Josh Handrich's Blog, page 6

Drumroll...

Drumroll...

For the month of March I sold 3 copies of Raw Vengeance at $1.29. I'm off to Starbucks, baby! (I still need to use my pilot discount to cover the cost of the coffee at the airport)

Blog updated with new features

I can't believe it took me over six months to realize that I could install tabs at the top of the page. Usually, I'm pretty good about tech stuff. But now readers can easily navigate their way to various pages and if they want to learn about my stories. If there's room for improvement, let me know. Cheers.

Cover is updated...thoughts?

Since Kingdom is close to being done I wanted to revise and polish the cover I originally had. I'm looking for what your initial reaction is to it. Don't worry about the watermarks, they'll disappear once I purchase the photo.  The only other adjustments I may make it to reduce line spacing and moving Rage so it's centered in the circle.

Oh, so close!

The experts tell you that to be successful you need to set goals for yourself. I guess I didn't get the part about setting realistic, attainable, specific goals. Let me elaborate.
A year ago when I was getting into writing at full speed, I told myself, "I bet I can get Raw Vengeance done by the end of the Summer and Kingdom of Rage by the end of the year". Well, life happens. As 2011 came to a close, I flip-flopped (my favorite political term) and set December as my end date for RV. 
Forward ahead to January, 2012. My first book was initially a success and I enjoyed seeing sales numbers climb. It took a good month before I got the writing bug again. I adjusted my deadline for Kingdom to March 11th, the one-year anniversary of the planned uprising in Saudi Arabia during the Arab Spring. Guess what happened? Tomorrow is the eleventh and I'm about five-to-ten chapters short of finishing the story—that's roughly another forty pages or 15-20k words. Can I write fortyish pages in twenty-four to forty-eight hours? Fat chance. I have a full-time job and I have to pay attention to my wife when I'm at home. That leaves most of my writing time at the airport or in the hotel room.  But who wants to sit down and write when there's HBO and Letterman on? Priorities are a bitch. If I worked for a publisher I'd be screwed if I was trying to reach a deadline. That's the luxury I have of being an Indie writer. 
Can I finish the story by the end of March? Most certainly. I may not be able to brag about finishing the manuscript and celebrating the anniversary to the exact day, but does the month still count? I don't think the Arabs or anyone else will give a damn, personally. 
Here's to Kingdom of Rage's first draft being done by the end of March. Cheers!

My next novel: Kingdom of Rage

It's been a while since I've updated this blog so I thought it'd be a good time to introduce you to my next novel, Kingdom of Rage. I'm about 90K words in and am shooting for 120K, which translates into 400 pages and should be done my mid-March. Title-wise, I went through dozens but I wanted a name based on the planned "Day of Rage" that took place in Saudi Arabia and was arranged though Facebook. The protests eventually fizzled after the Saudi government sent the military in with tanks. I would have used the name in quotations but several other books have variations of the name. My first choice was The Kingdom, but Clive Cussler beat me to it (bastard!). I wanted a name where readers instantly knew what the book's genre was just by reading the title. Local Saudis refer to the area as "the kingdom".

To put the title in context, the book is set in March 2011 during the height of the Arab Spring. Kingdom takes scenes from places like Tunisia and Egypt. The full-length novel is inspired by actual people and events.

I explore the hypothetical scenario of sending in war correspondent (used to be a reporter) Rich Fordham into Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to interview the oil minister to get his take on why oil prices are so high and what their long-term outlook is on the supply. Heavily armed security specialists (think Blackwater) serve as their security and transportation. During the drive to the meeting, their convoy is ambushed by jihadists loyal to Osama Bin Laden and is when all hell breaks loose.

I'd also like to get your opinion on the cover, seen below. What you see was created in less than an hour and is a very rough idea of what I'm striving for design-wise. It needs to be vivid, simple, and have the instant "Oh, that must be a thriller" kind of initial reaction. I'll consider hiring a professional but that gets pricy.

Here's to getting this story done in the next month!   ~Josh

Political POVs

When you're reading, are you put off if the author injects their political leanings into the story (even if you agree)? Or, do you read thrillers for their entertainment value only? What degree of bias is acceptable?

In Raw Vengeance, I wrote about a black gay teen who gets bullied at school. I take a stance of tolerance and humanize the experience. I also show the negative impact the choices made by those in a position of power can have. Do these strengthen the story? Thoughts? 

In honor of Martin Luther King Day

Since MLK Day is this Monday and one of my central characters is a gay black teenager, Tyler Cogan. I felt it'd be fitting to hold a three-day promotion. From now until Monday, Raw Vengeance is once again—FREE. 
Why is this story relevant? First, leave your hate and bigotry at the door. RV offers an unparalleled glimpse into what minorities struggle with on a day-to-day basis and humanizes the experience. Constant fear, ridicule, and ostracizing is commonplace and evident in schools. 

Free—Today only

Hey all you cheap bastards.  All you folks who have been wanting to buy my book but are too frugal, here ya go. No more excuses not to buy since it's FREE. Today only— Jan 8th, all day long. Raw Vengeance is the name if you're haven't heard of it.

What's that I hear? Did you say, "FREE"?

It's time for an experiment.  You may now "borrow" my book, Raw Vengeance, for a 30-day period—for FREE.  If you're a Prime Member, you get to enjoy this new borrowing service.

But wait, it gets better.  Much better.  How about a special giveaway? This Saturday and Sunday—Jan. 8th and 9th— you, your dad, your dog, whomever, can download a FREE copy without any strings attached.  Tell everybody.  Share the link.  I need all the visibility I can get.

If you download, please take a moment to submit a review, it only takes a minute or two.

Okay, enough of the sales pitch.  Carry on.

Please criticize me!

For those of you who purchased Raw Vengeance, I want to give you another "thanks".  What I'm asking for now is constructive criticism.  I need to polish my creative skills if I ever want to become one of the Brad Thors or Tom Clancys of the world.  I'll be the first to admit that my writing style is no where near perfect and will probably take two-to-three more novels to perfect.  In the meantime, I want to make my next thriller as entertaining and thrilling as my eccentric mind can make it.

I do not seek praise. If my book sucked, I want to know about it. Love it? Throw it at the wall in disgust? Any good artist or businessman needs to know where their product stands in consumer's eyes. I want specific examples of how I can make the plot flow better, the characters resonate, and pages keep turning. Is my grammar horrible? I can take it.

The first challenge I face is dealing with active versus passive sentence structures.  I'm slowly learning (oh dear, an adverb).  Another was my elaboration—or lack thereof—of my protagonist, Rich Fordham.  You got to know Tyler well but Rich's character needed to be more of a focus of the story.  Unfortunately, I think it was the liberal idealist in me that wanted to confront the issues surrounding Tyler's homosexuality.  I guess I need to stick to entertaining rather than being an activist.

When submitting a critique, don't be shy.  Post it publicly so we can create a dialogue.  Let me have it!