The Year So Far…(and a pretty good one to boot!)

I started out the year with some modest goals while I tried to build on the beginning success of last year.  2011 was my first full year of writing and I finished the year with 10 stories in 8 anthologies.  My goal was 5, so I thought I did ok.  Raising the bar higher for 2012, I found myself with 5 stories already finding homes in 2012.  The running total now is 15 tales in 13 books, so be sure to collect them all!  This year should also see the release of my first novella if everything stays on course and according to plan.  I’m not going to say much at this point except that the manuscript is in the editor’s hands and we will begin polishing it up soon.  My goal is to have it ready for the book signing I have lined up in October.  More to come on the event later…

The anthologies getting to print have been steady this year so far also.  Ten Silver Bullets, Zombie Writing, Short Sips: Coffee House Flash Fiction V.2, Undead Tales 2, and a new printing of Undead of Winter have been released since the first of the year with several more coming shortly.  The shelf in the office is growing larger and looks more impressive with every release.  Good trend to have and to celebrate the release of Undead Tales 2, I will have a drawing from all blog subscribers on May 15, 2012.  Anyone who is an active subscriber and comments on this post by that date will be entered to win an autographed copy of the anthology.

I enjoy the spinning of yarns for those who like the darkness hiding in the everyday recesses of life.  If you read and follow any new or established author, go to their Amazon page, their Facebook page, or their Twitter @BrentTAbell (click on the word and the nice little link will take you there or you can get there from the links on the side of the page) and ’LIKE’ them or the books they’re involved in.  Let all of us know if you liked it or not, give some feedback, or just tell us you’re reading us.  That my friends is what keeps us going, not some blind ambition to get rich.  Well, if I can, I won’t turn it down.

I have stuff to do on some projects, so be sure to take a few minutes and do some liking!

Goodnight and here are the new release covers…

Crossroads (and not that crappy movie…)

Those words are like my battle cry.  They are words from a man who I respect very much and I credit along with my friend Wesley Southard of starting this whole wild ride.  Without those two would I be sitting here now blogging to the masses?  Hell no, I wouldn’t care or have anything to say.  Wes got the ball rolling, digging up a talent I had buried, and Brian gave me the confidence to carry it forward and do something with it.  I could never thank you enough Brian for the encouragement and advise. 

The market is a mess right now.  Before going forth, brandishing the banner of a completed novel, I decided to start small and work up.  The last year I have mainly written short and flash fiction attempting to find my voice and get my name out.  I have found some success with this.  There are nine stories out there now and one is already in print (if you haven’t, go pick up “Undead of Winter” with my story “A Winter’s Feast”, links are in the Biblio section to the right).

But the time has arrived.  There are still some ideas for shorts floating around, but the time has come to think bigger.  I have a short story collection in the works to submit to a place next year that will weave my “Dark Frontier” concept into a group of stories that flow as one narrative (a small peek will be in Pill Hill Press’s “Daily Flash 2012″ anthology with the story “On the Wings of Darkness).  I also have another in the works that introduces my town of White Creek through the stories of local legends during a centennial celebration.  While these are still shorts, they are really different acts in a larger piece.  I have managed to complete my first novella, “In Memorium” this past year also.  I fight with myself about some story points and my pre-readers are about two to three weeks from getting it to tear apart (I’m counting on you guys-no being soft).  I also fight about “In Memorium” because the social construct that the story takes place in is very controversial and if the opening stays like it is, it will freak people out (I hope).  I have plotted out three novels and the first three chapters of the first one are complete, but this will take some time.

So, the crossroad?  I have gotten pretty used to having success with the short stories and I’m getting ready to embark on a journey that will more than likely crush my spirit.  The days of whipping a story out in a few days and getting in some place are coming to a close.  Why?  I’ve been called an “arrogant motherf**ker” in the past month and to some extent it’s true.  My goal for 2012 is to have something I don’t share with anyone else, a book of just me.  Is that wrong?  No, it is just the natural evolution of my writing career, to take off on my own.

This is where you guys come in.  Go out and support people like Wes and I, buy the books we’re in, and then review the book at Amazon (or Tweet about it, talk on Facebook about it, help get the names out).  One of the main things I’ve learned from the authors I’ve met in the past two years is to pimp the hell out of yourself.  I didn’t feel comfortable at first, but you either learn to network and get your work noticed, or you fade away silently into the night.  I choose to survive, I choose to push myself, and I choose to write for you.

So let the journey began, let’s ride the ride, and take some names along the way.

As a thank you, I am working on something for everyone who has signed up to follow the blog before Dec. 31, 2012.  I guess my wife playing Christmas music already has got me feeling like gifting the ones who were here when it all began, were here when the heads rolled, and were here before the storm.

Good night…