Monkeys-Paw-Blog
The Atheist and The Christian is ready for purchase
My newest story is complete and available for purchase through Amazon. I've received a lot of positive feedback in the preliminary stages and do hope others will be willing to give my novella a go. |
The Atheist and The Christian
I'm excited to announce that I'm busy working on another writing project. This one is going to be something new for me. It's a completely original short story, which for the first time won't be directly linked to a proven classic. That's right. I'm trekking out on my own. I've still got my irons in the fire regarding a companion story (actually bookend stories) for "The Yellow Wallpaper" but I'm taking a break from each of those until summer. All the same, I am planning to get at least one of those two done in 2013. My new, original, project is plotted and about a quarter complete. It's coming together relatively easy because I'm not beholden to a previous author's vision and writing style. It's just me, my mechanical keyboard, and my two characters.If you haven't pieced it together as yet, one of these characters is a Christian and the other an Atheist. They're life-long friends who've learned to ignore the one gap neither can seem to cross. They each believe what they believe and no series of discussions or life altering events can seem to sway one another. That is until the Christian proposes a fairly simple question with a real-world catch. What's that question? Well, I'm not gonna tell! Not yet at least. It suffices to write that it's the kind of question that would test the resolve of any atheist whether he'll admit it or not. I'm shooting for a summer release, but it's never easy predicting when the writing will be entirely done. For now you can enjoy the mock cover I designed. It may undergo a few changes but it's pretty much the way I want it to go to press.  |
Wallpaper
Oh I know that wallpapers haven't been in for some time but this is a different kind of wallpaper entirely. I've got Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story classic "The Yellow Wallpaper" on the brain. I'll be issuing an edited version in 2013. I'm shooting for late December or early January. As usual, I'll be adding some words to the text in order to have it tie more easily to my companion story. This one is going to be a prequel. How in the world can I possibly work in a story to "The Yellow Wallpaper", which is so cleverly and tightly written as to be a self-contained gem? THAT you'll have to discover for yourself when I release that story in late 2013. There's no working title as yet or cover, but the story is PLOTTED in it's entirety. Keep checking in to the-yellow-wallpaper.com for updates. I'm working to upload some teaser pictures and tidbits in the next week or two. |
Sink Your Paws into This!
My apologies for the exclamation point in the title. It seems they're all the rage these days. However, I felt it appropriate because it was one year ago that I sat down and scribbled out the plot to my second book, The Most Dangerous Game: A Taste for Game. Today, also marks the official publication date for that work. If you have even the slightest affinity for Richard Connell's short story, then I feel confident you'll enjoy this companion novel. The Most Dangerous Game: A Taste for Game picks up where Connell left off - Rainsford returned from the sea and none too pleased with Zaroff and his little game. As of this moment, it's available only in digital form. I'm not entirely sure when I'll get to printing hard copy versions either. Possibly within six months. |
Where I Write
One thing I've grown more curious about is how an author goes about creating his or her work. I'm beginning to have a better understanding of that process these days; or, at least, how I go about creating a story. I thought that reading and seeing a few of the steps I go through might prove interesting to a handful of you. Select the image below to be whisked away to my sister-site The-Most-Dangerous-Game.com. Click on the picture to see and read more.  |
For Those who Enjoyed "The Most Dangerous Game"
What follows was originally posted on my sister website www.the-most-dangerous-game.com in response to a few inquiries about how far along I am with my second book, The Most Dangerous Game: A Taste for Game. Sanger and Zaroff are closing in on an end to their stories after being put through a veritable meat grinder of physical and emotional punishment. So yes, this means that after a slight lull in May, progress on A Taste for Game has returned to normal. Huzzah! The end promises to be most fitting, though that truly is for you -as a reader and lover of "The Most Dangerous Game", to decide. I want you to know I put many hours into planning the events in the story and they're respectful to both the original source material and the characters. Here's another teaser for you to savor, a little flavor text: Made of black marble, the fireside shared the same impression of gloomy immovability everything else in the stronghold seemed to emit, and yet it drew his attention, specifically the towering mirror above the dulled mantle. Of French design, the gold-leafed looking-glass had been fixed so as to angle down and capture only those who would stand directly before the fire-pit. Rainsford saw only himself reflected in it as light from the flames set a reddish blush about him. Peeking up from under hooded brows, he had the eerie sensation of looking, not at himself, but at some lonely and distracted stranger. The more he looked, the more the details that made him recognizable evaporated, like an artistic portraiture belonging to another man. His study of the pitiable creature in the mirror, left him detached -at once disconcerting and mesmerizing. Zaroff was invisible to him. And some more...Outside, Rainsford fought turning back and looking to where Zaroff’s corrupt construct loomed behind him like a guillotine blade, but he could not resist and peered over his right shoulder catching a heavy slice of it. The rising stone walls, seamlessly fitted, made the place look like a fairytale fortress, and he considered how the sun, high enough to cast directly against the walls, came off as dull upon the towering edifice, leaving a brackish smear to blotch an otherwise perfect cobalt sky. Even the tall windows, sunken and appearing raked by long fingernails from a monster hand, refused to reflect the morning’s glory. Any hint of vitality came in the form of various mosses and lichens holding onto the lowest roofs in melancholy desperation against the ripping winds. Want still a spoonful more? Email me and I'll zip another section to you. |
Because more than a few have asked...
...I remain
on track to finish book two this summer. I'm leery of writing any more in the
promises department because -frankly- I know better than to do that. Know one
thing: You will find out exactly how everything ends for Rainsford and
Zaroff. I will not be pulling a Richard E. Connell with the finish to this
story. No way. |
Put into 697 Paws
I agreed to commit my book to Amazon's lending library last week. As part of that deal, my work receives 5 days of free promotion through their site. I decided to put in for 1 of the 5 days just to see how it functioned, mainly because Amazon doesn't make clear how they promote the work. (In fact, I'm still unsure how it was promoted beyond being listed as free.) Regardless, the day I selected was Sunday, December 9th. I woke to a pleasant surprise Sunday morning because some 50 or so copies had been downloaded by customers at least willing to read the book for free. This tally continued to climb throughout the day so that by the end 697 copies of The Monkey's Paw Trilogy were in the paws of unsuspecting Kindle owners. Most interesting in this activity was the increased "sales" in the final two hours. "Sold" copies were fairly steady per hour until the book hit the Top 10 list in short stories and reached 20th in the horror genre. The final two hours, 10-12 PM EST, saw almost 200 downloads of the book occur. It was an eye-opening experience and shows the power of being ranked near the top, if you will, the Google search effect. The book finished ranked 501st overall on the free Kindle book list. So, if nothing else, people clearly like free books. I did download 1 free book and left it at that, simply because I knew I wouldn't have the time to read more beyond that. I also purchased a copy of Stephen's Leather's The Basement which was an enjoyable, cheap, and quick read. Oh and wouldn't you know it, that book was in the Top Ten for it's genre. Of course, I bought it. So, seeing if I can generate more interest in the work, I putting The Monkey's Tale into the Lending Library system and making it available for free download tomorrow, December 16th, 2011. Maybe you can get your paws on it. |
I'll write back. Promise!
From time to time, I check the number of visits to the ole' website, and I'm almost always impressed by how many visitors seem willing to peruse its meager offerings. While it's one thing to see the "traffic" crossing the website, it's entirely another to have any real sense of who you are. I'd love to get a correspondence from you -yes you- my appreciated Internet visitor. Tell me why you’ve stopped on site, or what you enjoy reading, or even how you feel about my work, should you have read it. I will write in return. Promise. |
A classroom on the horizon?
I received an email from Pearson Publishing earlier this week. They were seeking permission to reprint my red Monkey's Paw cover for a textbook they were compiling for use in Singapore. I thought it was some sort of clever SPAM or phishing expedition at first glance, but after reviewing it with more care it looked legitimate. I was more than happy to allow them to use the image for their publication, but a small part of me wonders what royalties are for something like this. To the company’s credit, they included in their correspondence a willingness to pay me for the image explained that process to a fair enough degree. I'm sure there's not much bean in such a deal, but even if I passed over -what I might consider good money- it's a good feeling knowing students will see the cover while studying Jacobs's excellent story. This was, and continues to be, a goal for me -getting my Money's Paw companion stories into a classroom setting. Someday… |
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