Geoff North's Blog, page 3

Away for two weeks

My wife and I are fleeing from the winter cold today and flying to Varadero, Cuba for a couple of weeks. Internet service there is shoddy, slow, and very expensive, so I won't be posting any updates or new stories until mid-December. I'm not going there to play on the internet anyway - I plan on drinking mucho cerveza and smoking them big, fat cee-gars!

I'm going to post a couple of short stories before we leave. They aren't brand new or anything, but they should fill the gap until I get back.

Looking forward to getting back and getting the first book of CRYERS on your reading devices January 1st.

Until then, ten cuidado!

Six Questions for Jeff Olah of The Dead Years

I had the great pleasure of meeting Jeff Olah last week. Jeff is the author of The Dead Years, a wildly popular zombie apocalypse thriller available on Amazon. I sat down with Jeff (via Skype) and asked some questions about his success and where he sees this going in the future.


Jeff:  I’d like to start by thanking you for the opportunity to share my story with you and your readers. 2013 has been a wild year for me with unbelievable highs and unforgettable lows. With that said, it has been by far the best year of my life.

Other Geoff:  How did your writing career begin, and was The Dead Years your first-ever project?

Jeff:  Going back to an early age, I’d always dreamed of being a professional storyteller, although I never figured myself to be the literary type. My idea of an author had always been that these were the smartest people our world had to offer. I knew I had stories to tell and wanted to get them down on paper, although I had no idea where to begin.

Sometime in 2001, I purchased a book titled “How to write and sell your first novel”. I read through the text at a feverous pace and for ninety percent of the book I KNEW I was going to be an author… Almost. Once I reached Chapter nine my perspective changed and every hope I had of living my dream vanished. This chapter was titled “The Publishers and Editors”. The detailed explanation of querying publishers and waiting for the obligatory rejection slips sounded to me like a month long trip to the dentist while simultaneously gouging my eyes out with a plastic spoon. That day I donated the book to the local library and went back to my day job… happy I even had one.

Fast forward to late 2012 and the story I read about self-publishing. I don’t really remember the exact article, all I do remember is that it told the tale of a few success stories and highlighted Hugh Howey. For the next few months and into 2013 I turned Google upside down doing research on the intricacies of self-publishing and what I needed to do to become successful. Hope was not yet lost.

The Dead Years wasn’t born until late March and in the two months leading up to its release, I started another story (A Military thriller) and finished about half of it before realizing it wasn’t the tale I wanted to tell at the time. Next, for a solid week I sat at a table and constructed the world that The Dead Years was to be set in and on March 9th I wrote the first line. With no expectations, two weeks later I loaded the first 17,000 word Volume to Amazon and with one eye closed waited for the reviews to come in.

That began my career as a self-published author. Nothing exciting, just me sitting behind the keyboard rattling off the best story I knew how, hitting the publish button and then jumping on Volume 2.

Other Geoff:  Are eBooks the only way you see yourself going in the future, or would you consider a traditionally published book? Perhaps a hybrid of both?

Jeff:  My only plan is to follow what the readers tell me is important. They seem to enjoy the path I’ve taken so far and my first priority is keeping them happy. Ebooks have given me and many others the opportunity that didn’t exist a few years ago and I am eternally grateful. That being said, whatever the readers are asking for I’ll try to find a way to give to them.

As far as being traditionally published, I think that if a publisher feels my work would be equally beneficial and it works for both parties, I would be willing to give it a try. I have reached out to one agent to test the waters, although if it doesn’t happen I won’t be heartbroken. I’ll keep writing, trying to make myself a better storyteller and searching for those who enjoy my books.

A hybrid between the two may work as well. A new buddy of mine D.A. Wearmouth seems to have found a niche in this area and is blazing a path. If an offer like this comes along, I definitely won’t run the other way.

Other Geoff:  Is there anything about The Dead Years you want readers to know that they already can't get through blurbs or reviews?

Jeff:  One thing many don’t know until they read my books is that I don’t use any foul language. It seems that readers enjoy this and was a decision I made before I started writing my first book. I wanted to do something a little different for the genre I write in and readers seem to appreciate it. I knew that writing some scenes may be a bit more difficult with showing certain emotions, although I knew it could be done. The television shows I most respected didn’t use this language and still blew me away with what they were able to convey through speech. I also knew this could help make my writing stronger and decided to look at this as a challenge. So far it’s working.

Other than that is just the fact that I write for my readers who I also consider friends. I want them to enjoy what they read and have dedicated myself to improving with each new book that I publish. I hope to keep them happy and excited about reading for years to come.

Other Geoff:  If zombie apocalypses and horror books in general didn't exist, what genre would you write in? What stories could you see yourself writing?

Jeff:  I would most likely write Technological Thrillers. I have an affinity for anything having to do with technology and would love to write in that world. I have two stories that may be written someday if it’s something readers want to see. I also have one short story that doesn’t really fit any specific genre that will be written at some point in the next year and I will give it away to subscribers to my mailing list. They have put their faith in me to write stuff they want to hear about and I feel the need to give something back.

Other Geoff:  Would you, or have you any plans to collaborate with other authors?

Jeff:  I’m glad you asked this and you already know the answer, at least partially is YES! I’m looking forward to you and I putting our heads together next year and giving the readers something they have never seen before. That’s all I’ll say about that project for now, but I cannot wait.

There are two other authors I would like to collaborate with. I would love to work with Darren Wearmouth, his ideas and storytelling are brilliant. He’s even a heck of nice guy to boot! It would also be a dream for me to put together something Post-Apocalyptic, Dark and Gritty with Hugh Howey, he really seems to love his readers, has a deep connection with them and his stories are second to none.

Other Geoff:  What's in store for Jeff Olah fans in 2014 and beyond?

Jeff:  If I have anything to say about it, 2014 is going to be a great year. Readers will have finished the first season of The Dead Years and will get their first glimpse at RATH, my next series, set in a Post-Apocalyptic future. As always, my main objective is to grow as a storyteller and I’m looking to be the Author people think of when they discuss Post-Apocalyptic storytelling around the water cooler (I know this has never happened in the history of forever, although a guy can dream).

Not much else to say other than for some odd reason I have been afforded the opportunity to do what I love for a living and I realize just how insanely lucky I have been. I promise not to squander this blessing and look forward to writing stories people are excited to read.

My author page can be found at Amazon.com/author/JeffOlah and if readers like what they see, I always encourage them to join my newsletter here on my site JeffOlah.com for updates and new book releases. I also love to hear from readers on FB at facebook.com/JeffOlah, and they should feel free to message me. I’ll do my best to respond ASAP.


Thanks for doing this, Jeff! And for all those presently reading his stories, or interested in more of Jeff's words, rest assured - it doesn't appear like he's going to be slowing down anytime soon!

Introducing CRYERS - available January 1st, 2014

Here it is - my new horror series! The title and tag-line pretty much say it all, but there's an excerpt below that sets things up with a little more details. Book One will be available on January 1st, and I plan on releasing subsequent volumes every four to six weeks. I'll be posting more information and samples over the next few days, so keep an eye out!


It had taken more than a coronal mass ejection to bring the greatest civilization on Earth to its knees. But it was enough to knock out the power grids. It had rendered those thousands of satellites—the ones that helped us turn left and right and gave us high definition pornography twenty-four-seven—into orbiting hunks of uselessness. Mankind’s numbers were cut in half.

Religious crazies set up in major cities left cold and black. They used the chemical weapons taking out another quarter of the population.

When enough power had finally been restored humanity’s hardiest unlocked the codes and unleashed the bombs. White fire burned color from the sky and mushroom clouds blanketed the heavens putting the stars to sleep for a hundred years.

A handful of survivors remained.

New life forms evolved at an accelerated rate in the planet-wide cesspool of chemical poison and radioactive fallout.

 

Apologies!

I promised you a free story every Sunday, and I will stick to that promise! Unfortunately I received a 'sick call' from one of my staff (real world job crap), and I've had to travel twenty miles on extremely icy, snow-heavy roads to work her shift.

Since the story was left behind at home, I'm not able to post it until I'm back safely at home. The Descent Part 3 will appear on the short story page this evening - no later than 9 PM Central Time.

PROMISE!

Nazi Horror and Swamp Things

The pictures above are from a particularly disturbing movie I saw last week called Frankenstein's Army. I was looking for some good, scary Halloween flicks, and ended up getting more than I bargained for. I'm not a fan of slasher titles; I'd sooner cut off my head than watch a Saw or Hostel movie (I saw the first of each series, unfortunately).

Frankenstein's Army was different. Yes, there was plenty of mindless violence and terrible acting, but the bad guys here were things straight out of anyone's worst nightmare. And the worst kind of nightmare our imaginations can whip up are the types with rampaging Nazi monsters! What the hell are those things? The guy in the middle could probably inflict some decent damage with a nod of the head, but the guy on the left? Looks like his helmet was peeled from a highway. So why is he just as frightening? Maybe it's because you realize someone made them - some sick, twisted fuck, Nazi scientist.

If I had to rate the movie out of five (which I'm not) I'd give it maybe a two. The story, the acting, the abysmal ending - it just can't rate much higher. But because I'm me, and not an official movie reviewer, and since this thing was what I was looking for, and considering nothing terrifies me more than Nazi abominations, how could I give it less than five stars? Look at the guy on the right - he's adorable!
So after FA, I had to have more. I ended up watching Outpost 3: Rise of the Spetsnaz. The acting was better, but the Nazi abominations weren't quite up to snuff. They were okay, just not from the same nightmarish, over-the-top, fucked up unreality of Frank's Army.

The two movies were actually very similar. Doomed Russian platoons stumble upon the remains of the Reich's most secretive and disturbing operations, the majority of soldiers die in the most grisly fashion, and one survives to tell the tale. Sorry if I'm ruining the set up, but come on, what were you expecting? Both are worth checking out if you're into this kind of shit.
Maybe my fascination for this stuff started a lot earlier - way back in the early seventies when DC Comics launched one of their best titles - Swamp Thing. One of the first issues introduced Arcane (I don't think he was an evil Nazi scientist, but he sure as hell shared the same qualities), and his patchwork herd of Un-Men.

The Swamp Thing series has been rebooted a thousand times over the last four decades - with some great writing and art - but none hold a candle to the original creation of Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. Those dudes were twisted - like their Un-Men.

So Check out Frankenstein's Army and the Outpost movies. Head down to a comic store and plop down a few hundred bucks on those Swamp Thing books. And if you can think of any other Nazi-Abomination movies and books, let me know!