D.T. Neal's Blog, page 8
June 7, 2024
BRIGHTEYES
Not sure who actually bothers to read this, but yesterday was the cover reveal for BRIGHTEYES, Book One of my Shutterclique series.
I'm really happy the way Clever Crow designed the cover (and interior, which folks will eventually see). As ever, she does amazing work.
The important thing to mention about the Shutterclique series is that it's a superhero story, but isn't a comic book or graphic novel (I don't draw nearly well enough for that to happen, or I would have).
As it stands, it's a novel, so that might be a barrier for nonreaders. But I'm proud of this new book, and taking a big step away from the Horror genre, which I've talked about enough before.
The worldbuilding for the Shutterclique is immense, as I've created over 200 characters (major, minor, etc.) to occupy that world. It's been a proverbial labor of love for me so far, as it covers my adolescent love for comic books, which I collected from roughly 1977 - 1985.
Most of my collection was destroyed when my folks moved them to a musty basement during my college years (by the time I discovered that, most of them were fragged. I managed to save like 5% of them).
That aside, I fondly remember those years, so the Shutterclique is both a fond recollection of that era, and a latter-day parody of superheroism in American postindustrial society.
One of the key protagonists -- Cameraman -- is an acerbic critic of superheroes, even while being (or aspiring to be) one himself. Told through first person narration, the reader's right in Cameraman's head as he confronts personal trauma and strives to find truth and justice in a collapsing world.
Another key character in the story, Victoriana, embodies the go-to superheroine arc -- she's one of the most powerful superheroes in this world, and is earnest in her desire to make the world a better place.
So, you have a nice justification between the cynical Cameraman and the idealistic Victoriana, who (spoiler warning) fall in love, and become their own kind of super team while facing down corruption and criminality.
As an old Romantic, the Romanticism of this story made it easy for me to write, and I hope readers pick up on that vibe. We'll see. It'll be available on NetGalley shortly, and my hope is that it moves readers to laughter and even tears!
There are a ton of stories to write in Shutterclique, and if you've read this blog, you know I've already written Books 2 & 3 for it, and plan to write the other four in the series over the next 12 months, so the whole series will be done in time. I even know what the last scene will be in Book 7, as it came to me a month or two ago.
I'm looking forward to taking readers on a grand adventure, and hope they join me on that journey! It'll be super!
I'm really happy the way Clever Crow designed the cover (and interior, which folks will eventually see). As ever, she does amazing work.
The important thing to mention about the Shutterclique series is that it's a superhero story, but isn't a comic book or graphic novel (I don't draw nearly well enough for that to happen, or I would have).
As it stands, it's a novel, so that might be a barrier for nonreaders. But I'm proud of this new book, and taking a big step away from the Horror genre, which I've talked about enough before.
The worldbuilding for the Shutterclique is immense, as I've created over 200 characters (major, minor, etc.) to occupy that world. It's been a proverbial labor of love for me so far, as it covers my adolescent love for comic books, which I collected from roughly 1977 - 1985.
Most of my collection was destroyed when my folks moved them to a musty basement during my college years (by the time I discovered that, most of them were fragged. I managed to save like 5% of them).
That aside, I fondly remember those years, so the Shutterclique is both a fond recollection of that era, and a latter-day parody of superheroism in American postindustrial society.
One of the key protagonists -- Cameraman -- is an acerbic critic of superheroes, even while being (or aspiring to be) one himself. Told through first person narration, the reader's right in Cameraman's head as he confronts personal trauma and strives to find truth and justice in a collapsing world.
Another key character in the story, Victoriana, embodies the go-to superheroine arc -- she's one of the most powerful superheroes in this world, and is earnest in her desire to make the world a better place.
So, you have a nice justification between the cynical Cameraman and the idealistic Victoriana, who (spoiler warning) fall in love, and become their own kind of super team while facing down corruption and criminality.
As an old Romantic, the Romanticism of this story made it easy for me to write, and I hope readers pick up on that vibe. We'll see. It'll be available on NetGalley shortly, and my hope is that it moves readers to laughter and even tears!
There are a ton of stories to write in Shutterclique, and if you've read this blog, you know I've already written Books 2 & 3 for it, and plan to write the other four in the series over the next 12 months, so the whole series will be done in time. I even know what the last scene will be in Book 7, as it came to me a month or two ago.
I'm looking forward to taking readers on a grand adventure, and hope they join me on that journey! It'll be super!
June 2, 2024
Cancel Culture?
Willfully misleading headline on this post, but I've been watching the movie flops hit and how they're putting Hollywood and the media in a weird place, contemplating why people aren't going to movies like they used to.
The simple explanation is that it's EXPENSIVE. Going to movies is a pricy thing these days, and most people don't have the play money to justify throwing down for a movie. I think that's a big factor -- "wait for it on streaming" is THE cost-effective go-to for most of us.
Since that explanation would require the media to reflect on why so many are staying home, they just scratch their heads.
I think another factor is that the torrent of remakes and prequels of existing intellectual property is also turning off audiences. I think people want new stuff, not retreads.
Similarly, I'm thinking the recent big tour cancellations are rooted in poor ticket sales (again, tied to people not having much play money to throw at concerts).
The entire entertainment enterprise of the past 30 years hinged on the existence of a middle class with actually money on-hand for such things. But I think more people are being left behind as the middle class erodes into oblivion.
Even publishing is being hit by that, I think. E-books have prevented an outright freefall, but the flaming landfill of Kindle Unlimited is reflective of people not wanting to spend money for a hardcopy book when they can pay a pittance for an electronic copy.
It's going to be interesting watching the entertainment industry twist. People are still going to want to be entertained, but how they do that going forward is going to be very different than in previous generations.
As a Gen Xer, I watch this with curiosity and bemusement. I'll still keep writing my books, despite it all. Maybe people will rediscover the affordability of books again, regardless of the format.
Or maybe the majority will just move to a postliterate headspace.
The simple explanation is that it's EXPENSIVE. Going to movies is a pricy thing these days, and most people don't have the play money to justify throwing down for a movie. I think that's a big factor -- "wait for it on streaming" is THE cost-effective go-to for most of us.
Since that explanation would require the media to reflect on why so many are staying home, they just scratch their heads.
I think another factor is that the torrent of remakes and prequels of existing intellectual property is also turning off audiences. I think people want new stuff, not retreads.
Similarly, I'm thinking the recent big tour cancellations are rooted in poor ticket sales (again, tied to people not having much play money to throw at concerts).
The entire entertainment enterprise of the past 30 years hinged on the existence of a middle class with actually money on-hand for such things. But I think more people are being left behind as the middle class erodes into oblivion.
Even publishing is being hit by that, I think. E-books have prevented an outright freefall, but the flaming landfill of Kindle Unlimited is reflective of people not wanting to spend money for a hardcopy book when they can pay a pittance for an electronic copy.
It's going to be interesting watching the entertainment industry twist. People are still going to want to be entertained, but how they do that going forward is going to be very different than in previous generations.
As a Gen Xer, I watch this with curiosity and bemusement. I'll still keep writing my books, despite it all. Maybe people will rediscover the affordability of books again, regardless of the format.
Or maybe the majority will just move to a postliterate headspace.
May 31, 2024
Starry Eyes
In the Jonathan Swiftesque sense of things, I think friend, ally, and acolyte (FAA) reviewers should move beyond the "five stars for their chums" approach to book reviewing in favor of...wait for it...TEN stars.
Why settle for a mere five stars when FAAs can gift their confederates with ten glittery stars? Go all-in on your hype and boosterism and truly swing for the rafters! Muddy the waters still further, why don't you?
Are the works thus reviewed the best of the year? Best of the decade? Best of the century? Who can say? Everything is awesome...
Everything is Awesome!
But a bunch of ten-star reviews would surely hammer home the message to readers, wouldn't it? Everything is awesome, but some things (ten-star reviews) are even MORE awesome!
And then we'd see a surreal review arms race as people scrambled to lob ten-star reviews to their pals, which would likely lead to a reaction from their enemies and rivals, who'd then probably toss one-star reviews out to counter the stratospheric ten-star system.
In a ten-star rating system, suddenly the ubiquitous five-star review would be further devalued, serving as a middle-grade rating, which would be still more amusing, as people reacted to it.
Would the FAAs who'd previously gifted their chums five stars rush to upgrade their reviews to ten? More than likely, if only to curry favor they desire to be reciprocated.
And what about folks with multiple books? Would their FAAs blanket them with ten-star reviews for those works, too? Imagine it, stars in everybody's eyes as ten-star reviews proliferated like duckweed in a pond.
What bemusing umbrage would arise if people gave folks mere seven-star reviews? Can you imagine? I can.
I would LOL if somebody actually went on the mat and rated someone's work ten stars. It would lay bare the rampant puffery we're seeing.
Sure, I know FAAs are just trying to boost their favorites (often with hopes that they'll get boosted as well -- a rising tide of stars lifts all boats, right? Or not...) -- however, the constant overhyping of works does the readers no favors, beyond conning them into reading mediocre books and wondering where all the hype came from.
A ten-star review system would force those boosters to REALLY go all-in for their FAAs, and that would be hilarious.
Also, from a more realistic/pragmatic perspective, a ten-star spread might allow for some nuance in actual reviewing by lowering the per-star value of a review.
For example: Say Bob writes a three-star book that his FAAs cheerfully would rate five stars in the old system. Bob garners 34 five-star reviews, and nothing lower. Sure, readers get burned, but if books get sold, who cares?
But in a ten-star system, there's at least the chance for more honest reviews. Sure, his FAAs would be ballsy and give him 34 ten-star reviews (with such luminous praise as "Wow. This book was AMAZING. So. Good."), but other (objective) reviewers would be able to offer a wider range of praise and/or dismissal, and not feel boxed in by the five-star system. Bob's book might garner three stars. Or six stars. Or eight. The broader spectrum of a ten-star review system would allow for more nuance in reviewing, and make the FAA cheerleaders look ridiculous.
Anyway, I'd laugh if someone actually had the stones to reach for the stars that way.
Big Star | The Ballad of El Goodo
Why settle for a mere five stars when FAAs can gift their confederates with ten glittery stars? Go all-in on your hype and boosterism and truly swing for the rafters! Muddy the waters still further, why don't you?
Are the works thus reviewed the best of the year? Best of the decade? Best of the century? Who can say? Everything is awesome...
Everything is Awesome!
But a bunch of ten-star reviews would surely hammer home the message to readers, wouldn't it? Everything is awesome, but some things (ten-star reviews) are even MORE awesome!
And then we'd see a surreal review arms race as people scrambled to lob ten-star reviews to their pals, which would likely lead to a reaction from their enemies and rivals, who'd then probably toss one-star reviews out to counter the stratospheric ten-star system.
In a ten-star rating system, suddenly the ubiquitous five-star review would be further devalued, serving as a middle-grade rating, which would be still more amusing, as people reacted to it.
Would the FAAs who'd previously gifted their chums five stars rush to upgrade their reviews to ten? More than likely, if only to curry favor they desire to be reciprocated.
And what about folks with multiple books? Would their FAAs blanket them with ten-star reviews for those works, too? Imagine it, stars in everybody's eyes as ten-star reviews proliferated like duckweed in a pond.
What bemusing umbrage would arise if people gave folks mere seven-star reviews? Can you imagine? I can.
I would LOL if somebody actually went on the mat and rated someone's work ten stars. It would lay bare the rampant puffery we're seeing.
Sure, I know FAAs are just trying to boost their favorites (often with hopes that they'll get boosted as well -- a rising tide of stars lifts all boats, right? Or not...) -- however, the constant overhyping of works does the readers no favors, beyond conning them into reading mediocre books and wondering where all the hype came from.
A ten-star review system would force those boosters to REALLY go all-in for their FAAs, and that would be hilarious.
Also, from a more realistic/pragmatic perspective, a ten-star spread might allow for some nuance in actual reviewing by lowering the per-star value of a review.
For example: Say Bob writes a three-star book that his FAAs cheerfully would rate five stars in the old system. Bob garners 34 five-star reviews, and nothing lower. Sure, readers get burned, but if books get sold, who cares?
But in a ten-star system, there's at least the chance for more honest reviews. Sure, his FAAs would be ballsy and give him 34 ten-star reviews (with such luminous praise as "Wow. This book was AMAZING. So. Good."), but other (objective) reviewers would be able to offer a wider range of praise and/or dismissal, and not feel boxed in by the five-star system. Bob's book might garner three stars. Or six stars. Or eight. The broader spectrum of a ten-star review system would allow for more nuance in reviewing, and make the FAA cheerleaders look ridiculous.
Anyway, I'd laugh if someone actually had the stones to reach for the stars that way.
Big Star | The Ballad of El Goodo
May 26, 2024
FURIOSA
I was somewhat disappointed by FURIOSA (which I caught on Friday). I'd give it a B. In the pantheon of MAD MAX movies, I'd rank it as follows:
1. THE ROAD WARRIOR
2. FURY ROAD
3. MAD MAX*
4. FURIOSA
5. BEYOND THUNDERDOME
*I grade that one up mostly because of the original, low-tech wackiness of it, and that it launched the whole franchise.
FURIOSA was lushly produced with some lavish settings and a few great battle scenes, but I thought the story was lacking, went too long, there were some MIA narrative payoffs here and there, and there were some character issues (example: Hemsworth's villain wasn't nearly villainous enough -- he was more of a goofy biker bro than a credible warlord. I found it hard to believe he could have commanded that massive biker gang. Also, his prized weapon being a Confederate LeMat revolver was a strangely specific choice for an Australian villain).
FURIOSA did have many beautiful shots and good worldbuilding, which counts in its favor.
But nothing will ever top THE ROAD WARRIOR & FURY ROAD in my view.
1. THE ROAD WARRIOR
2. FURY ROAD
3. MAD MAX*
4. FURIOSA
5. BEYOND THUNDERDOME
*I grade that one up mostly because of the original, low-tech wackiness of it, and that it launched the whole franchise.
FURIOSA was lushly produced with some lavish settings and a few great battle scenes, but I thought the story was lacking, went too long, there were some MIA narrative payoffs here and there, and there were some character issues (example: Hemsworth's villain wasn't nearly villainous enough -- he was more of a goofy biker bro than a credible warlord. I found it hard to believe he could have commanded that massive biker gang. Also, his prized weapon being a Confederate LeMat revolver was a strangely specific choice for an Australian villain).
FURIOSA did have many beautiful shots and good worldbuilding, which counts in its favor.
But nothing will ever top THE ROAD WARRIOR & FURY ROAD in my view.
May 21, 2024
Where Do We Go Now? (Part 5)
At last, I get to the Fantasy/Sword & Sorcery genre, which was a key part of my youthful self, where writers like Tolkien, Michael Moorcock, Tad Williams, Katharine Kerr, CJ Cherryh, and George R.R. Martin fueled my fondness for worldbuilding and fantasy fiction.
The pen name for my own series is Dane Vale, and the Sagas of Irth embodies my love of the genre. There will be some changes to the series in the next year or two (?) -- including new covers, and a new Book 1, which incorporates some elements I think were missing in the first one.
I thought this series would find its audience, but it clunked pretty forcefully, relative to the rest of my largely-disregarded work. I don't really know why/how that happened, but I console myself that even Tolkien's LOTR languished for about two decades before the hippies discovered it and the appreciation grew. And it took an HBO series after around 17 years for the seemingly monolithic Martin franchise to be societally appreciated on any level.
That's what I tell myself. I think Sagas of Irth is a fun series, and Books 1-6 offer something for fans of the genre. However, this stillborn series haunts me more than a little. I stopped working on these books when I just couldn't garner any interest in them. I bitterly call Sagas the best least-read indie Fantasy/Sword & Sorcery series out there.
With the WIP Super-Series squarely in my sights right now, it's an open question if I ever go back to Sagas. I have about three more novels to write in the series (with the potential of prequels and sequels, if there was only interest there).
I'm guardedly hopeful that new covers and marketing might kindle (hah, pun intended) interest in the series, but who knows, anymore?
As it stands, these six books still do credit to the genres they represent.
Rather than linking to the books individually, I'll just link to the series as it currently stands:
SAGAS OF IRTH (6 books so far)
I love the main characters in the series -- Farys, the wandering knight, Sibyl, the mysterious sorceress, Fiss'Q, the cosmopolitan Shadowlander. They're dear to me, and I don't want them to wither into literary oblivion.
However, until there's audience and interest in them, they'll likely remain in limbo. The amount of worldbuilding energy I put into them requires that sort of balance.
The pen name for my own series is Dane Vale, and the Sagas of Irth embodies my love of the genre. There will be some changes to the series in the next year or two (?) -- including new covers, and a new Book 1, which incorporates some elements I think were missing in the first one.
I thought this series would find its audience, but it clunked pretty forcefully, relative to the rest of my largely-disregarded work. I don't really know why/how that happened, but I console myself that even Tolkien's LOTR languished for about two decades before the hippies discovered it and the appreciation grew. And it took an HBO series after around 17 years for the seemingly monolithic Martin franchise to be societally appreciated on any level.
That's what I tell myself. I think Sagas of Irth is a fun series, and Books 1-6 offer something for fans of the genre. However, this stillborn series haunts me more than a little. I stopped working on these books when I just couldn't garner any interest in them. I bitterly call Sagas the best least-read indie Fantasy/Sword & Sorcery series out there.
With the WIP Super-Series squarely in my sights right now, it's an open question if I ever go back to Sagas. I have about three more novels to write in the series (with the potential of prequels and sequels, if there was only interest there).
I'm guardedly hopeful that new covers and marketing might kindle (hah, pun intended) interest in the series, but who knows, anymore?
As it stands, these six books still do credit to the genres they represent.
Rather than linking to the books individually, I'll just link to the series as it currently stands:
SAGAS OF IRTH (6 books so far)
I love the main characters in the series -- Farys, the wandering knight, Sibyl, the mysterious sorceress, Fiss'Q, the cosmopolitan Shadowlander. They're dear to me, and I don't want them to wither into literary oblivion.
However, until there's audience and interest in them, they'll likely remain in limbo. The amount of worldbuilding energy I put into them requires that sort of balance.
May 16, 2024
Where Do We Go Now? (Part 4)
Not content to strike out purely in horror, I also set my sights on science fiction and fantasy, and crafted up pen names to allow me to do that without crossing the proverbial literary streams with my D.T. Neal horror offerings.
That led to Dean and Dane Vale, my erstwhile SF&F genre selves. I had high hopes for these books to find the audience that just wasn't there for my horror books.
As a fan of SF&F, I couldn't imagine that people wouldn't want to read such books. And yet, here we are. I had originally jotted out a range of Dean Vale SF books, and have several written, waiting to be published.
However, the lack of performance of the two Dean books to date has given me pause. I think they're both good books (and since I know you haven't read my SINGULARITIES collection of SF short stories, it's perhaps meaningless to mention that these two books below embody my approach to SF, influenced by particular authors (Ray Bradbury, William Gibson, Ursula K. LeGuin, Roger Zelazny, and others).
SF NOVEL
FARTHER was yet another labor of love for me, another source of professional heartbreak. I did a lot of worldbuilding for this one, creating a SF interstellar (and intergalactic) critique of corporate imperialism, along with the tropes of explorers finding something fairly cosmic-horrible in the Source. I liked this novel, and even started a sequel to it, but when nobody read this one, I quashed it. Why bleed for it when there's no audience? FARTHER is a ghost echo for me.
SF NOVELLA
THE CHARGE OF THE WOLVERHINO was another failed experiment, a sort of SF Hemingway adventure story involving a parodic "great white hunter" tasked with evaluating a hunt of a monstrous chimera created by Gaiacon, my go-to bad guy company that shows up in other books of mine. I liked the elemental purity of this novella, which had the socio-eco-political points I was trying to make in it, while telling a creature feature type of story. Nearly nobody read or liked this book, so it's just out there, in the weeds, hopefully finding audience someday.
And there it is, the two SF books I wrote under the Dean Vale pen name. I have some cyberpunk books that'll come out under Dean's name in the future, but we'll see how that goes.
I'd be lying if I wasn't sad about the failure of these books to find their audience. They channeled a lot of the social commentary I love about the genre, so their failure still bums me out.
Next up, fantasy world...
That led to Dean and Dane Vale, my erstwhile SF&F genre selves. I had high hopes for these books to find the audience that just wasn't there for my horror books.
As a fan of SF&F, I couldn't imagine that people wouldn't want to read such books. And yet, here we are. I had originally jotted out a range of Dean Vale SF books, and have several written, waiting to be published.
However, the lack of performance of the two Dean books to date has given me pause. I think they're both good books (and since I know you haven't read my SINGULARITIES collection of SF short stories, it's perhaps meaningless to mention that these two books below embody my approach to SF, influenced by particular authors (Ray Bradbury, William Gibson, Ursula K. LeGuin, Roger Zelazny, and others).
SF NOVEL
FARTHER was yet another labor of love for me, another source of professional heartbreak. I did a lot of worldbuilding for this one, creating a SF interstellar (and intergalactic) critique of corporate imperialism, along with the tropes of explorers finding something fairly cosmic-horrible in the Source. I liked this novel, and even started a sequel to it, but when nobody read this one, I quashed it. Why bleed for it when there's no audience? FARTHER is a ghost echo for me.
SF NOVELLA
THE CHARGE OF THE WOLVERHINO was another failed experiment, a sort of SF Hemingway adventure story involving a parodic "great white hunter" tasked with evaluating a hunt of a monstrous chimera created by Gaiacon, my go-to bad guy company that shows up in other books of mine. I liked the elemental purity of this novella, which had the socio-eco-political points I was trying to make in it, while telling a creature feature type of story. Nearly nobody read or liked this book, so it's just out there, in the weeds, hopefully finding audience someday.
And there it is, the two SF books I wrote under the Dean Vale pen name. I have some cyberpunk books that'll come out under Dean's name in the future, but we'll see how that goes.
I'd be lying if I wasn't sad about the failure of these books to find their audience. They channeled a lot of the social commentary I love about the genre, so their failure still bums me out.
Next up, fantasy world...
May 15, 2024
Where Do We Go Now? (Part 3)
Not that anybody's asking for it, but here's another post as I stroll through the various books I've written. The two books below are my short story collections to date:
SHORT STORY COLLECTION - SCIENCE FICTION
Even by my dismal standards, SINGULARITIES is one of my least-read books. Not sure if it's just the burden of being an unknown writer or the peril of short story collections, this one carries extra pathos for me. This is because so many of the stories herein were ones I tried and failed to find homes for in the dwindling short fiction market. Most of the stories in it have been rejected many times, back when there were still decent venues to send to. I still like and believe in these stories, but they are very Land of Misfit Toys for me -- they couldn't find homes, and even the nice home they have now failed to compel readers to pick it up. They're good stories, and I wish readers would explore them.
SHORT STORY COLLECTION - WEIRD FICTION
Somewhat more successful by my admittedly low standard is THE THING IN YELLOW, which was my way of honoring the Robert W. Chambers weird fiction cult classic, THE KING IN YELLOW.
This collection has managed to draw some readers in, and it's been very well-received, which makes me happy. Some have liked it better than the original, which is high praise. I really loved making this one, and hope it finds still more audience.
I used to love short story writing, and still have fondness for it, but I fear the era of the short story is ending, at least as any kind of viable market for writers. Plus, I'm personally far more invested in long fiction (novels, overwhelmingly) than short stories, anymore. So these collections are almost archival for me.
Next up, still more science fiction, and pen names...
SHORT STORY COLLECTION - SCIENCE FICTION
Even by my dismal standards, SINGULARITIES is one of my least-read books. Not sure if it's just the burden of being an unknown writer or the peril of short story collections, this one carries extra pathos for me. This is because so many of the stories herein were ones I tried and failed to find homes for in the dwindling short fiction market. Most of the stories in it have been rejected many times, back when there were still decent venues to send to. I still like and believe in these stories, but they are very Land of Misfit Toys for me -- they couldn't find homes, and even the nice home they have now failed to compel readers to pick it up. They're good stories, and I wish readers would explore them.
SHORT STORY COLLECTION - WEIRD FICTION
Somewhat more successful by my admittedly low standard is THE THING IN YELLOW, which was my way of honoring the Robert W. Chambers weird fiction cult classic, THE KING IN YELLOW.
This collection has managed to draw some readers in, and it's been very well-received, which makes me happy. Some have liked it better than the original, which is high praise. I really loved making this one, and hope it finds still more audience.
I used to love short story writing, and still have fondness for it, but I fear the era of the short story is ending, at least as any kind of viable market for writers. Plus, I'm personally far more invested in long fiction (novels, overwhelmingly) than short stories, anymore. So these collections are almost archival for me.
Next up, still more science fiction, and pen names...
May 9, 2024
Where Do We Go Now? (Part 2)
I've had somewhat better luck with my horror novellas than I have with my horror novels, for whatever reason. Maybe because they're shorter, they're better-suited to today's attention spans.
Although I've seen readers write that they wished that some of my novellas were longer than they were, so there's that.
Although I didn't intend it when I first wrote them, there's an Eco-Horror vibe with the three I wrote, so that's how I'm framing them:
ECO-HORROR NOVELLAS
RELICT: My single most successful book, which continues to be bought, read, and enjoyed by readers. Not sure why this one in particular resonated, except that it's a creature feature, with a human-versus-sea monster story that compels. I'm happy to see it continuing to do well. I love cephalopods, which I think are fascinatingly alien. I almost felt guilty making a giant octopus the monster in this one (which is why the protagonist often calls it "the kraken"). The original inspiration for this story was a Google Map satellite shot of a very remote Pacific island, which freaked me out. The rest flowed from that initial horror.
SUMMERVILLE: I've always been a fan of Southern Gothic (and Southern writers, for that matter), so while this isn't officially a Southern Gothic novella, it certainly tips its hat toward it. I enjoyed writing this one, which had that good ol' dark humor in it. There's an interesting podcast review of it where I think one of the reviewers didn't like it, but came around in the course of the podcast, which is fairly gratifying. A lot of readers really wanted to know about the ghost town of Summerville, wanted to learn more about it, but I'd have to have a ton more sales of this book to devote the time and energy to producing that. As it stands, it's a fun little horror story.
THE DAY OF THE NIGHTFISH: Originally a short story that shortlisted with the Aeon Awards, only to falter, I was persuaded by my partner to revisit it and turn it into a novella. The result is another sea monster story, critique of influence and foodie culture, and an exploration of the toll of food production practices on workers and sea life. I like this one , which I feel hits some good notes, but it mostly drowned in the sea of all the other books floating out there. Again, I think there's a lot to this one, but it never found its audience, so it floated like an anchor, to my considerable disappointment.
I enjoyed my novella run (and there are more to share within Science Fiction and Fantasy, but I'm keeping to Horror for now).
One thing that bothered me was how many others were flooding the market with horror novellas, so I just walked away from them, preferring novels as my primary fiction outlet.
I saw it as better to be in less-crowded areas, where I might hopefully (haha) stand out. Obviously, as you saw in my Part 1 post, that definitely failed to pan out with my Horror writing, however I still prefer the long fiction to the short fiction, anymore.
Next up, short story collections...
Although I've seen readers write that they wished that some of my novellas were longer than they were, so there's that.
Although I didn't intend it when I first wrote them, there's an Eco-Horror vibe with the three I wrote, so that's how I'm framing them:
ECO-HORROR NOVELLAS
RELICT: My single most successful book, which continues to be bought, read, and enjoyed by readers. Not sure why this one in particular resonated, except that it's a creature feature, with a human-versus-sea monster story that compels. I'm happy to see it continuing to do well. I love cephalopods, which I think are fascinatingly alien. I almost felt guilty making a giant octopus the monster in this one (which is why the protagonist often calls it "the kraken"). The original inspiration for this story was a Google Map satellite shot of a very remote Pacific island, which freaked me out. The rest flowed from that initial horror.
SUMMERVILLE: I've always been a fan of Southern Gothic (and Southern writers, for that matter), so while this isn't officially a Southern Gothic novella, it certainly tips its hat toward it. I enjoyed writing this one, which had that good ol' dark humor in it. There's an interesting podcast review of it where I think one of the reviewers didn't like it, but came around in the course of the podcast, which is fairly gratifying. A lot of readers really wanted to know about the ghost town of Summerville, wanted to learn more about it, but I'd have to have a ton more sales of this book to devote the time and energy to producing that. As it stands, it's a fun little horror story.
THE DAY OF THE NIGHTFISH: Originally a short story that shortlisted with the Aeon Awards, only to falter, I was persuaded by my partner to revisit it and turn it into a novella. The result is another sea monster story, critique of influence and foodie culture, and an exploration of the toll of food production practices on workers and sea life. I like this one , which I feel hits some good notes, but it mostly drowned in the sea of all the other books floating out there. Again, I think there's a lot to this one, but it never found its audience, so it floated like an anchor, to my considerable disappointment.
I enjoyed my novella run (and there are more to share within Science Fiction and Fantasy, but I'm keeping to Horror for now).
One thing that bothered me was how many others were flooding the market with horror novellas, so I just walked away from them, preferring novels as my primary fiction outlet.
I saw it as better to be in less-crowded areas, where I might hopefully (haha) stand out. Obviously, as you saw in my Part 1 post, that definitely failed to pan out with my Horror writing, however I still prefer the long fiction to the short fiction, anymore.
Next up, short story collections...
May 8, 2024
Where Do We Go Now? (Part 1)
As we lurch into a society of nonreaders (which is to say that there are a minority of actual readers, while everybody else is apparently not reading much at all anymore), I face my new efforts with trepidation. I hope people enjoy the WIP super-series as much as I enjoyed writing it.
But odds are always good that it'll fall into the void like most everything else I've written over the past 22 years or so, when I became serious about novel-writing.
Much like the Ben & Jerry's "flavor graveyard", here's another tour of my assorted fictional flavors, which I'll break into multiple parts, because there are a lot of entries to make...
HORROR NOVELS (6)
THE WOLFSHADOW TRILOGY (SAAMAANTHAA, THE HAPPENING, NORM): My take on werewolves, my first trilogy, darkly comic (to me), and riffing on hipsterism, American cultural decline (also, rather prescient on the fascism we're dealing with right now), sadly underappreciated in the world of werewolf fiction.
CHOSEN: My own take on a zombie apocalypse with a pinch of neo-Lovecraftian monstrosity in its midst. My purest horror novel, utterly unappreciated, but still one of my favorites. This novel held what I considered commercial promise at the time -- a group of brave survivors in the fictional Pennsylvania town of Ludlow (inspired by Sewickley, in case you wondered), against a menace few can fully comprehend but which consumed the town. Stephen King's 'SALEM'S LOT (a favorite from my childhood) certainly inspired this one.
SUCKAGE: My take on vampires, darkly funny, a kind of minion's memoir and an exploration of emotional and narcissistic abuse and survivorship. I dearly loved this book, and while it got appreciated in some indie reviews, it was absolutely entombed by indifference that still haunts me to this day. It was intended as an antidote to the anodyne "sparkly" vampires that were the rage at the time -- I wanted to be the vampirism back in vampires, and I succeeded, for what that's worth.
THE CURSED EARTH: I had big hopes for this big book, which was a gonzo brick of humor and folk/cosmic horror. I had so much fun writing this book, and with the mushroom horror of it melded with witchcraft, conspiracies, gangsters, killer clowns, and psychedelia, I thought it would find fans somewhere, but, like all the others, no dice. It launched into the void, a technicolor tale that found no audience. I still stand by this work as my horror masterpiece among my novels, but everybody else seems daunted by that 480-page size of it, so off into the void it has gone, with all the others.
The horror novel journey for me began with SAAMAANTHAA and ended with THE CURSED EARTH, covering a span of around 12 years of writing for me. While there may be a tale or two to tell that could be called horror, I'm effectively done with horror novels in this life. I did my part, contributed my share to the genre, and almost nobody read these books.
It's why it's led me to the belief that I'm perhaps too gleeful/positive/liberal/upbeat for horror readers. I like the darkly funny more than the gory, which might put my thoughtful horror far out of bounds of what most people want. Not sure. I believe in all of the above books, but they never found their audience.
Next up, the novellas...
But odds are always good that it'll fall into the void like most everything else I've written over the past 22 years or so, when I became serious about novel-writing.
Much like the Ben & Jerry's "flavor graveyard", here's another tour of my assorted fictional flavors, which I'll break into multiple parts, because there are a lot of entries to make...
HORROR NOVELS (6)
THE WOLFSHADOW TRILOGY (SAAMAANTHAA, THE HAPPENING, NORM): My take on werewolves, my first trilogy, darkly comic (to me), and riffing on hipsterism, American cultural decline (also, rather prescient on the fascism we're dealing with right now), sadly underappreciated in the world of werewolf fiction.
CHOSEN: My own take on a zombie apocalypse with a pinch of neo-Lovecraftian monstrosity in its midst. My purest horror novel, utterly unappreciated, but still one of my favorites. This novel held what I considered commercial promise at the time -- a group of brave survivors in the fictional Pennsylvania town of Ludlow (inspired by Sewickley, in case you wondered), against a menace few can fully comprehend but which consumed the town. Stephen King's 'SALEM'S LOT (a favorite from my childhood) certainly inspired this one.
SUCKAGE: My take on vampires, darkly funny, a kind of minion's memoir and an exploration of emotional and narcissistic abuse and survivorship. I dearly loved this book, and while it got appreciated in some indie reviews, it was absolutely entombed by indifference that still haunts me to this day. It was intended as an antidote to the anodyne "sparkly" vampires that were the rage at the time -- I wanted to be the vampirism back in vampires, and I succeeded, for what that's worth.
THE CURSED EARTH: I had big hopes for this big book, which was a gonzo brick of humor and folk/cosmic horror. I had so much fun writing this book, and with the mushroom horror of it melded with witchcraft, conspiracies, gangsters, killer clowns, and psychedelia, I thought it would find fans somewhere, but, like all the others, no dice. It launched into the void, a technicolor tale that found no audience. I still stand by this work as my horror masterpiece among my novels, but everybody else seems daunted by that 480-page size of it, so off into the void it has gone, with all the others.
The horror novel journey for me began with SAAMAANTHAA and ended with THE CURSED EARTH, covering a span of around 12 years of writing for me. While there may be a tale or two to tell that could be called horror, I'm effectively done with horror novels in this life. I did my part, contributed my share to the genre, and almost nobody read these books.
It's why it's led me to the belief that I'm perhaps too gleeful/positive/liberal/upbeat for horror readers. I like the darkly funny more than the gory, which might put my thoughtful horror far out of bounds of what most people want. Not sure. I believe in all of the above books, but they never found their audience.
Next up, the novellas...
May 1, 2024
Soon...
Still being disciplined by not chattering about the WIP super-series that's starting with BRIGHTEYES next month!
I'm waiting until the marketing for it is ready, but it's a doozy of a series that I truly hope finds its audience.
Definitely stoked to start talking about it, but don't want to until things are in place.
I'm waiting until the marketing for it is ready, but it's a doozy of a series that I truly hope finds its audience.
Definitely stoked to start talking about it, but don't want to until things are in place.
