The Journey II: Acting Like A Professional

What do I mean ‘act like a professional’?  In the horror genre, it is well-known that the authors like to party.  I’ve said in the past that in the writing world, we are the kids who sit in the back of the literary world’s classroom and throw things at the others and lob spit balls.  Many in the field are known to really let it hang out at conventions.  I know at the few I’ve attended, I have no problem with throwing down tons of beer and smoking some cigars.  All of that is fine, but I’ve found recently that the rest of the time I want to treat this gig as a job.  This choice has made me change my approach to everything I do online and in public.

The more I put myself in the public eye, I want to make sure the image I put out there is a good one.  While I’m working on building a base of readers and contacts, I really don’t want to put myself out there as a rude guy with no self-control.  Starting out, I can’t afford to drive people away with how I portray myself on Facebook, Twitter, or even here on my blog.  There is a time and place for everything and knowing when those times and places are, I believe, will help me on my journey.  Believe me, there are times I have to really try hard to remain silent or to keep my comments and such toned down.  One day, I want to make enough writing to either quit my job or move to a part-time job.  If I want to fulfill this dream, using control in the public sphere has been something I’ve focused very hard on.

In the end, this is a business.  I want my work to carry me and not just the way I come off on the internet.  Every time I reread something, no matter how much everyone tells me they love it, I doubt if what I wrote is really good enough.  The fact that my stuff has been in over twenty publications to this point tells me I must be doing something right and it hasn’t included being a complete blow-hard on the web.  At the end of the day, it is all about branding and I want to grow my base naturally without being a complete ass or being so much in your face that it turns you off to my work or to me in general.

I hope everyone can understand where I’m coming from in this post.  I want to explain myself and how I’m trying to grow in this profession.  In the beginning of the post I called this a job, but it is a job I enjoy.  Even when I feel deadlines crashing down on me, I wouldn’t trade this for the world.  I’ve found the job I’m finally passionate about and I’m thrilled to have everyone hop on board this journey with me.

So my friends,

Goodnight…

“Coming Soon to a Blog Hop Near You!”

“Coming to a drive-in near you this summer, three college students on the last night of spring break, will find out the road to Hell is paved with good intentions…and blood.”

Ah, the good old days of the movie trailer.  Believe me, there was really a time when the preview didn’t tell you the whole movie in a two-and-a-half-minute bit.  The preview teased and made you want to see the movie.  Alas, I’m afraid those days are long gone.

But fear not, thanks to D. Alexander Ward (go and check him out, this I command!) I’m here to give you a preview.  Think of it as the opening to a date with that special person.  You both snuggle together while the sun dips out of sight and the darkness creeps along the theater grounds until the projector fires up and brightens the night with its magic.  Writing really can be that dramatic and I’m here now to give you a peek into my mind and my work.  I’ll try not to lead you astray or to give away too much because to be completely honest, I want you to have questions and buy the book to see if your thirst for answers can be quenched.

So, sit back and dim the lights.  Relax and let me take your hand and give you a tour through my work, a Neverland of blood and betrayal.  Eat your popcorn and enjoy the show…

What are you working on right now?   At the moment I’m finishing up the last few chapters of my second novella, Southern Devils.  I also have three top-secret projects going on with other authors and my first full length novel set in the fictional town of White Creek has been started on.  There are also a few odd and end short stories, but I’m focusing on the big things right now.  Southern Devils is the opening of a trilogy and there are three other novellas or novels that I have written out very detailed notes on.

How does it differ from other works in its genre?  Southern Devils is my take on zombies and how the Civil War’s closing days was a battle between a resurrected group of Rebel soldiers and the Union soldier ordered to eliminate them and eradicate all trace of their existence.  The approach I took with the zombies was that they are driven by their mission.  They retain some of their humanity, but also must deal with the ramifications of what they’ve become.

What experiences have influenced you?  Since I was a child, I loved to write and make up really outlandish shit.  Once I hit about the age of 12, I was introduced to Stephen King and television shows like Tales From the Darkside, Monsters, and Tales From the Crypt.  From there the die was cast and horror became my game.  I did some writing in high school, but between everything else in my life at the time, it got away from me.  Now fast-forward almost 20 years and I’m finally taking my dream back and making a go at the writing gig.  So far, it has been a magical ride.

Why do you write what you do?  I like to explore the dark side of things.  That noise outside?  It’s a long-lost love come to give you a final goodbye kiss.  The voice in your head?  It’s the darkness in your soul begging for blood to spill so it can be released.  Horror isn’t just a genre for ghosts and vampires.  It is a genre that defines who we are deep down in the human condition.  What causes someone to go on a brutal killing spree?  We don’t really know what went on in that person’s mind, but it’s my job to be the voice of his conscious and once we start to listen to the little voice in the back of our heads…that is when the fun begins.

How does your writing process work?  Before I begin a new story, I jot some quick ideas down in one of my notebooks and I let the idea stew for a few days.  When I pick it back up again, I like to know the opening line and where I want the story to end up at.  I do admit, there have been some stories where the story took on a life of its own and became what it wanted to be.  I love those kind of stories.  There is nothing like hitting a point while writing and thinking, “Wow, I didn’t see that coming”.  As far as how I work, I sit behind my cluttered desk and I get some words in while I play on the internet

What is the hardest part about writing?   Finishing.  The hardest thing for me is finishing something once I start it.  I get involved with another project and I start to push things off and I tend to fall behind on the stuff I’m not committed to write.  I’ve been finishing Southern Devils for far too long and I get irritated with myself.  Some of my foot-dragging, I believe, also stems from the doubt issues that still creep into my head about a piece.  For example, no matter how much people have told me they loved In Memoriam, I will always think I could have done better and will mess with something until I want to rip it up because I don’t think it’s good enough.  I’m getting better about it and I’m gaining more confidence in my work with every new acceptance and every new review.  The thing that has gone the farthest in settling my mind is the other day a stranger stopped me and told me how much they loved my book.  When they followed about how they couldn’t wait to read my next one, my eyes damn near teared up.  It really put my mind to rest about my work and has really invigorated me since it happened.

What would you like to try as a writer that you haven’t yet?  That one is easy, I want to write a screenplay for one of my works or have a story of mine adapted into comic form.

Who are the authors you most admire?  The ones I admire the most are the ones who have been there with a piece of timely advice, a story about when they were starting, or those who take the time to help and encourage a new author.  In no order I admire for their words and deeds:  Brian Keene, Robert Ford, Kelli Owen, Tim Lebbon, James A. Moore, Christopher Golden, and John Everson.  Each has given me a new insight or a new way to see the field and I thank them all.

Who are new authors to watch out for?  There are three that I’m working with now that come to mind.  Each one has some work out there and everything I’ve read by them has been a fantastic read.  Go and check out Julianne Snow, Jason Darrick, and Dale Eldon.  You can’t go wrong with any of them and each one brings a distinct voice and subject matter to the horror field.

What scares you?  Failure.  I don’t want to fail in this and it drives me to keep improving and challenging myself to write better and have my work show how much I’ve grown and improved.  I also fear for the world I’m leaving my kids.  No, I fear for the world and what my kids will do to it if they have the chance…

Now, I was to give you three places to go and check out.  I’ve been tied up with work and other stuff that I can only offer you two authors to continue on this Blog Hop.  Next Wednesday, Jason Darrick and Armand Rosamilia will take the reigns over at there blogs and give you the answers to the burning questions above.

Stop back by Friday night when I give my thoughts on, The Compound,  the debut novel from Robert Ford and he stops by to enter the Arena and answers “The 10 Questions”!

Goodnight…

At Horrorfind 2011 at the signing table after my reading. Only one book and if I did it today it would be over twenty.

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…   

The Journey: Novella Thoughts pt.3

Ok, let’s go.  See that guy next to these words?  That’s me.  Well, 35 pounds heavier, but I assure you it is me.  See that one book in front of him?  Now it would be 13 anthologies with him.  And now the solo stuff is coming.  The pic is from Horrorfind Weekend in 2011 where I read and sat at a table to sign something if something was brought to me (I did sign some programs in the elevator.  I was flattered, but I was also drunk and still drinking at the moment.  I even had two beers in my hands).  I hope everything keeps moving in the current direction and I can have some fun doing what I love to do…tell my tales with droplets of blood. 

When I turned in the synopsis for In Memoriam, I was scared for my life.  It’s one thing sending a short story out, but to send something bigger freaked me out.  What was once a short story idea written out on a few sheets of notebook paper turned into a 18.000 word work that I was proud of.  Within a week or so, I was contacted back to send the first three chapters.

That was even more gut wrenching. 

Then I got the word they wanted to read the rest.  And the rest was sent.  Once Armand Rosamilia and myself talked about it, we agreed it needed some work.  First, I was shocked it got to that point.  Second, I was even more shocked we were going to go forth with it.  We discussed the piece and decided the bones were there, but I had some work to do.  I began the process of going through and looking at it with a different set of eyes.  These eyes were looking at how to drive it more, to build it up more, and kick you in the heart more.  I started the rewrites a few months ago.

Then something happened to me.

I have a tendency to struggle with depression from time to time and I got hit hard this summer.  I’d been working tons of hours, struggling to stay up on things at home, and get my writing done.  Something had to give and it was me.  For a few weeks I would power up the laptop and then stare at the keyboard.  The muse was gone.  I’m still not sure where it went, but she left me and I had nothing.  I’ve heard the tales of writer’s block, but I never knew how it could strike without warning and leave you a hollow shell grasping at anything to get you going again.

I’m still not sure what happened.

The muse came running home and slammed into my brain like a freight train.  I was quickly able to finish the rewrites, finish a story I’d been working on with another author I’d lost my way on, and I took pictures-made notes-started writing my second novella.  It’s been a productive week.

So, now we will begin the task of going through the manuscript for In Memoriam again with a fine tooth comb.  I’m hoping to get it all ready before the book signing I’m planning for my birthday weekend.  It looks like October 20th, 2012 at Comics Unlimited in Evansville Indiana will be the coming out party.

The experience has been a good one and I’ve learned a lot about the craft, about me, and about the voice I’m settling into.  I hope when the work starts coming out, you will enjoy it too.

Welcome to the ride my friends…come inside…come inside…

Goodnight…

Back to the Grind and Ranting!

I have returned.  I return a different person, a new man.  I’ve tasted the forbidden cigars of Cuba, got smashed on rum punch while jumping into the Caribbean, and found out there is more rum in the islands then I can consume.  The last one was a tough pill to swallow for me.  Before I go any further, I would like to state a few facts and how absurd our country is.

The islands and Central American countries I visited live in a poverty most of us never, ever have to experience.  Once you leave the nice beach fronts, the reality of the local economies set in.  The jobs most of them have is to be our guides, drivers, and clean our condos.  Behind the façade of the nice sand and tourists traps lies lands with great need of food, shelter, and infrastructure to improve their country and prospects for a brighter future.  Returning to the states, I was once again bombarded with the messages from our leaders and the vile venom they spew back and forth at each other.  The parties combined will spend almost $2 billion dollars to buy the presidency.  $2 billion to pollute our airwaves with mud and name calling, dragging each other through the dirt and grime.  $2 billion dollars that could improve the lives and prospects of many other people in countries less fortunate than ours.  Would we rather see the money spent on families who live in extreme poverty so we can lift their economies or would we rather watch commercials where one candidate calls the other an asshole and the other counters back with something witty like, “well you are too!”.  No, let them do something righteous with their war chests, see if they can rise up and do something worthwhile, and let them take a stand to the world by stopping the whoring for votes.  Please feel free to discuss below, I’m very curious to see how others feel about this situation.

Now, for something lighter.

A few things are at the press and very close to coming out.  Wicked East Press’s (WEP) Short Sips: Coffee House Flash Fiction Vol.2 is at the press and should be released shortly.  The story I penned for the Cemetery Dance Amateur Writing Competition last year titled, Rivals, is in the book.  It has been updated with parts being tweaked.  I felt the need to make some changes before I did anything with it.  I posted the CD version at 4 in the morning and some items needed further clarification and fleshing out.

This weekend should see the release of Rymfire Undead’s Undead Tales 2 on Kindle and in print.  My ’zombies on a train’ tale, The Reaper Rides, can be found there.  A good little story about what happens when at the beginning of the zombie plague, nobody is sure what is going on.  Some other things might come out of this if I can stop blogging and just write.

A little flash story I wrote called Safety First was accepted for WEP’s Fresh Ground: Coffee House Flash Fiction Vol. 3.  It won’t be out until 2013, but I dedicate it all my friends at work.  When they hear it, they’ll know it’s for them.

Lastly, I am in contact with another author and we are planning to pen a few stories together for the hell of it.  I’ve never done this before and the results should be pretty good.  We are just starting to get the ball rolling, so I’ll let you know how that pans out.

Lots of stuff happening and I hope to have a novella update soon!

Goodnight…

The Journey Part 1: Novella Thoughts

For those who are new to the blog, or who will be, let me introduce myself.  I’m a man of wealth and…wait that’s the Devil, not me.  I’m Brent Abell, newbie author and general pain in the ass to most who know me.  I like my books bloody, my music heavy, and my movies scary.  Right now in my DVD player is The Devil’s Rejects, my computer is playing Mastodon, and I’m reading J.F. Gonzalez’s Fetish and Armand Rosamilia’s Dying Days 2.  I drink my beer and I like my rum and Jameson’s.  My mouth gets me in trouble and if you are my friend, I wouldn’t be able to bail you out of jail because I’ll be sitting next to you in the drunk tank.  Job?  Not happy right now, but who is?  What do I want to do?  I want to write.

I started small, thinking that is how you start off.  Beginning with short tales of dread, I believed I had to slave away making next to nothing just to get my name out for the public.  I was right and I was wrong. 

I needed the short stuff to get a sense of what I wanted to do.  When I was in high school, I loved to write and would come up with stuff I would read to a group of friends when the mood took us.  After school, I stopped and never picked up a pen, pencil, or mouse to write fiction for a long time.  Two years ago I picked it up and it’s been a hell of a ride since then.  I have 14 stories in 12 anthologies, most of which have come in the last 9 months.  I thought I was doing right…

…Until it came to the novella.  I decided it was time to move up in length and I wrote my first novella.  It was a labor of love that brought many disagreements to my house, but I wanted to tell the story I wanted to tell.  I wrote and re-wrote until on the advice of James A. Moore at Horrorfind, I sent it off.  

Without giving too much away, the story revolves around a woman and how a deadly choice she makes brings her and her loved ones on a collision course between two entities, one natural and one supernatural, on missions of revenge.  All choices have consequences and the clock is running out.

The novella is being work on with an editor now.  I’m not going to go into details because the project is very early in the process.  I’m going to update the trail of the novella here on the blog as I go through the steps of getting it published.  Tonight I spoke a little about the story to set the  stage for the rest of the Journey.  When I have some news, I’ll be sure to share.

On March 21st I will have a guest blog by author Armand Rosamilia on his tour promoting his new novella Dying Days 2.  He has a great interview and there will be a contest tied Armand’s tour, so stop back by and check it out.

Lastly,I leave you with the cover of Wicked East Press’s Chained in the Attic anthology with my story “Amos’s Song” the first of the White Creek cycle.

 That does it for tonight.  If you’re new please join the conversation by following here, Facebook, and Twitter.  It was a pleasure meeting you and I hope you’ll come back and hang again.

Goodnight…