C.W. Kesting's Blog: FreshMuse

Free Books for review!!

Announcing two separate Giveaway events for my latest novels. Check out both events here at Goodreads before they end in a few weeks:

Envar Island Giveaway: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

This Garden of Souls Giveaway: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

I am offering 5 free copies to interested readers. Enter now for yours!

Also, check out my two free short stories available now through Smahwords:

A Small Measure of Anxious Grace At: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...

Inquisition At: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...

Thank you and ENJOY!!

Another New Short Story Released!!

I am pleased to offer another short story for fans of this lost art. You can download Inquisition at Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...

This short story was the inspiration for my latest full-length novel: This Garden of Souls. It is an ontological mystery that introduces yet another interesting chapter in the epic tale of Man and God and their insatiable quest for one another.

Inquisition is a futuristic tale of humanity and hubris. An existential parable. It introduces the us to a weary “Assessor” by the name of Rindell, who has begun to not only question his own morality but that of his entire culture as he is assiduously tasked to pass terminal judgment on entire societies based solely on his assessments of their worthiness through the testimonies of selected "defendants".

Please visit Smashwords and check out this and other stories available there.

Enjoy Inquisition !!

Free Short Story Give-Away!!

I'm pleased to offer a free gift to all interested readers!!! A copy of my most recent short story, "A Small Measure of Anxious Grace", is now available at SmashWords. For FREE!!

Here's a synopsis of the 3000 word short story:

Emmella is an anxious girl. She worries about the things most of us ignore or take for granted. She believes she can see things very few people can, experience events and causal relations before they even occur. Her mother is patient with her, trying to empathize and manage Em's anxiety. She assumes her daughter will grow out of this phase; but what she's about to realize is that maybe there's much more to Emmella's perceptions than just mere anxiety. And maybe it's time she start taking Emmella's observations a little more seriously.

Go to:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...


Download and share. Please leave a comment, review and critique as it only takes a minute. Also, take a few moments and read my latest interview as well. If you enjoy this story, I encourage you to check out my other novels.

Fourth book finally released!!

I'm excited to announce the release of book number four: This Garden of Souls. Now, this little 300 page excursion into the cosmic quantum mind was nearly 8 years in the making and was both challenging as a writer and as a fan of the genre. What began as a simple writing exercise ended up being, without question, my deepest voyage into my own existentialism. I hope that you, kind reader, are willing to accept the challenge and will allow This Garden of Souls to open your mind to an entirely new way to conceptualize our world.Perhaps you will find the answers to your own vexing questions. As always, enjoy the story

Envar Island: The Movie?

I'm proud to share that my nephew and I have qualified as finalists in the Hollywood Screenplay Contest with our treatment of Envar Island. Daryk burned the midnight oil converting my story to movie ready media in effort to make the deadline for one of the film industries major competitions; and the result is top consideration among hundreds of entrants--many of whom are experienced industry scribes. We are both very proud of this honor, and excited for opportunities that may come to follow. Who knows, maybe two nobodies from the Midwest can turn Hollywood on it's ear with some fresh new stories...

This motivates me to get back to work on Envar II!!

Spread the word and help us get as many people reading Envar Island before it becomes a blockbuster film. You know how the book always seem to be better, right ;)

Screenwriter? Now I'm a screenwriter?

Apparently, I've either made a transition from novels to screenplays; or I've been sleep writing. Judging by the fact that I haven't contributed to my own blog for over two months, I'd say it's more the latter. I'm certainly not as good at keeping this updated as I had originally intended; But... I have good news that may also suffice as a good excuse, fortunate me. During my absence, creative muses held me captive, resulting in something I never dreamed possible: I HAVE completed a screenplay, in collaboration with an emerging young filmmaker, and am super-excited about it! It began as an experiment -- inspired from a routine tube-float down our river--to break up the monotony of my usual writing and evolved quite quickly and (surprisingly) smoothly into a very promising screen project. Daryk (my eye-behind-the-camera) and I are now at that precipice where we need to decide our next step: secretly (or not maybe not so secretly anymore) I think we both would love to make this ourselves, independent of studio entanglements. But, there is something to be said for having studio money and resources to throw down. Fortunately, this film requires very little by the way of effects, production, sets, etc... so, it's thankfully, precisely what the film industry has been lacking over the last decade: an original story with real, believable characters who dialogue so that the audience might actually care about them.

Anyway, we're excited and we'll have to see what the next few weeks and months bring us. Look for buzz and promo's for "Float", an existential, supernatural tale of fate, redemption, and second-chances. It also happens to be a love story, and is set right here in our own Muskegon River valley.

Who knows, if you're real cool to the producer/director, we might find a bit part for you ;)

Bye for now...

A Tribute to Ray Bradbury

A sad day, indeed, as I just learned of the passing of my favorite author, Mr. Ray Bradbury. At the tender and impressionable age of 12, his collections of short stories pulled me into richly textured worlds populated with the most amazingly familiar characters imaginable. Bradbury had a knack for slowly revealing the fantastic depths that lay just beneath the surfaces of our everyday lives. A fellow Illinois original, he changed the way I looked at my own midwestern childhood--encouraging me to challenge my own perceptions and consider the possibilities of the extraordinary. From as early as 7th grade, his stories enchanted and affected me like no other.

He was one of the pioneers of the genre, weaving common social and psychological issues into the fabric of science fiction while at the same time creating some of the most fantastic stories of any generation. His tender treatment of very real and relatable characters brought a wholesomeness to his writing that no one has been able to match.

While perhaps best known for his ground breaking classic, "Fahrenheit 451", there are so many other rich and satisfying stories: I suggest "Something Wicked this Way Comes" for a great classic scare. "Dandelion Wine" is a wonderful tale of boyhood and summertime youth. "Martian Chronicles" is the quintessential Bradbury saga, full of bright visuals and wonderful layers of humanity. My favorites, by far, are his collections of short stories. Bradbury is the master of the short tale = larger lesson.

His influence on my writing is clear, as I pay some sort of homage to him in each and every book. I will miss him.

I encourage everyone to pick up a Bradbury book and give it a thorough reading. His stories are like a warm summer walk through your favorite small town park. Lets honor this legend the best way we can, in a way he would appreciate: Read a great book by one of the classic story tellers of the past century!

Thanks, Ray, for giving us your words. Your ideas. Your cast of everyday heroes. You did it like no other.

Launching a New Author!!

Welcoming both myself and any followers to my new Goodreads experience.

On the excellent recommendation of a long lost (now rediscovered) friend I'm jumping into a new and wonderfully exciting universe...

Okay, it's just another boring author's blog. I only hope I'm up to the task of keeping things current, light and interesting.

So, here goes Day 1: Finished uploading my own three books as well as adding a few favorites to my shelf. Then things got to feeling a bit too fluffy and positive during my rating & reviews of certain classics; so I decided to include that perennial goat, Catcher in the Rye, and then proceeded to give it the proper thrashing it deserves. Apologies to Salinger Fan Club members.

This catharsis not only helped reestablish a healthy dose of pitiful (but nevertheless, satisfying) self-righteousness but also--quite surprisingly--inspired me with an unexpected angle through which I might breech my current writers block. So it's on to the keyboard for a test run on my current WIP.

FYI, my 4th book (with a working title of Sequences--though I'm leaning more toward What Echoes in Life) is a true experiment in both tone and style. It is a definite departure from the Sci/Fi genre, yet I think it will still be considered "fringe". For now, let's call it an existential parable.

I say that it's an experiment because my initial intent was to write an entire story using dialogue only. I've always enjoyed writing dialogue and feel that it is one of my strengths; so I figured I'd challenge myself. Besides, to my knowledge it's never been done before. It started as a short story (as they always do) but then evolved past that. (BTW. Short story authorin' is far more difficult than novelin').

Now, this new manuscript has grown into more of a combo between interview excerpts and a 1st person oral history. The gist: A man experiences several iterations of himself during his tenure in some sort of psychiatric institution (that may or may not be something/somewhere other than what we expect) and is forced to face the consequences of his choices during different realities...

Cool, huh?

I hope so...

I want to shake up the whole concept of moral accountability and freewill. In other words, does it really make a difference how we live our lives?

Thoughts? Ideas?