Next UP!

Ok. So, it will be July 1 in just a few hours. The first day of a new month brings with it new beginnings. New chances to have a "successful month." I have determined that my month will be successful. We are on OT at the day job. That means that our cash flow is going to be a bit easier at the house.

More importantly I am going to begin hammering out my next novel starting the first. I know that many of you are thinking, "Oh he's going to try that NaNoWriMo stuff (National Novel Writer's Month). Actually, my answer to that is this: while I admire the people who endeavor to smash out a 50,000 word novel in one month, I do not intend to force myself to follow these guidelines for this endeavor. I am going to write as solidly as I can as constantly as I can. If I finish in a month, then GREAT! If it takes two, then that's cool too. If it takes three, I will probably start to seriously question my commitment. Truth of the matter is I will probably finish it must faster than much slower. I have let this idea really stew in my brain for a while now. I think I have it simmered down to its essence and can understand the broad strokes of the whole.

This also means that if I don't answer as much as I normally would then I am probably lost in a crazy Nazi run dystopia filled with sorcerers, cowboys, robots, and steampunk inventors.

Synthesis

For about a month now, I have been working on fleshing out an alternate history world for my next writing forays. I think I have finally settled on a solid formation of history. My world has a solid mix of magic, mayhem, clockwork robots, zombies, and Nazis. Imagine, if you could for a minute, a world where Nazis control the western world, Hitler is an immortal sorcerer, and if starvation doesn't kill you, the zombies just might. Now compound this with tons of real world historical references to the occult and there you have it. A zombie apocalypse full of Nazis, steam punk, and magic.

In other news, the overtime at my day job just kicked in. Hopefully, this will not cut into my writing time too much, especially since this novel idea just congealed. Both of my daughters have swimming lessons this week. I love my life.

Some blogs to check out this week if you have time:

• jakonrath.blogspot.com
• www.smreine.com
• jamiemchenry.blogspot.com
• and for my hockey friends slapcheck421.blogspot.com

That's just a few shout-outs. And as always, Be good, but have fun.

A change of pace - Update

If you know me. You know that I love fantasy. I love everything fantastic. From the shimmering scales of dragons to the pitter patter of gnomish dinosaur riders in New York of the 22nd Century. My mind has never really been well rooted in reality.I finished up my first fantasy novel. In reading back through it, something just doesn't feel right. Now, I may be too critical of the piece due to my relationship with the genre.

My wife/editor and I have talked about things a bit and she and I have agreed that something needs to be done with the novel (possibly file it away under "nevergettingpublished"). I have several short thriller/horror bits that I am putting together right now. One is already up on Amazon.com, and others are soon to follow. Very soon.

Sales of my lone short story are low, but I expect that. I haven't done a ton of advertising about the story. I think I am waiting until I have a few up.

Also, I have started the planning stages on a dystopian steampunk novel. I have mixed feelings about several aspects, so I am still outlining and revising those outlines. There is something about the world or the story that irks me pretty heavily.

On a different note, my fellow writer friend Jamie McHenry recently offered a contest on his blog for an Amazon gift card. I inadvertently won. (btw, I usually don't enter to win contests on the basis that I don't deserve to win) So, I have a few extra bucks to spend on one of my fave sites to shop - Amazon.

I know I will be picking up a few books written by other indie authors. While are out there, you should check out my short story, The Sweater.

The Sweater, a new Short Story

So, my first publishing on Amazon.com. "The Sweater" is a short story in the horror genre. Here is the back cover copy: A young couple, Tom and Anne Settler, live normal, just-making-it lives. Tom's job pays the bills, mostly. When a mysterious entity threatens their way of life, as well as their sanity, will they be able to hold things together? Or will the shadows claim them?


I am truly proud of this story. I have it priced at $0.99. What's not to love? You can pick it up for less than the cost of a soda. Some people have already asked me, "But I don't own a Kindle. How am I supposed to read it?" I present to you Kindle for PC!


What I want all of you to do is this: please tell two people about this short story. It's a buck. It's quick. And it's creepy!


Thank you very much.
Michael