L. Lane Bailey's Blog, page 9

Horror Fiction

Another competition piece on Vocal was for a horror contest. It isn’t something that I have written much of, but I thought I’d give it a rip. This is the beginning of the result. You can see the whole piece over here on Vocal. Read More

The fog has rolled back in from the sea and my time is short.  I hear the call again as the lights of the village are being choked out by the supernatural mist.  The voices cry out for me to join them, and the pain of not going is too much to bear. 

It...

A Competition Short Story

Over on Vocal there is a huge Winter Fiction Short Story contest. I have a couple of stories entered, and will be entering a couple more over the coming weeks. This is the beginning of the first one. It can be found here.

Edward stepped off the plane and walked down the stairs, evoking a thirty-nine-year-old memory.  Back then, as a child travelling with his parents Ecuador was exotic and new.  He was thrilled, riding the high of expectations despite the exhaustion of travel.  He rememb...

Reviews…

Yeah, so I’m a little late today. I’ve been working on my NaNoWriMo project (National Novel Writing Month) so I have been a little preoccupied. For NaNoWriMo I am writing a 50k word novel. It isn’t going as well as I’d like, but I have been staying on track as far as word counts.

Back to the reviews.

For independent authors, reviews are like lifeblood. More reviews means more visibility. More visibility means more sales. More sales means more opportunity for reviews.

A vicio...

the next New Life excerpt

This should be my next book, but the name is going to change. It’s tough to come up with good excerpts that don’t give too much of the story away or spoil surprises that might be in the book.

Owen and Taki bookended Deke and Jimmy as they walked back to one of the black armored Excursions that the company owned.  Dutch and three other guards climbed into an identical truck ahead of them.  The two vehicles pulled out of the cemetery and turned toward the cabin.  From where they were, it w...

New Life excerpt

This should be my next book, but the name is going to change. It’s tough to come up with good excerpts that don’t give too much of the story away or spoil surprises that might be in the book.

Twelve years ago

Raul’s chains were broken.  Deke Swanson had given him carte blanche, and he was ready to come out swinging.  He had lost his brother to a drug addiction, and he felt little more than hate for the entire operation, from top to bottom.

He had read the classified reports about Dir...

Where Do Books Come From?

That is a question I get a lot. Where do the idea for my books come from? Read More

Honestly, it can get convoluted. Some… I just don’t know. Planning Vengeance/Dig Two Graves just sort of happened. I had a plan, and it was COMPLETELY different than the story that emerged. You might think it is crazy, but the characters moved me to tell a story (which also spilled into Who, What, When, Why?) and I was along for the ride. I used to joke that I had to write fast because I wanted to know...

Another Grafton excerpt 2

This is the second part of the excerpt from Gunny’s Toughest Mission, a novella in Grafton. It is a fun, exciting read.

“I don’t think you will, Sheriff,” Melody said, striding across the yard with purpose.  “In fact, I think it best if you climb back in your little car and drive away.”

“Listen here, Missy, I don’t know who you think you are, but we are in MY county.  We do things MY way.  I AM the law here.” Read More

The Sheriff kept his hand resting on the butt of his pistol, men...

Another Grafton excerpt

This is from Gunny’s Toughest Mission. I really liked this scene… it gives a little more insight into Gunny (obviously) and Melody, as well as their relationship. It will be in a couple of parts, so get ready to tune back in.

Melody Grafton stepped around the decrepit, old metal shed that had blocked her from view of the dilapidated mobile home.  She’d unstrapped her shoulder holster and handed it to her husband.  She strode across the bare ground, her black sneakers leaving their impress...

Excerpt from Grafton

Grafton was published over the summer. It has four novellas in it, two about Gunny, one about Melody, his wife, and the other about someone else… I don’t want to give it away if you haven’t read it. This story is called Hostage Situation, and centers on Gunny. Check out the book for more action.

Gunny arrived at school a little after six in the morning.  He pulled his Hummer H1 into the employee parking area of the school.  He’d been challenged by a couple of students to run with them. ...

Railroaded – excerpt 3

This is a book that is currently a work in progress. There WILL be changes in this before it makes it through, IF it makes it through. The story is about a waitress that inherits a fortune and a mystery from a customer.

Ginger was up early.  She was a lot more excited than she was the night before.  She smiled as she pulled the battery charger out of the garage and hooked it up to her car.  A few minutes later it was idling happily in the driveway. Read More

After getting her car st...