D.T. Neal's Blog, page 4
February 27, 2025
Shutterclique Book 2
INFERNA, Book 2 of my Shutterclique superheroic urban fantasy series, is about to release, and I'll admit that I'm happy to be back in that world.
There's an optimism in that series that I spiritually need in the face of the cultural catastrophe we're facing in this country.
I have four more novels to write in the main Shutterclique series, as well as numerous spinoffs. I'll likely take refuge in those novels as the world burns around us, in addition to doing what I can for democracy.
Having already mentioned my goal of writing four novels a year for the next several years, I'm confident that I can do that. The ghost story I've talked about before isn't forgotten amid the Shutterclique hullabaloo; that one is nearly done (first draft) and will marinate awhile before I revise it. It's my process -- bang out the first draft, let the book marinate, then revisit and revise/rewrite as necessary.
It's just funny to me that I have a grim ghost story in my head as well as the more lighthearted superhero stories -- different sides of me, I guess. The old line about every cynic being a wounded idealist -- I feel that a lot. I wear cynical armor to protect my gentle spirit.
The lure of the Shutterclique for me is that it's so exuberantly high-spirited, with a potent sense of justice, I find it helps lift me up even in the face of the nightmare world we're seeing. It's a bit of my armor.
In addition to INFERNA, I have a cyberpunk book coming out later this year, as well as a willfully utopian SF novel, and then the ghost story in the Fall. Rollercoaster time.
Dokken | In My Dreams
There's an optimism in that series that I spiritually need in the face of the cultural catastrophe we're facing in this country.
I have four more novels to write in the main Shutterclique series, as well as numerous spinoffs. I'll likely take refuge in those novels as the world burns around us, in addition to doing what I can for democracy.
Having already mentioned my goal of writing four novels a year for the next several years, I'm confident that I can do that. The ghost story I've talked about before isn't forgotten amid the Shutterclique hullabaloo; that one is nearly done (first draft) and will marinate awhile before I revise it. It's my process -- bang out the first draft, let the book marinate, then revisit and revise/rewrite as necessary.
It's just funny to me that I have a grim ghost story in my head as well as the more lighthearted superhero stories -- different sides of me, I guess. The old line about every cynic being a wounded idealist -- I feel that a lot. I wear cynical armor to protect my gentle spirit.
The lure of the Shutterclique for me is that it's so exuberantly high-spirited, with a potent sense of justice, I find it helps lift me up even in the face of the nightmare world we're seeing. It's a bit of my armor.
In addition to INFERNA, I have a cyberpunk book coming out later this year, as well as a willfully utopian SF novel, and then the ghost story in the Fall. Rollercoaster time.
Dokken | In My Dreams
January 30, 2025
Sometimes
With everyone's attention being increasingly balkanized, I'll sometimes post things on one channel, just to see if anybody runs across it.
Like I don't always push Post XYZ to multiple channels. It's kind of a bit of A/B testing on my part, seeing where there might be some engagement.
My social media is pretty much a still pond, and always has been, even when I've posted content reliably and tried to vary it. Whatever and whoever I am, it's not something that the denizens of social media particularly value.
Now that the techno broligarchs are flexing, maybe people will increasingly tune out (unlikely) and engage with other media (like, you know, *koff* books *koff*) and we'll see a return to reading as a tonic to these doomscrolling days.
Or not.
Like I don't always push Post XYZ to multiple channels. It's kind of a bit of A/B testing on my part, seeing where there might be some engagement.
My social media is pretty much a still pond, and always has been, even when I've posted content reliably and tried to vary it. Whatever and whoever I am, it's not something that the denizens of social media particularly value.
Now that the techno broligarchs are flexing, maybe people will increasingly tune out (unlikely) and engage with other media (like, you know, *koff* books *koff*) and we'll see a return to reading as a tonic to these doomscrolling days.
Or not.
January 27, 2025
Halfway There
Not that anybody reading this particularly cares, but I'm at the halfway point on the ghost story I'm writing.
I'm working through it with the understanding that there'll be ample revisions and rewrites to make sure it's all buttoned down. The life of a literary "pantser" as ever. We trade necessary rewrites for organic flow in the prose.
That said, I'm pleased how it's going, even though the shadows of the Catastrophe (see USA) hang over the work, as they hang over all of us.
It's hard to be a compassionate and thoughtful American. Maybe it always has been. Anyway, the work proceeds, which counts as a win in these troubled times.
I don't think anybody will read this ghost story, but maybe people will surprise me. It'll be the first one I produce under the new pen name. I have five pen names, now, reflecting different genre places I go.
If you do read this new book (coming out in Autumn of this year), I'll be curious what you think of it (e.g., ratings & reviews). If there's a decent reception for it, I may conjure up some more ghost stories. We'll see how it goes. As I already insinuated, I'm not really holding my breath.
The Specials | Ghost Town
I'm working through it with the understanding that there'll be ample revisions and rewrites to make sure it's all buttoned down. The life of a literary "pantser" as ever. We trade necessary rewrites for organic flow in the prose.
That said, I'm pleased how it's going, even though the shadows of the Catastrophe (see USA) hang over the work, as they hang over all of us.
It's hard to be a compassionate and thoughtful American. Maybe it always has been. Anyway, the work proceeds, which counts as a win in these troubled times.
I don't think anybody will read this ghost story, but maybe people will surprise me. It'll be the first one I produce under the new pen name. I have five pen names, now, reflecting different genre places I go.
If you do read this new book (coming out in Autumn of this year), I'll be curious what you think of it (e.g., ratings & reviews). If there's a decent reception for it, I may conjure up some more ghost stories. We'll see how it goes. As I already insinuated, I'm not really holding my breath.
The Specials | Ghost Town
January 21, 2025
Working Soundtrack
I'm working steadily on my WIP ghost story, inspired by and influenced by the national nightmare we're facing.
My goal is for this book to be 60-75K words, max. A shorter novel, by my standards, which feels right for the genre.
To that end, my working soundtrack (something I so often do when I write, as you may remember) has trended this way:
Massive Attack
The Sound
Autolux
Portishead
The XX
Mission of Burma
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Horrors
These moody musical offerings convey the right vibe for this novel.
This book isn't likely to see publication until October-December of this year, so in the meantime, to get a sense of it, listen to the above, and you'll have the right vibe.
I'm enjoying how this one is going, feel like it should be a satisfying ghost story if I do it right.
My goal is for this book to be 60-75K words, max. A shorter novel, by my standards, which feels right for the genre.
To that end, my working soundtrack (something I so often do when I write, as you may remember) has trended this way:
Massive Attack
The Sound
Autolux
Portishead
The XX
Mission of Burma
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Horrors
These moody musical offerings convey the right vibe for this novel.
This book isn't likely to see publication until October-December of this year, so in the meantime, to get a sense of it, listen to the above, and you'll have the right vibe.
I'm enjoying how this one is going, feel like it should be a satisfying ghost story if I do it right.
January 16, 2025
Been There
One of my novels coming out this year is one I've written and rewritten over the past 6+ years. It's gone through a number of revisions, as I tried to fine-tune it to the cultural moment we're facing.
Bizarrely, the sadistic finger-wagging by the GOP at California is represented in the book, as I knew just how malevolently partisan they are. There's a wildfire situation in California in the book, and the GOP proxies in the story behave exactly as they are currently.
Points to me for prophecy, I guess. The truth is, Arendt's "banality of evil" idea informs my thinking. The bad guys are predictably callous in their conduct, which makes imagining the worst of them easy.
The novel in question (I'm always loathe to toss out titles before the book's published) is a science fiction parable of sorts -- one part A STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND and one part CHILDHOOD'S END.
It was the kind of book that when I first wrote it, I thought "Nobody will believe it." However, since then, we've watched cultural catastrophe hit the country, and what was beyond comprehension will apparently be all too real.
Will anybody read it? Probably not, given my luck to date. But there are lessons in it, maybe. It's SF satire, maybe? Who knows how people will take it.
But it does make me sad that the cautionary tale I wrote is playing out in real time. We're cooked.
Bizarrely, the sadistic finger-wagging by the GOP at California is represented in the book, as I knew just how malevolently partisan they are. There's a wildfire situation in California in the book, and the GOP proxies in the story behave exactly as they are currently.
Points to me for prophecy, I guess. The truth is, Arendt's "banality of evil" idea informs my thinking. The bad guys are predictably callous in their conduct, which makes imagining the worst of them easy.
The novel in question (I'm always loathe to toss out titles before the book's published) is a science fiction parable of sorts -- one part A STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND and one part CHILDHOOD'S END.
It was the kind of book that when I first wrote it, I thought "Nobody will believe it." However, since then, we've watched cultural catastrophe hit the country, and what was beyond comprehension will apparently be all too real.
Will anybody read it? Probably not, given my luck to date. But there are lessons in it, maybe. It's SF satire, maybe? Who knows how people will take it.
But it does make me sad that the cautionary tale I wrote is playing out in real time. We're cooked.
January 14, 2025
Makes Me Wonder
Watching the whole Neil Gaiman thing blow up is interesting, given his genre prominence over the years. Much like JK Rowling, it'll be curious to see how much his predatory nature will affect his sales.
I never got into Gaiman's work, even as others raved about it, so I can't judge him as a writer. It's interesting to me that people are getting pissy about other people never getting caught up with Gaiman -- it's like they're projecting their own discomfort with lauding a writer who turned out to be a Grade A predatory creep and sexual abuser.
What's to say? Gaiman's fall (?) won't translate into sales for me. As a marketing proof point, all I can say is that I'm not a predatory sexual abuser, but will that drive sales? Most likely not.
I'm not a bigot nor am I an abuser. All I do is write stories across genres. I have a dark sense of humor and am a rampant smartass. I try to write compelling books. Is that enough in this world?
I never got into Gaiman's work, even as others raved about it, so I can't judge him as a writer. It's interesting to me that people are getting pissy about other people never getting caught up with Gaiman -- it's like they're projecting their own discomfort with lauding a writer who turned out to be a Grade A predatory creep and sexual abuser.
What's to say? Gaiman's fall (?) won't translate into sales for me. As a marketing proof point, all I can say is that I'm not a predatory sexual abuser, but will that drive sales? Most likely not.
I'm not a bigot nor am I an abuser. All I do is write stories across genres. I have a dark sense of humor and am a rampant smartass. I try to write compelling books. Is that enough in this world?
Escape Artist
People have their own reasons for writing. For me, I understand that it's rooted in a desire to escape the tyranny of the here-and-now.
Where others might use alcohol and/or drugs to get away from the mundane world, I take refuge in world-building and in fiction.
I didn't perhaps realize that about myself when I was younger, when my attention was on trying to develop my style and make it professionally as a writer.
As those dreams have withered away, I am left with an understanding that I write to live in worlds I enjoy better than this one. It's probably why I've slowly backed away from Horror, honestly -- there's not enough world-building in Horror for me; it's too grounded in the everyday as a way of defining the supernatural.
Not that I don't/won't have a few Horror tales left to tell, but I'm happiest/most comfortable in the robust world-building anchored in Fantasy and Science Fiction.
If you're looking for an escape from this world, check out my SF and Fantasy stories. I'll take you places.
Where others might use alcohol and/or drugs to get away from the mundane world, I take refuge in world-building and in fiction.
I didn't perhaps realize that about myself when I was younger, when my attention was on trying to develop my style and make it professionally as a writer.
As those dreams have withered away, I am left with an understanding that I write to live in worlds I enjoy better than this one. It's probably why I've slowly backed away from Horror, honestly -- there's not enough world-building in Horror for me; it's too grounded in the everyday as a way of defining the supernatural.
Not that I don't/won't have a few Horror tales left to tell, but I'm happiest/most comfortable in the robust world-building anchored in Fantasy and Science Fiction.
If you're looking for an escape from this world, check out my SF and Fantasy stories. I'll take you places.
January 13, 2025
Bookie
I see so many of my books in TBR piles, and wish readers would take the plunge. This is just me, but if I like a book by a writer, I'm favorably inclined to read their other work. I operate the same way with film directors -- I'm loyal to directors who make good movies (up to a point).
But is this a minority opinion? Do most readers not have loyalty to writers they like? I don't know. I feel like if I delivered a good story (aka, a story a reader liked or loved), why not read some other work by me?
Maybe it's tethered to genre preferences, or maybe someone liked a book well enough but not enough to really dig it and become a fan of a writer. I need fans -- readers who legit dig my books, want to read more.
With the void the only thing I can scream out to daily, it's a mystery to me. As ever, I try to genre-sort my work for reader clarity:
D.T. Neal - Horror/Weird
THE WOLFSHADOW TRILOGY*
CHOSEN*
SUCKAGE*
THE CURSED EARTH*
SUMMERVILLE
RETURN TO SUMMERVILLE*
RELICT
THE DAY OF THE NIGHTFISH
THE THING IN YELLOW
Dean Vale - Science Fiction
THE CHARGE OF THE WOLVERHINO
FARTHER*
SIGHTSEER (later this year)*
TBD (later this year)*
SINGULARITIES (D.T. Neal)
Dane Vale - Fantasy
THE WOLF & THE CROW: QUINTET
THE WRATH OF SHADOWS
THE NIGHT'S VIOLIN
BEYOND THE IVORY SHORE
UPON THE SERPENT'S TONGUE
THE TWILIGHT ISLE*
Dave Neal - Superheroic Urban Fantasy
BRIGHTEYES*
INFERNA (coming out next month)*
*Novels
From my perspective, there's a feast of fiction (13 novels!) I've written for readers who enjoy genre fiction, and I've got several genres covered. More screaming into the void, I guess?
But is this a minority opinion? Do most readers not have loyalty to writers they like? I don't know. I feel like if I delivered a good story (aka, a story a reader liked or loved), why not read some other work by me?
Maybe it's tethered to genre preferences, or maybe someone liked a book well enough but not enough to really dig it and become a fan of a writer. I need fans -- readers who legit dig my books, want to read more.
With the void the only thing I can scream out to daily, it's a mystery to me. As ever, I try to genre-sort my work for reader clarity:
D.T. Neal - Horror/Weird
THE WOLFSHADOW TRILOGY*
CHOSEN*
SUCKAGE*
THE CURSED EARTH*
SUMMERVILLE
RETURN TO SUMMERVILLE*
RELICT
THE DAY OF THE NIGHTFISH
THE THING IN YELLOW
Dean Vale - Science Fiction
THE CHARGE OF THE WOLVERHINO
FARTHER*
SIGHTSEER (later this year)*
TBD (later this year)*
SINGULARITIES (D.T. Neal)
Dane Vale - Fantasy
THE WOLF & THE CROW: QUINTET
THE WRATH OF SHADOWS
THE NIGHT'S VIOLIN
BEYOND THE IVORY SHORE
UPON THE SERPENT'S TONGUE
THE TWILIGHT ISLE*
Dave Neal - Superheroic Urban Fantasy
BRIGHTEYES*
INFERNA (coming out next month)*
*Novels
From my perspective, there's a feast of fiction (13 novels!) I've written for readers who enjoy genre fiction, and I've got several genres covered. More screaming into the void, I guess?
January 10, 2025
Ghost of a Chance
I'm writing a ghost story (novel) right now. I'll admit that I'm animated by a cavalcade of distress, so maybe I'm therapeutically indulging in a literary phantasm to get myself through trying times.
Maybe it's also the chilly winter air and the falling snow. Often I try to write a "scary story" in October, but last October was so fraught with the election, I didn't do it.
Now that we're in imminent national catastrophe, I'm in more of a place where I can write it. And so there it is.
I'm planning for 60-70K words for this one. I never feel like a ghost story should overstay its welcome. This one should top out at that length and that'll be that.
Should it go well, I'm thinking it might surface in Autumn '25 (most likely October). We'll see.
I don't believe in ghosts (although I've seen ghostly things I can't entirely explain), but that degree of objectivity lets me play in the ghost story world with impunity. Hopefully readers will enjoy it (and by "enjoy" I mean: buy, read, rate & review).
Maybe it's also the chilly winter air and the falling snow. Often I try to write a "scary story" in October, but last October was so fraught with the election, I didn't do it.
Now that we're in imminent national catastrophe, I'm in more of a place where I can write it. And so there it is.
I'm planning for 60-70K words for this one. I never feel like a ghost story should overstay its welcome. This one should top out at that length and that'll be that.
Should it go well, I'm thinking it might surface in Autumn '25 (most likely October). We'll see.
I don't believe in ghosts (although I've seen ghostly things I can't entirely explain), but that degree of objectivity lets me play in the ghost story world with impunity. Hopefully readers will enjoy it (and by "enjoy" I mean: buy, read, rate & review).
January 3, 2025
And Here We Go
Into 2025, more fraught than ever. I mapped out the four novels I'll get out this year, above and beyond ones I'll be writing.
One nice thing about being a relentless writer (and/or not having much of a life) is that I have a backlog of work done ready to face the cold indifference of a world careening into cultural collapse.
That said, I hope readers who've enjoyed my books take the time to at least rate them, or, better yet, review them.
The next four years are going to be difficult, putting that as politely as I can.
Book 2 of The Shutterclique (entitled INFERNA) comes out next month. I hope people read it and rave about it! Inferna is one of my favorite characters, and I think she'll be a fan favorite, assuming I get any fans.
One nice thing about being a relentless writer (and/or not having much of a life) is that I have a backlog of work done ready to face the cold indifference of a world careening into cultural collapse.
That said, I hope readers who've enjoyed my books take the time to at least rate them, or, better yet, review them.
The next four years are going to be difficult, putting that as politely as I can.
Book 2 of The Shutterclique (entitled INFERNA) comes out next month. I hope people read it and rave about it! Inferna is one of my favorite characters, and I think she'll be a fan favorite, assuming I get any fans.
