Lessons Learned and Blog Winners!

First off, I would like to congratulate the three winners from the blog contest.  The winner of the signed Undead Tales 2 book was Beth Lunkenheimer and the two winners that will appear in some upcoming projects were Ashley Smith and Mark Duvall.  I’ve already filled Mark in on his role and he is very excited to be hunting and killing some zombies.  I’m sorry about the delay in posting the winners here (they were posted on the Facebook page), but life has been hectic around here.  In fact, my life is going so wonderful I’ve had to trade in my usual rum, whiskey, or beer for the glass of milk pictured next to here.  I will say that it is in a glass from a brewery, so I’m still representing!

In the past few weeks, the writing world exploded with the situation regarding Undead Press and new author Mandy DeGeit.  I will not rehash the situation here, but if you want to read about what happens when an anthology editor goes above and beyond editing without the author’s approval, click here to go to her blog and catch up on the bad situation.

I almost fell prey to the same guy.  I submitted a story to the same book trying to be in the same anthology as Mandy and my other friend Wesley Southard (link over in author links page).  The story was quickly accepted and I told Mandy we’d be sharing a TOC.  Well, that was until I received the contract.  First, it read like it was written by a third grader and some of the points in it were really bad (like a cut of any future movie options even if the rights have reverted back to the author).  I didn’t care, I wanted to be in the anthology with my friends.  Then we started a rather nasty back and forth about the signature on the contract where the publisher acted like a complete unprofessional ass-hat.  First off, the story I sent in sucked and I knew it, but it was the only finished thing I had (it was the first non-flash story I ever wrote).  When the publisher became insulting over how the signature looked, I pulled the story and went on with my life.  Looking back, I never should have even tried to sell the crappy story and secondly, once I read the contract, I should have walked  then instead of trying to continue.  I learned to read the contract carefully.  I learned to get something besides a copy of the publisher’s self-published drivel for my work.  Hey, I live and I learn.  I have myself to rely on and I try to do the right thing.  I learned my lessons. 

Now to help Mandy, the unaltered version of her story “She Makes Me Smile” is now on Kindle.  50% of what the book earns will go toward paying the anthology authors $25 for their story and the rest is going into a fund to hire a lawyer that will look into Undead Press/Living Dead Press/Open Casket Press contracts with the purpose of returning all rights back to the authors that have dealt with those presses.  So go click here to help support the cause.

Now I must get back to some editing on some short stories and work on the novel.  Editing has begun on In Memoriam and I’ll keep you posted.  The milk is calling so,

Goodnight…

Some Random Musings…AVENGERS!!!!!

Ok, I’m going to take a moment to wax poetic about The Avengers.  Marvel Studios did an incredible job bringing their superhero franchises together in one big kick ass movie.  It helped they had this planned all along with each movie adding something toward the whole (if you stayed after the credits that is…).  The outcome was one of the best superhero movies ever made.  If you have not seen it, go fix that right now…I’ll wait…just go.  They also set events in motion for the second Avengers movie and I can’t wait to see one of my favorite comics villains on the screen.  It was funny because only a handful of us in the theater knew who it was.  I know DC plans a JLA movie, but they are getting to the party late and have to relaunch all their franchises to get it set up.  I don’t want another Batman reboot, I want a fourth Chris Nolan Batman flick! 

Enough about that and now some random thoughts.

1. Watched the new Muppet movie again tonight and in all honesty, it brings a tear to your eye.  I have some, let us say depressed, moments in my life where I let the inner darkness take hold and I spiral down into a bad place within myself.  I’ve had this issue again lately and it screws up my writing because I begin to doubt myself and what I write, like each word is testament to how bad I am.  The movie’s ending is really uplifting and I needed that message right now.  No matter how bad things get and when everything hits rock bottom, there is a dignity with pushing forward and holding your head up high.  Kermit’s speech about doing that was a badly needed pick-me-up and brought a smile to my face.

2. Pugs want to rule the world.  I believe they would already if they weren’t so lazy.  If my pug is how the rest of them act, I’m surprised they found the will power to stop eating and procreate… Hey, I call ‘em like I see ‘em.

3.  My experiment with writing a story with another author is going really good.  He’s liked what I’ve contributed so far and that’s gone a long way to silencing the doubt that had crept in again.

4.  Father Grim’s Storybook from Wicked East Press is now at the printer.  When it becomes available in a few weeks, I’ll be happy to see my story “As I Crossed Lincoln Bridge” in print.  The story was really tough to write and is one of my favorite pieces.  It is based on a little known rhyme and when I took it dark, I took it reeaallllyyyy dark.  As a father of two sons, the ending was the most gut-wrenching thing I’ve ever written and it haunted me for a few weeks afterward.  Putting myself in the head of the father was rough and led to the ending being what it is.  The ending in the book was not the one I planned, but grew organically out of how the story had taken hold of me.  The cover is sweet too!

5.  Don’t forget the contest if you haven’t signed up to follow the blog yet.  May 15th is the date and the winner selected from all blog followers is a signed copy of Rymfire Undead’s Undead Tales 2 with my story “The Reaper Rides”. 

Well that should do it for tonight so,

Goodnight…

The Journey: Novella Thoughts Pt.2

I sit here working on some short stuff and preparing to take the next step into a larger world.  Soon, I will begin the editing process and rewrites on In Memoriam, my first novella and really a labor of love.  Part 1 set the stage with the current stage the novella is in, but tonight I thought I would go back to the beginning and touch on how it all started.

In Memoriam started out as a short story I played around with about two years ago.  I’d just finished my first three short stories and had all three promptly rejected and rightfully so, they were bad.  They have some promise for down the road, but they shall remain on the hard drive for the forseeable future (side note: I sent one to a publisher and they accepted it until they were really rude and unprofessional, so I pulled it and I’m glad nobody will read it).

The story started out about a woman and how the consequences for her actions catch up to her.  I might sound a little vague, but I’ don’t want to give to much of the plot away yet.  I’m doing it mostly because I’m not sure how much of it’s going to change when editing begins.  The story sat around and I thought about it for quite some time.  One day I realized that her actions past and present also affect the people around her directly.  In the long run, I thought a human element was needed to run a path along side the supernatural one.  When she is now caught between two worlds and two entities full of rage, how does she react?

The story took a different path that I envisioned originally and I like the way it turned out.  Parts of the novella deal with a very touchy subject in our country and both sides take a hit in the story.  Will portions of it piss some people off?  Yes, it will.  Am I ready to deal with the pissed off people?  Yes, because I told the story I wanted to tell and if they don’t like it, they can write their own stories.

Don’t forget to join the blog to be entered in the drawing for a signed copy of Undead Tales 2, the new anthology from Rymfire Undead with my story, “The Reaper Rides”.  All members of the blog by May 15th will be entered to win.

 

Goodnight…

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…

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…

Voice in the Wilderness

Busy, busy, busy…

I have signed and sent in the contracts for the Chained In The Attic and Undead Tales 2 anthologies, the novella is out there being looked at, and I really want to throw someone under a bus still.  That last comment is because I had another story accepted, but the way you communicate with an author over your uptight idea of a signature is not to insult a signature made by a mouse in Adobe.  Seriously, how many signatures are legible any way?  Not that damn many judging by the ones I’ve seen so I pulled the story.  Anyway, the story was the first non-flash fiction piece I ever wrote and I thought it wasn’t great, but I was trying to prove a point to myself.  It did however connect to the novella and introduced the best watering-hole in White Creek.  Will the tale ever come out?  I’m not betting on it, but I might put it up sometime so that you can see how far my work has progressed.

The new projects pile is four strong right now.  There are still shorts, but the four things are going to take a lot of time away from the shorts.  First, I’m researching  for a novella sequel to the story “Stonewall”.  The tale is still one of my favorites and there is more story to finish what I started with that one.  The second two are a series of shorts.  One focuses on the town of White Creek and introduces you to the wicked that reside there.  The other is the continuation of the Dark Frontier concept I’m playing around with.  A short intro to it was published in Pill Hill Press’s Daily Flash 2012, but things have changed a tad.  The center piece story is almost complete and then I’ll start fleshing out the rest of the humanity’s downfall.  Lastly, the outline for the novel I want to write first is complete and right after you meet White Creek, I’m going to kick it in the ass.  The town is a place of myth and legends and of hurt and pain.  Ground paid for in blood and protected by betrayal can’t be safe forever as they find out on March night.

Overall, I know everything sounds ambitious, but I think the walls I set up around me in the past few months have finally tumbled down.  My head is clear and my motives are clean so I’m ready to lace ‘em up and kick ass.

Goodnight…

Take a Ride on the Death Train

Well, the great news continues for 2012.  “The Reaper Rides” has been selected to be in Rymfire Undead’s Undead Tales 2 coming soon.  It brought with it the best acceptance letter I’ve ever received and editor Armand Rosamilia was kind enough to let me reprint it here.

After careful consideration, where we looked at each sentence individually for “The Reaper Rides”, submitted for the “Undead Tales 2″ zombie anthology, and read it out loud and then backwards, and decided whether it fit with the already accepted stories in the anthology, and whether or not it stood on its own merit, and whether or not the story itself would leave an indelible mark on society (both living and undead) for generations to come, and whether or not the sentence structure, grammar, plot devices, need of a train in the story, and zombies vs. living people death ratios was right, how many females were in the story, the relative age of everyone in the story, median wealth of the characters, whether or not they owned or rented housing, number of pets, blood droplets per page (printed, of course), why the story was set on the East Coast vs. the West Coast, how often pizza is mentioned or not mentioned, as well as alcohol, and whether or not profanity was needed in the story…

 

Forgot what i was talking about…

 

Oh, yeah, your story has been accepted into the “Undead Tales 2″ anthology… more info later…

 

Armand Rosamilia

He later asked me how long it took me to figure out I was accepted to which I answered a couple of sentences.  I thought at first he was letting me down gently and explaining why it was being rejected so once I started laughing at how absurd the email was, I knew I got in.  Ok, about the story…

“The Reaper Rides” is a nice tale about a group of passengers trapped on the MARC train that runs in-between Washington DC and Baltimore.  When a quarantine protocol stops the train on the tracks between cities, the group finds out the images they only thought was on the news is on the train with them and Death has a schedule to keep.

 So look for the book for your e-readers shortly with a print copy following it.  There will be a call for all to order and enjoy the 16 tales of undead zombie goodness.  To help promote the book, I’m going to hold a contest where you can win a signed copy of the book, a signed book-plate with an original little bit of fiction on it, or you can win a death in an upcoming story or book.  I will post the details when the book is released.

Lastly, I sent out some things and I hope to have some news later.  The list of stuff to do grows all the time and the board is full of dates and deadlines.  I will leave you with one last thought, I believed finding my name on Amazon was the highlight of my career, but finding it on eBay is even better!  Click here for a good laugh!

Goodnight…