abortion and vengeance minded fetus spirits without expecting some outrage.  It was how the story came out and for that I make no apologies.  If you get offended by the book, please stick around.  I’ve gotten the controversial book out of my system for now and I promise the stuff in the pipeline is more appealing to the masses.  It is now out for your Kindles here and in paperback here for your reading pleasure.

Since I’ve been working on this project and Southern Devils so hard, I’ve been lax in sending shorts out to other places.  There is some news on that front.  This past week, I had four drabbles (stories of exactly 100 words) released in KnightWatch Press’s Little Tales for the Smallest Room.  Right now it is here on Kindle, but will be in paperback soon.  To check out the eBook go here and read 197 of the smallest tales ever.

Next October, I will have my story “The Midnight Rider” published in an anthology to benefit reading programs.  I have seen the art that will go with my story and I like it.  First time I’ll have art with a short story.  This will be released next year for Halloween and I’ll remind you readers when the date approaches.  The book is packed with over 20 authors in the indy horror scene and an electronic “EP” preview of the book will one of the prizes in the Coffin Hop next week.  That is correct, I will once again be a stop on the Hop to Hell! 

So things are ramping up and I’ll hang out with you later, there are some people to kill on the page…   

In the Beginning…

Hello all you ghouls out there!  Tonight we open the casket on the subject of being the new guy in the room, the one just now striking out on their own, and the one who will make mistakes.  Nobody who starts writing  is a pro from the start.  It takes time and it takes some luck, but if you lack skill the luck can’t help you get very far.   In the long run, your mask gets thrown off and the real you steps forward.  Am I a pro?  Hell no, but I can see the writing get better with each tale I write and that’s how it should be.  When I go back and look at some of the old stuff sitting on the hard drive, I cringe.  That is my focus for tonight, it is a learning experience when you start out.

I have been pretty lucky in my dealings with publishers so far (except for one and I pulled an awful story I submitted  just to prove he was accepting anything).  I’ve worked with Armand Rosamillia, Eric Beebe, Jessica A. Weiss, Adam Millard, the crew at Pill Hill Press, and the guys at Knightwatch Press.  All of them have been very supportive and its been super to be a part of their press.  I owe each of them for giving my work a place to scream bloody murder at the world.  They are all professionals and I hope we can continue to work together in the future.

It hasn’t all been smooth though.  I started out with rejections and my first acceptance into an anthology was cancelled.  It did sell later so everything is cool there.  Have I always sent stuff to upstanding publishers?  We want to get stuff out anyway possible at first and the answer is no, we don’t always send to the right places at first.  The above comment about the pulled story is why.  I sent something in I knew was crappy (it was the second story I’d ever written) and as I expected, he took it.  Then there was a large e-mail shouting match about the contract and I pulled the story.  I did it partly because I wanted the story buried again and also because the guy was an ass.  This same person just rewrote a friend’s first story without telling her and then said some very unsavory things.  It will be ok though, what comes around goes around and his day is coming.

Those are the issues we deal with starting out.  Some of us don’t have fairy god-parents who we rely on to make our career happen.  Most of us have to put the fingers to the keys and put the boots to the floor trying to make it all happen.  Do we make some rookie errors?  Yes.  Do we learn from them?  Yes. 

In the end, I’ll know I have my career because I fought and bled for it.  I pushed and scratched for it, avoiding all coat-tails in front of me.  You know what?  I’ll sleep better and my work will be better for it.  I’m not going to do it half-ass and expect others to push me through.  I’m an adult and I can take care of myself.  Things have happened quick and it only goes up from here.

Well, I’ll stop there for this evening so I can write some more and drink some more too.

Goodnight…

The Reflecting Pool

Looking down at the still water, I pull out a penny from my worn and tattered jeans.  Glancing down at the copper piece I close my eyes, make a wish, and flip it into the still glass-like pool.  The coin plunges through the surface and sinks to the bottom while the serene water above forms into waves and spreads throughout the pool.

The pool is how I feel about everything right now.  I want to be calm, to take my time, and get done the things I set to do.  Every time I finish something or I don’t (or can’t) get my goal for a story complete, I beat myself up pretty bad over it.  The waves breaking up the quiet still of the pool are my doubts.  I have doubts about me, doubts about my work, and doubts about if anyone one day will really care.  Sometimes I go back and read through something in a book and I’m amazed somebody liked it, I mean really liked it enough to publish it.

I don’t know why I feel that way, I really don’t.  Why do I have such self-doubt?  I have a nice shelf with the books I’m in, I have a nice little blog that a few people visit, and I have a bright future according to some, but why I can’t I just enjoy it? 

I write for myself and tell the tales I like to read.  If other people like them, that’s great (I demand at least token payment, or a contrib copy, or a nice discount on copies – no ‘for the love of’ projects that give you zilch – why should a publisher get the $$$ while an author gets zero).  I guess all I’m saying is maybe deep down in the dark reaches of my soul…I do what some recognition, some kudos.  I feel like as a new author trying to stand on my own two feet, I am fighting for a little respect.

Ok, I’m done with that for now.  The site will be going over to a regular website domain in the near future, I have the cover art for The Blue, the Grey, and the Scarlet below, and I will be adding book reviews into the regular rotation.  The copy for the first book review is on the way and once I read it, I’ll tell you about it.  The plans for the book signing are under way and it will be this fall.  More details later as plans get hammered out.

Oh yeah, the cover art…

 

Well, I have some things to write about and one great secret of a writer’s life just became clear to me.  With that said…

Goodnight…

2012 Invasion Is Underway!

Last year, it took until May to sell my first story of the year.  Hell, it was the first story I sold…period.  I’m happy that this year is starting off quicker, five months quicker.  Today on the KnightWatch Press Facebook page, they announced the table of contents for their upcoming Blue, Grey, and Scarlet anthology and my story “Stonewall” made the cut.

Now for the irony… “Stonewall” was that story from last year.  Funny how the same tale is the first acceptance for two years in a row.  I guess you can’t keep a good undead general down.  I will have info and the cover later (it is a cool cover).  So for now, I will leave you since I am being forced to go into work early in the morning.

Goodnight…