Chapter 6 is Live

Sorry about the very long wait on this one.  A few things have been going on, my daughter was born recently for one (which was wonderful).  But now I'm back and writing again.  This newest chapter I whipped up in just a couple days, which is nice since it usually takes me a full week.

I've been very pleased with the rewrites for this novel.  It seems a lot more grown up.  It takes itself more seriously now, but in a good way.  This is really the first time we see Randy in any detail.  The first time I created this character, I'd simply just been planning to kill him off in a later scene.  But Randy survived that scene.  It surprised me how savvy he was.  I also came to like the little guy despite his sillyness and childish flaws.

It seems that as the stories go, Randy becomes a stronger and more capable character, really stepping into the role of monster hunter.  But it's whether or not this shift in attitude changes his character that remains to be seen.

Follow this link to see the newest chapter:

http://hiredgunnovel.blogspot.com/

Happy Friday

Chapters 4 and 5 have dropped on my new blog.  Hit the link below to check them out.

http://hiredgunnovel.blogspot.com/2016/05/chapter-5.html

Actually, why does everything drop these days?  Remember when the only that dropped was balls?  Get your mind out of the gutter, I was talking about News Years.  Used to be that only rap albums dropped and every thing else either got released or just came out.  But I guess saying that something has dropped makes it sound a bit more dramatic than: I have recently pasted about 2000 words of fiction from my word processor into a blog post and have clicked Publish afterward.  Not dramatic at all.

So, these two chapters see the introduction of Cynthia and Randy, two characters who seem very popular among my many and diverse fans (just my writer's group consisting of four people including myself).  It's been really fun to redo these scenes and watch them turn into something more grown up.  The new prose really change the story into something comfortable that takes itself seriously.  I like it.

Another Friday, Another Chapter

Chapter 3 of Hired Gun has officially gone live.  So far, I've been getting a really strong positive response.  This book is really blowing up.  Tons of new views on the new blog, which is cool.

I feel like Chapter 3 is where the story really starts to develop.  You get to see Jason as a troubled hero with a difficult line of work, and he struggles with feeling that his efforts have little impact.  Something I always tried to come back to while writing this book was that Jason Ingram is a man.  Nothing more.  Not Superman.  Not Batman.  Just a regular dude who does some really interesting stuff.

Urban fantasy seems to be a genre plagued with wizards, summoners, half-demons, half-fairies, gargoyles (as heroes!), vampires--you freaking name it, and some UF hero is one.  That was tempting for me to fall into at first.  I'd been planning to make Jason a faith-based hero, like a paladin or a cleric.  But the more I wrote from his voice, the more I discovered that his plainness is what makes him special.  The fact that every job is a life-or-death struggle made me really care about him.  Anyway, I hope you like it.  Happy reading.  The new link is below.

http://hiredgunnovel.blogspot.com/2016/04/chapter-3.html

Friday Christmas

Chapter 2 of Hired Gun is officially live.  Cruise on over to the link in the last post if you'd like to read it.

I feel like Chapter 2 is stronger than the first one.  It introduces some of the book's main villains and really sets the stage for the finale.  Overall, I'm very happy with this chapter.  Wish they could all be Chapter 2.

I've been very careful about copy editing this story before I post it, but sometimes I goof up.  Eventually, when the story is finished, I will sweep over it one more time or hire someone else to do it.  Copy editing is a bit like putting up wallpaper.  Just as soon as you get it all nice and smooth in one spot, you notice another that that's falling apart.  Happy reading.

Hired Gun Is Now Live...Sort Of

I'm still working deep rewrites and revisions on my first Urban Fantasy novel Hired Gun.  It still has a ways to go before I start submitting it around to agents or putting it on Amazon, or whatever.  But I feel confident that the new stuff tells the story nicely.  So, having decided that this project needed to somehow get off the ground, I've created a new blog for it.

Hired Gun: A Free, Action-Packed Urban Fantasy Novel

http://hiredgunnovel.blogspot.com/

Tune in every Friday for a new chapter.

You can follow the above link to read the first chapter, or you could always wait a few weeks for the chapters to build up.  My target will be Fridays, but I'll also post here when I make a new chapter live.  Some people have asked me about adding a Donate button to the new blog, but I'm not exactly sure about that just yet.  I feel like this book is for fun and there shouldn't be any tip jar leering at you while you enjoy it.

It's not really publication, it's more like blogulation.  It's like publication but there's no money in it.  Wait--it's exactly like publication.

The plan is to finish revising this story and posting the new work this way until it's done.  Then, most likely, the blog will be taken down when I finally sell the story.  Of course, actually selling the story could take years so don't hold your breath.

Wrote a Short Story

I've recently made a submission to an anthology called Circuits and Slippers and I'm very excited about it.  Even if they don't accept my submission you should go check it out.  Not exactly sure on what form it'll be published in, but it's supposed to come out this September.

The anthology is going with the theme of traditional myths and fairy tales retold in scifi settings.  I thought it was pretty interesting.  So, I submitted a story based on the epic of Beowulf.  I'm actually pretty happy with the results.

I still have yet to find a home for Hired Gun, sadly.  But I guess that goes without saying.  Still no response from Jukepop, but I figure their editorial staff is probably bogged down with submissions anyway.  It seems like everyone wants to be a writer.

Not sure why, the pay is absolute shit.  I've been working for a little more than two years and I'm still in the hole five bucks.  Mostly, what I keep reading is that the biggest reward one gets from writing is getting to make something.  That's wonderful and all, but a couple wads of pocket cabbage wouldn't hurt, either.

Publication...Sort Of

You'll obviously note that I haven't been around much.  I'd like to make some very colorful excuses about this and that, and so on, but the truth is that very few people are reading.  The original purpose of this blog was to promote my self-publishing, which has been a wash.  Maybe, if I see a little pick up over the next year I'll pop in here again for news and updates and so forth, but I've been getting a lot more out an offline journal that I've writing in.

Sorry bizarre public platform where anyone can say anything, it was fun.

Moreover, I'd also like at least plug my story that will soon be appear on digital screens near you.  I've recently discovered Jukepop, an indie publisher for serial fiction that accepts novels published chapter by chapter.  My first book (now currently title Hired Gun) will appear totally free to read in the coming weeks.  Once it's fully revised and ready to be read, I'll go ahead and drop it on Amazon or something.  I've pretty much decided that the big publishers can bugger themselves.  You can't get in unless you're already in.  How the bloody hell does that work?

I read an article today about whether or not you can make money with your novel, and the frank answer was basically "No".  It was very well supported and largely true (at least it coincided with the research that I did).  Agents and publishers are really only seeking books that will sell over 50,000 copies a year.  Most books will only sell about a tenth of that.  Furthermore, they advise you to get your start by publishing short fiction, but guess what?  Those short story magazines want to sign stories from big-name authors that are already published, too.

So, how does a regular Joe Blow writing about magic and dragons get published?  You really just don't.  Or, if you do, you have to wait two to three years for it and you still live in obscurity.  Blows ass, I know.  Anyway, whole reason I came here was to drop a link for Jukepop and show off the new cover, so here goes that.

I'm actually pretty happy with this one.  Not bad for five bucks.  You can find the story on Jukepop here.