Tag: update

HAUNTED begins

Authorial update!

I’ve officially spilled ink on the opening to HAUNTED, the next Click Your Poison book. That means I’ve organized notes, themes, and the major paths, or at least to the point where I can’t hold the words inside any longer.

This was later than I intended to start, but I’ve been distracted by a few things. A toddler and an infant, for starters, but also by a screenwriting project that will (hopefully!) lead to an interactive film written by you (the audience) and me (the me). I can’t say more on this now, but I’ve done all I can to help the producers sell the project to a studio, upon which I would be paid to write one of the more ambitious interactive fiction projects I’ve had the pleasure of dreaming up.

by Categories: Fiction, HAUNTED, MusingsTags: , , , 2 Comments

Message in a Bottle (MAROONED Update!)

Wow, I haven’t blogged since November. That makes this my first blog post of 2018! Yikes! It’s almost like I’ve been stranded on a deserted island, only to finally be rescued….

09F5A2E1-5836-11E8-980A-22000A5BC32C

I’m sorry I’ve been silent these last months, but the silver lining is that I’ve been toiling away during this period of obscurity. For those of you who’ve been eagerly awaiting my next book, the wait is nearly finished!

That’s right, the first draft of MAROONED is complete and I’ve moved onto editing. This means I’m going to need Beta Readers! (see below).

First edit: it’s no longer going to be called “Classically MAROONED.” Why? As previously mentioned, when I originally came upon the age of sail/pirate adventure idea, I had envisioned a retelling of classics like Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, or Moby Dick. But as I started researching, I kept coming up with ideas on how I would have done those stories myself.

So, nothing classic here. Just my own original ideas. It’s still set in that classic age of seafaring where you can dash into the role of dashing naval officer, cut to the quick as a cutthroat pirate, or cast your lot as a castaway. No need for a modifier, just an opportunity to get MAROONED!

I’ve had a blast writing and researching this book, and the result is a (mostly) historically accurate look into this seafaring world of adventure and a realistic test of survival skills needed on a deserted isle. Interested in an early read?

A Call for Beta Readers

I need your feedback to really make this book shine. Like someone beta-testing a game, you’ll playtest this gamebook, giving it a few read-throughs and let me know your thoughts. This isn’t to make sure my grammar and spelling are publication ready (that comes later), but rather to ensure the story is as compelling as can be.

The call for Beta Readers will come exclusively through my mailing list (which I’ve also neglected of late). So…if you want in, or at least want to hear the latest, sign up now.

From here, progress should move very quickly. Once I receive notes, make another round of edits, and send the book off to be proofread and formatted, MAROONED should come to you sometime this summer! I’m hoping for July/August.

Thanks for reading! What do YOU think? 

Leave me a comment below, and don’t forget to share and subscribe!

by Categories: MAROONEDTags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

There’s Some Awesome on the Horizon

In this blog post, I’ll offer an update on CYP#3, SUPERPOWERED, and talk about an exciting new book trailer in development.

But first, how about a click-bait worthy image?

Awesome Image by Jenny Parks. Check out more cat culture at: jennyparks.com/

Okay, onto the awesome on the horizon.

SUPERPOWERED is coming along! Not quite as quickly as I’d have hoped (moving from California to Colorado slowed me quite a bit), but good news for CYP fans! I’ve finished the major storyline, and I’m about 1/3 of the way through each of the other two, so let’s call it 5/9ths done. Soon you’ll get to play around with three different superpowers and be a force of good or an agent of evil in all three! I’m having a helluva lot of fun writing it, which usually means you will too as the reader. Get excited!

As I approach finishing the book, I’ve been thinking about how to market it. The book trailer for INFECTED has proven a very successful means to share the first book in the series, so I figured that might be a good idea here too. What’s that you say? I don’t even have a book trailer for my second book? I thought the same thing! So first I’m making a trailer for MURDERED.

After some research, I recently partnered up with the dynamic duo behind PixelTwister Studio to create a “killer” book trailer (get it?).

If you like checking stuff out, start with their website: www.pixeltwisterstudio.com/

 

They do amazing work with “dynamic typography” (text used in creative ways) and blend that with animation to come up with some rather compelling trailers. After having seen the new teaser for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, I’ve seen firsthand just how successful this technique can be. MURDERED is their first mystery/thriller trailer, so they’re equally excited about the project.

Stay tuned and subscribe (there should be a little box over on the top-left, right?) for updates on the project, and very soon, the trailer itself. I’ve already started working with the team at PixelTwister, but I couldn’t help but give my readers an update! I’d love to hear from any who share our excitement in the comments below. Until next time….

 

by Categories: MURDERED, SUPERPOWEREDTags: , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments