Eddie D. Moore's Blog, page 2

Update on Current Plans

I checked the spreadsheet I use to keep track of submissions and publications yesterday and nearly had a panic attack. I have published one whole 100-word drabble so far this year, and I currently have no outstanding submissions. This year is almost half over! I feel like I should have accomplished more, but I want to do something that actually makes a difference. It doesn’t do any good for me to publish dozens of stories in anthologies produced by small presses. That doesn’t gain a writer fans willing to follow them and buy their books. I know this from experience.

I’ve dabbled with Tiktok, Reels, and YouTube without success. The analytics say that most people swipe on my videos after approximately 3.5 seconds. That’s not enough time for people to hear what I have to say and decide that they don’t like what they are hearing, so I have to assume that they don’t like what they see. I need a hook. Maybe I’ll start each video with women in bikinis jumping on a trampoline and then… Boom! I’m telling them about my books.

My home laptop hasn’t worked correctly for the last couple of years, so I went last week and bought a new one. Now I’m not limited to using my work computer and will have more opportunities to write. I’m going to sit down with my dad over the next few weeks and let the AI read it to us. This will be a great opportunity for us to accomplish something together and create a positive lasting memory.

The idea of a Hemingway-ish anthology is on hold at the moment. I’m sure I’ll do something with the idea in the future, but I have a couple of things to accomplish first.

I have some exciting news that truly deserves its own post, but I’ll bury it here for those who are decacated enough to read the entire post. (Please comment if you’ve made it this far.) If you listen to fantasy audiobooks, you have probably heard Robert Jordon’s Wheel of Time or Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight series. These books are narrated by Michael Kramer & Kate Reading. They have agreed to narrate my anthology, Recirculated Tales! This will be a bucket list event for me, and I’ve never been so excited about the possibility of emptying my savings!

I’m currently working on a short story prompted by one of my writing friends, but I wanted to write a quick post for the blog. The clock keeps ticking, and I can’t shake the feeling that it’s running faster every day. I’m going to try to be more consistent about posting across every platform. Links below!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Eddie.D.Moore.Author

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@eddie.d.moore

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@eddie.d.moore.author

X: https://x.com/EddieMoore27

Books!

Frights & Flights – https://mybook.to/FrightsandFlights

Recirculated Tales – https://mybook.to/recirculatedtales

Poe-ish Tales – https://mybook.to/Forevermore

Misfits & Oddities – https://mybook.to/misfitsandoddities

After Storming Area 51 – https://mybook.to/afterstormingarea51

2024 in Review & Expectations of 2025

I was surprised to find that the last yearly post I wrote like this was 2020/2021. I haven’t set any writing goals in three years! I’ve never completely quit writing, but I’ve came close. Every year I have wrote and published a few short stories and several 100-word drabbles, just enough to call myself a writer. I likely didn’t write the yearly reviews simply because there wasn’t much to say. So, let’s look at the numbers for the last four years:

In 2021 I published three stories. (Total word count 1569)

In 2022 I published 8 stories. (Total word count 2748)

In 2023 I published 2 stories. (Total word count 200)

In 2024 I published 7 new stories. (Total word count 5319)

If we were to judge success by my output, then so far my peek was in 2019. That year I published 110 stories and 43,509 words. At this point, I count the fact that I’m still writing as success!

I may not have published in quantity, but I do have a few accomplishments to brag about. I made my first professional sale in 2022 to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. The story, A Time to Sing, was published in 2023. In 2024, I reformatted my first anthology, Misfits & Oddities, from 8.5×11 to 6×9 so that all my books are the same size. I also published two new anthologies in 2024: Frights & Flights and Recirculated Tales. The audiobook for Frights & Flights is currently in production, and hopefully, Recirculated Tales will be as well soon.

I’m rather proud of the fact that with the help of AI and a good photo editing program that I created the covers for my two newest anthologies. This is an admission that comes with risk because some of my friends have publically declared that they will unfriend anyone using AI art. I honestly don’t see the issue, but that’s a discussion for a post all by itself.

In 2021, I was halfway through editing my dad’s book Smoke of the Fire. Even though I have worked on it here and there, I’m still about halfway through those edits. I’m also still only halfway through editing my own book Explorer VIA. If I haven’t told you before, let me tell you now and with my whole throat: I hate editing. It is the main reason that I have spent so much time writing short stories. It doesn’t take much to distract me when I’m editing simply because I don’t want to do it. Oh look, I need to update my budget, play a couple games of pool and watch a little TikTok. Whoops, where did the time go? The first draft is fun to write. Anything after that is more like work.

How do we judge success?

This question has many different answers. For me, success today is finishing this post, editing it (yuck), and taking off the trash. I would count myself successful this year if on 1/2/2026 I’m using a new laptop to write the yearly update while sitting under a gazebo located on a tropical beach. Or maybe I actually finish the edits on my dad’s book and write next year’s post on my old computer after losing 50 pounds. Honestly, as long as I’ve published a new story and not went any further into debt I’ll take it!

This marks my 10th year of writing and publishing! So from experience, let’s talk about what hasn’t worked. I have published hundreds of stories through non-paying magazines and websites for exposure. It makes the ego feel good when you get an acceptance, but I can’t tell that I’ve gained any followers through exposure. In fact, I didn’t gain any followers after publishing in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction either and it is a professional, well-known magazine. Exposure will get you arrested, but it doesn’t seem to work in the publishing world.

This blog hasn’t gained me any followers either, but here I am wasting my time. I’ve gave away hundreds of ebooks through Amazon and gained zero followers and a handful of reviews. I’ve advertized my books on Facebook, Amazon, and through other magazines. The advertisements did sell a few books but not enough to cover the expense. I tried reading my published drabbles on TikTok, but 99% of the followers I’ve gained are either Russian bots or women hoping I’ll click their profile link to some dark corner of the web. My local library had a local author book fest this year. I brought 10 copies of all five of my anthologies and came home with every single book. I’m giving them a squinty side eye right now. That-didn’t-work might be the name of my memoirs one day.

So, what are my goals for 2025? Apparently, I need to set a few because just winging it isn’t working either.

1) This year I will set up a table at a couple conventions and/or bookfests and try my luck selling books face to face. The worst thing that could happen would be that I lose a couple hundred bucks and end up with a second box of my own books to look at.

2) I plan to publish a few short stories in anthologies and/or online. I need that yes from a third party every so often to keep me motivated.

3) I have two more mini-anthologies that I’m considering publishing this year. The first would be an anthology of drabbles that I have gathered over the years. I have published over a hundred drabbles that I can put in the collection as reprints, and I have nearly that many more that have never been published. The second would be a collection of stories inspired by the life and works of Earnest Hemingway that would be similar to my Poe-ish Tales anthology.

4) I plan on continuing my edits on my dad’s book. I should’ve listed this goal first because I plan on giving it priority. My father will be 74 this year, and I want him to see his book in print during his lifetime. We never know how much time we have, so it is time to stop putting this off.

Free Ebook this Weekend!

My latest mini-anthology, Frights & Flights, will be free 9/13/24-9/17/24 but don’t wait, get it now! In fact, tell your friends to get the book as well. I’d love to give away hundreds of copies over the weekend, and with your help, it can happen. Who knows, I might even grab the number one slot in some subcatagory on Amazon.

Eleven of the stories in this collection were previously published but not widely circulated. New Listing, The Inheritance, and All Fun & Games have never been published and are only available in this anthology. All Fun & Games is my first attempt at writing a Lit-RPG story. After binging the audiobooks for the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman, I had to give it a try.

Once I nail down some art, I will release a print version of Frights & Flights. I’m a firm believer that audio is the ultimate form of a story, so hopefully, the audiobook won’t be too far in the future as well. Until then, click the link and get the ebook while it is free! EBOOK LINK

Surprise! New Anthology!

I was looking through my files Friday and found a project I had been working on last year before I was distracted by something shiny or discouraged by my own self-doubt. It’s truly a toss-up on which excuse I should give.

I selected seven stories for this mini-anthology. To be honest, I selected The Fall of Tryos and Sister Martha’s Mission because I’ve always felt like they deserved to exist in audio. Rose’s Robot was produced as a podcast by Manawaker Studio and has never been released in a print format. This allowed me to correct these concerns.

Living Ink & The Emperor’s Will were both published by Every Day Fiction, and part of the publication process was having three people approve of your story and tell you what they liked or disliked about the story. The comments about Living Ink were filled with praise for the story’s uniqueness. It was their comments and the comments left by readers I received when the stories were published that boosted my pride in these stories. Sergius the Sorcerer was published by Far Horizons in 2015, and it was written to go hand in hand with The Emperor’s Will, so I felt compelled to include it in this collection.

Reset was the first story that I had accepted for publication. It was published in The Saturday Night Reader a Canadian magazine. Digital Fiction Publishing bought reprint rights to this story which made it another first for me.

Now you know why these stories are special to me. So, here is your opportunity to put them together in your personal library. Click the link below and get your copy today! Thank you for reading.

Recirculated Tales

Proud Announcement & Request/Challenge

 Success! I started submitting my stories to publishers eight years ago, and like most authors, I made a list of goals for myself. One of them was to someday see my work inside a bookstore. Thanks to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, I can now put a checkmark next to that particular goal.

In bookstores across the nation, you can now find copies of the July/Aug issue for 2023. My story, A Time to Sing, can be found near the bottom of the contents page. I may not have a complete book on the shelves yet, but now that dream seems to be one step closer and actually possible.

Here is what the cover of the issue looks like:

Do me a favor. If you find this book in the store, take a photo of it and tag me with the location. It would mean quite a bit to me!

When this story was accepted last year, I started checking the shelves of bookstores for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction every month, and it made me smile every time I found a copy because I knew this day was coming. Unfortunately, I have checked bookstores in five different states in the last six weeks, and I’ve not found a single copy. Can you find one?

Randomness – March 7, 2021

I’ll make a post soon on a new project I’m working on. However, It is mentioned in this post.

Sue Marie St. Lee

Random Thoughts/Irritations:

On following your blog…If you do not allow me to click the “follow” button without requiring my email address, I will not follow your blog. Many bloggers give an option for the reader to surrender their email address. I prefer having the option.

Unfinished books – reading, not writing

“False Memory” by Dean KoontzOut of curiosity and having never read one of Koontz’s books, I borrowed this from my library in Kindle format. Perhaps my expectations were too high based on Koontz’s popularity, but, I could not finish this book. I could not develop an interest in his characters even after reading to its halfway point. It boils down to a matter of taste and Koontz’s writing does not appeal to me.“Blackwater: The Complete Saga” by Michael McDowellI do not recall how I ran across this book, but am happy…

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2020 Review & Expectations for 2021

 I’m not real sure what to say about my writing output for 2020. I started with the goal of publishing in twelve different print anthologies and twelve stories online, but I decided during the summer to edit a book my father wrote in the 80s. I focused on the editing for a couple of months, but work called, and I lost my resolve.

I was accepted for the twelve anthologies, but one of the publishers sucked me into a political discussion, and I ended up being dropped for disagreeing with him. I was only three stories away from my online goal, but I published a few stories on my blog, so I guess you could say that I did meet my publishing goals. I usually publish between thirty and forty thousand words a year, but for the year of 2020, I published less than fifteen thousand words.

I consider Poe-ish Tales Forevermore my greatest accomplishment for the year of 2020. If you happen to go to the Poe Museum in Richmond, VA, look through the books in their library, and you will find a copy of this anthology. Or you could just go buy a copy for yourself from Amazon.

I believe that goals are important, but you have to be careful not to set yourself up for failure. If you make your goals too easy, you lose the opportunity to challenge yourself and develop your talents. On the other hand, setting unattainable goals will leave you discouraged and feeling inadequate. I’m going to list my goals below, so feel free to tell me what you think in the comments.

Goal 1: I edited about half of my dad’s book, Smoke of the Fire, last summer. I’m going to try and finish this project this year.

Goal 2: I want to write at least twelve stories to submit to professional publishers. I almost made my first professional sale in 2015, but the publisher ultimately decided to pass when they were making their final decisions. I consider getting that far an honor since most professional publishers have a rejection rate of over 99%.

Goal 3: I will write a few drabbles and 500-word stories when the mood hits, but I’m not going to set a publishing goal here since I want to focus on my dad’s book and getting accepted into my first professional market.

Goal 4: At some point this year I will publish at least one more mini-anthology. It could be a collection of previously published stories, or I may do another collaboration with a few of my writing friends. We will just have to see what the year brings.

I’ve got some writing to do, so let’s get 2021 started. If you haven’t noticed, the days are already falling off the calendar.

Alone for Christmas

The lights in the garland slowly flashed on the hearth, and the coals in the fireplace still filled the room with warmth even though the flames had died out. Jan took a sip of her spiced wine as she glanced out the window to see if it was still snowing. She smiled when she saw that the ground was completely white. Her smile slowly slipped away as a tear rolled off her cheek. She glanced at the empty recliner and sighed.

Jan blinked and pulled back her head in surprise when something cold touched her cheek. Her smile returned as her cat began to purr and rub his face against her. “Oh Orange Kitty, you always know how to cheer me up. I know you miss him too. This stupid pandemic has taken too much from us all. First, the virus stole our beloved Dean, and now the mandates meant to keep us safe have robbed us of our family time.”

The cat continued to nuzzle against Jan’s hand, and a few silent moments passed before someone knocked at the door three times. Jan picked up Orange Kitty and went to the door. When she opened it, her grandson shouted from the driveway, “Merry Christmas, grandma!” He opened his car door and pointed toward her feet as his wife stepped out to stand beside him. “We wanted to see you open your gift!”

Jan found a plate wrapped with aluminum foil and a wrapped package at her feet. The gift wrapping was a festive blue covered with miniature snowmen. When she put Orange Kitty down, the cat trotted back deeper into the house as if to say: Nope, I’m not going out today. Jan sat the plate on the antique entryway table by the door and began unwrapping the present.

The picture inside was of her sitting on her husband’s lap the previous Christmas. She clutched the photo to her chest, and her eyes filled with fresh tears. Her grandson shut the car door for his wife and walked around to the passenger side of the car. Jan couldn’t seem to speak past the lump in her throat, so she mouthed the words – I love it. Thank you.

After her grandson pulled away, Jan put the picture in the recliner. Orange Kitty rubbed a cheek against the photo’s frame and curled up in front of it. Jan smiled and softly said, “I know how you feel, Orange Kitty. I miss him too.”

Jan took the plate to the kitchen and looked under the foil. There was enough food for two piled on the plate. She nibbled on a piece of ham as she replaced the foil and put the plate in the fridge for later. The doorbell rang, and Jan went back to the front door.

Her daughter, Karen, waved from the sidewalk. “Hi, mom! I can’t stand the thought of you being alone on Christmas, and I just wanted you to know that I love you!”

“I love you too, honey!”

“It’s freezing out here, so I won’t keep you. I’ll call you when I get home. I just didn’t want the day to go by without seeing your face.”

“You’re so sweet.”

Without another word, Karen walked away. Her daughter used to visit almost daily, but since she worked as a nurse in the Covid wing, she decided it was too dangerous to visit her mother until a vaccine was available. It was hard to believe that nearly a year had passed since her daughter had set foot in the house.

Before Jan closed the door, she picked up another present from the doorstep. She slipped a card out from under the ribbon tied around it and read its contents allowed. “I know this has been a tough year for you, but I want you to know that we all love you and miss you. It pains me to live so close but have to stay so far away. I truly believe that this will all be over soon. Love, Karen.”

Jan opened the gift and found a small jewelry box. The silver necklace inside reflected the different colored Christmas lights as they flashed. There was another note inside the box that said: I have one just like it. We’ll match the next time we get together, but until then, when you wear it, know that I’m thinking of you and doing the same. Jan left the jewelry box open and placed it on the coffee table where she could see it just as someone else knocked at the door.

When Jan glanced out the window, she didn’t see any vehicles in the driveway or on the sidewalk. Her curiosity grew as she walked back to the door, but when she opened it, there was no one there. She checked the porch for gifts, shook her head, and glanced around the yard one more time before closing the door.

Jan heard someone singing and opened the door again. Her grandson and his wife stepped out from behind the neighbor’s hedgerow. He was followed by Karen and her husband. Their song grew louder as Jan’s brother and sister stepped into view. Friends, neighbors, and extended family joined the choir and found a place in the front yard. Since everyone kept a safe distance apart, the yard was soon full and people began to take spaces along the sidewalk and in the street.

When the song came to an end, Jan wiped away her tears and tried to raise her voice loud enough for everyone to hear, “That was beautiful. I have never felt so loved. Thank you for making sure I wasn’t alone on Christmas. It means a great deal to me. I only wish Dean was here to hear it.”

“Sometimes Christmas wishes come true,” a familiar voice said behind her.

Jan covered her mouth in her excitement, turned, and threw her arms around her husband. “I was so afraid that we were going to lose you. I was told that you were going to be in the hospital another week at least.”

“The doctor said that I was no longer contagious this morning. I’m sorry, but after being in the hospital for the last two weeks, I’m afraid; the only gift I’ve got to give you is me.”

A new song began outside as Jan buried her face in her husband’s chest. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Misfits & Oddities Giveaway

Oct. 11th is the last day that Misfits & Oddities. To celibrate the release of Poe-ish Tales Forevermore, I decided to offer Misfits & Oddities for free over the weekend. Over 70 people have taken advantage of the giveaway, and Misfits & Oddities, as I write this post, is currently #10 in One-Hour Literature & Fiction Short Reads on Amazon!

Don’t miss out on your free copy of Misfits & Oddities! Download now

Trust me, you don’t want to miss out on Poe-ish Tales Forevermore! Buy now

Pre-order - After Storming Area 51

My mini-anthology, After Storming Area 51, is available for pre-order! The release date is set for 9/19/19, so you can learn the truth the day before the actual event! Reserve your copy today! mybook.to/afterstormingarea51