Gerald Dean Rice's Blog, page 48

Taking a #break #amwriting

I’m writing my YA novel as if this is the very first book I’ve ever written. I suppose, in a way, that’s true, although I don’t want to be disingenuous to The Ghost Toucher. But because it was my first novel and there’s so much about it that’s all over the place, I’m coming up against things now that I didn’t experience then. I taught myself how to plot and wound up with a storyline that went in several directions at once.

Oh, wait, I just gave you the inside scoop. Yes, I’m writing a YA novel.

But I started by giving myself a skeleton to work from. I even stole it from another author. It was immensely helpful even though I’ve severely deviated from it in spots. But what I’ve found with my aggressive writing schedule that I sometimes just don’t feel like writing. I had plenty enough time over this weekend, but I wrote a total of 1,135 words between Friday and Monday. But that’s actually okay, I think.

This book started as a NaNoWriMo project in November. After writing about 10,000 words that month, I decided to continue the project and in addition to setting writing goals, I created a writing schedule to set which days I write. 1,293 words per day is a lofty goal, so I’m not disappointed I miss it on a daily basis, but as you can see below, I didn’t come close to hitting those numbers over the weekend.

And that’s okay. The intention is to finish my WIP by mid-month February and then work on redrafting. The idea is to set a day for when you want to be done and work backward. Figure out a total estimated word count, give yourself about two week buffer and figure out how many words you need to write per day to hit your total. Use that buffer to give yourself some days off!

Trailer for 2nd Half of Season 4 of #TheWalkingDead #amc

Can’t wait until the walkers are moaning at your door? Try The Butterman Cometh. Only $0.99.

A new teaser trailer for The Walking Dead has been revealed – scroll down and click to watch.

The 31-second-clip focuses on Andrew Lincoln’s character Rick Grimes, as he tries to build morale among his fellow survivors following a confrontation with David Morrissey’s The Governor. The zombie show is set to return from its mid-season break in the US on February 9.

It was revealed in October last year that The Walking Dead had been renewed for a fifth season. It is currently the most-watched show in America among adults aged 18-49 and the premiere episode of season four drew a best ever audience of 16 million viewers.

Read more at http://www.nme.com/filmandtv/news/new-teaser-trailer-for-the-walking-dead-revealed/329544#J8pqUpLZXUk4oHE4.99

Check out Fleshbags, the ‘Sickest. Zombies. Ever’ according to Zombiephiles.com.

I Only Have Eyes for You #amreading #horror #iartg

Download a copy of Where the Monsters Are. Only $0.99! It’s been getting some great reviews!

            I must be dead.  I can’t feel a thing, but there’s this music echoing far off in the distance.  I feel completely at rest until I feel a soft fingertip begin to stroke my forehead between my eyebrows.

            Slowly, my eyes open and look into the most angelic face I have ever seen.  A beautiful brown-skinned woman faces me, completely naked at least from the waist up, her hair like sunshine.  Her eyes are closed, but the way she’s smiling, I wanna get up and kiss her or something, but I’m just completely numb with comfort, resting my head in her lap.

I think I remember what happened.  Me and a couple buddies rented a boat and went fishing on the lake.  We didn’t catch any fish, but we sure got hammered.  So hammered, we got lost.  We tried finding our way back to the shore when that storm came out of nowhere, swallowing the daylight in angry, dark clouds.  Ted and whatever wasn’t tied down got washed away in the first huge wave that hit us.  Chris got pitched right off the side, staring at the suddenly blanketed sky, when a huge wave rose abruptly beneath us and threw him off the deck.  Al was still holding onto the steering wheel when we hit a wave so big it almost stood the boat on its stern, the bow pointing into the sky.  He dangled by the wheel and I was hanging onto a sail, arms and legs wrapped tightly around the pole.  We hung there in slow motion and I thought we were going to tip all the way over and land upside down.  But we rode the wave out and slammed hard right side up.  I woke up flat on my back, seeing stars and coughing up water and trying to get my breath back.  My vision cleared and I sat up looking over to where Al used to be.  As I got my footing, I turned and looked around.  The rain was coming down in sheets so thick I never saw the boat heading towards the rocks.

Then I woke up here with her.  The longer I lay here in her arms, the more distant all that seems, my memories of everything fading away with each stroke of her hand.  The expression on her face is saying, “You’re here with me now. Be safe.”

She blows something off her fingertip and begins to stroke my left leg.  A single hair catches in my right eyelash and without opening her eyes she deftly plucks it out with her free hand.  Something doesn’t feel right as she strokes my leg.  I try to sit up to see if it’s broken, but she gently eases me back down, not saying a word, but telling me to relax.

I rest my head in her lap again and look at that beautiful smiling face and I don’t care about my leg anymore.  The discomfort goes away and she eventually moves to my arm, running her fingers up and down.  I reach up to touch her face and see my arm has become translucent.  I can see the powder blue sky through it, and the ghost of the bones and veins underneath.

Panicked, I open my mouth to scream, to speak, to something, but as soon as I think it, her hand is holding mine, taking hold of my fear.  I look at her face and it simply tells me, “No,” as it radiates love and affection that resonates all through me and I relax again.  The music in my head returns, and she begins stroking my arm again.  I’m falling in love with her, I realize, as I drowse without closing my eyes and fall asleep desperately wanting to look into hers.

I don’t recall opening my eyes.  I’m briefly aware she has been rubbing my chest, the after-sensation of her hands touching me, still lingering.  She cuddles me like a baby, rubbing my neck and running her fingers through my hair.  I feel like I’m still wrapped in a wonderful dream as her hands rapidly go over my face and head.  She lovingly traces every crevice, the corners of my eyes, my laugh lines, the little divit under my nose, over and over again.

I want so badly to touch her face and as I realize I can’t, I understand what has happened.  I don’t need to touch her face anymore.  She holds all that is left of me in her hands and somehow… somehow I still see.  And I know.  I feel myself coursing through her veins, as much a part of her as she is to herself, but still separate.  She holds me away from her, waiting for my answer and I say, “Yes,” with all of me that is left.  She opens her eyes and there are only empty sockets.  She closes her hands over me and when she opens her eyes again, she sees through me.  Instantly, the barriers of where I end and she begins, disappear and we meld into one.  We look down to where I was lying and there are only the tattered rags left of what was my clothing.  We look a moment, not in mourning, but simple curiosity and then use our tail to push back towards the rising tide and back into the ocean.  Our gills open and begin to breathe as we swim away.

 

I Only Have Eyes for You #amreading #horror #iartg

I just stumbled across a story I wrote 10+ years ago. I may have written it back in the 90s, I’m unsure, though. But if you stop by tomorrow at 7:30 you can read I Only Have Eyes for You. It’s the only horror story I’ve ever written with a mermaid in it.

Download a copy of Where the Monsters Are. Only $0.99! It’s been getting some great reviews!

Writers Needed for Short Ebook Writing (anywhere) #scam

I stumbled over another one of these scams on Craig’s List. Here’s another example of someone trying to make money off you without you really getting paid. I’m not saying you can’t find a legit publisher on Craig’s List, but one that wants to pay you $100, at most isn’t one of them. Now I’m not necessarily against getting paid as a ghost writer (which is what this comes off as), but if you’re going to take a flat-fee as payment for up to 40 pages of writing, $100 is nothing but a rip-off. If they really meant business, they would cut writers in for a percentage (10% is fair for new or unproven authors, 25% at least for authors who are established).

And I’ve made no changes whatsoever to the posting as it appeared on CL’s site. Why don’t they put the name of the company in here? Is there a reason this is kept secret? Again, not that that locks this in as a scam, but it certainly is indicative along with the fact there are no terms put forth outside of the meager stipend they offer.

We are looking for writers that can write structured, well organized content in an ebook format. We are looking for different subjects. 

Some sample categories:

- Weight Loss

- Stress

- Health

- Psychology

- FictionWe need books in all categories, so please email us with your areas of expertise. You will be provided with reference material to use as inspiration which you can then rewrite in an original way.The ebooks should be about 30-40 pages long. Pay is $50-$100 per book depending on the subject. If your work is satisfactory there is more work available immediately.Please email me with:

- the subjects you would be qualified to write

- Sample(s) of your work

- Your estimated delivery of such an ebook

Thanks!

***MUST INCLUDE SAMPLES OF YOUR WORK.. Otherwise your message will be ignored

Location: anywhere
do NOT contact me with unsolicited services or offers
Compensation: yes

Instead of losing money on your manuscript, why not make the most of it? If you don’t know how to publish your own story, pick up a copy of How to Publish on Amazon Kindle, Smashwords, & Nook the Easy Way! Only $2.99!

A Clip from Vessel, tonight on #Sleepyhollow #Fox

I’m glad I checked, I didn’t know Sleepy Hollow was back tonight. and actually, the season 1 finale is next Monday. Watch for yourself and tune in tonight!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu-NzZxWd9s

Missed any of Sleepy Hollow this season? Then catch up here!

Scheduling Your #Writing

It’s important that you get your family involved in your writing process. If you’re like me, then you have to actually work for a living. Also, if you’re like me, you have a family. Both require a considerable amount of attention and thus, take away from the time you have to write on a daily basis. If you’ve read my previous post on setting writing goals, that’s only half the picture. I’ve fallen way short of meeting mine simply because when I’ve been able to write has been sporadic at best.

Again, get your family involved. Work, you really can’t do anything about unless you can set your own hours. But it would be to your benefit to create a schedule, discuss it with your family, make your adjustments, and then implement.

I’ve enclosed my Writing Schedule. The green are my blocks for writing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean those are the only times I can write. I still use my smartphone when I walk the dog to write using Google Drive. And I tend to stay up later than my wife at times and I might steal a moment or two then.

Liked this post? Why not check out a book or two? A couple of them are free.

Addiction #poem #poet #amreading

I sniff, then spit,

You don’t know how many

Sheets of paper it took

To straighten these here lines

 

I wish I could say

They been cut by Chilean

Poets, but I had to

Steel it under my own name

 

Coking vowels and consonants

After I piled out a

Powder of letters

Then stamped, barefoot, on

 

Each and every word

And razor bladed

Divides between stanzas

But I confess,

 

I took a little for myself,

Unraveled on,

Rolled up George Washington,

Whispered it out loud

 

And blew my own mind,

Leaving you short

By one hit.

What’s Going On? #amwriting

So I’m about 36,000 words on my current WIP. I can’t really go into detail on this one yet. Still a lot of things up in the air (more on that later). Let’s just say this is potentially really good news.

But I’m also thinking about future projects. There’s another author I’m planning to work with, we’ve already agreed in principal and have a really cool idea. I’ve written a few thousand words already and read a scene of his that is equally awesome. This tale is going to be the ultimate in one-upmanship (I’m not sure how to spell that).

I found an old poem I wrote while I was still at Oakland University. I read it and man, I was pretty good. I may type it up tomorrow and post it.

In the meantime, while you’re waiting for more of my stuff, why not pick up a book or two?

Great Review of The Dogs of City Hall #amreading #horror

Download a $0.99 copy of The Dogs of City Hall.

When the cardboard cut-out dogs of City Hall come to life, no one is prepared, except for the imaginative Gary, and even he has no idea of the carnage that’s in store. A suspenseful and viciously quick read, it’s a page turner and unique in the world of horror fiction. Gripping and well thought out, it’s amazing how Rice can create a believable charcater in such a short piece. Most def. worth a read.