Konn Lavery's Blog: Posts from konnlavery.com, page 33

Goat Wisdom

The first period of the day is coming to an end. Three friends are exhausted from hearing their teachers talk all day about nonsense – time to skip class, smoke up, and relax. During the get-away, one of the friends finds himself in a difficult dilemma after being given the best advice of his life from an unlikely source.

Goat Wisdom is April’s flash fiction that brings readers into the eyes of a teenage boy who is stuck in a weed-induced conflict that will change his high school experience forever. Enjoy the story in written word, audio, artwork and soundscape.

Goat Wisdom









In Hell

It was one of those days at school. A day you wish you
didn’t have to go because the teachers breathe down your neck about everything
you do, and the other normie-kids talk about stupid music and TV shows. Not to
mention you see your crush hitting it off with her new boyfriend – the
quarterback of the football team. Honestly, a day like this was a typical day at school. I can’t really recall a
good one. Oh well. Cheers to the best times of my life.

I fiddle with my pencil, carving into the desk’s wood,
following the texture of the plank, filling it with lead. It was a mundane,
pointless activity that I like to do
while I was in the classroom. Carving lead into the desk was better than
listening to Mr. Patton ramble on about physics. Where am I even going to use this
stuff? I don’t want to be some sort of Einstein. Apparently, we’re supposed to take all types of sciences in grade 10 so we
can decide where we want to go. I know where I want to go: cloud 9.

“I want you all to turn to page 27,” said Mr. Patton. “Read
the assignment. You can do the first portion of the assignment for the rest of
the class and the second portion when you’re
home.”

The whole class – of
about 30 –pulled out their pencils, turned to the right page and began reading. Some of the keeners in the front were the quickest
to turn the page, probably because they were following along with Mr. Patton unlike
me. I just flipped open to a random page to look like I was paying attention.

“Hey man,” whispered the boy next to me.

I turned to look at the boy, Alex, one of my good pals. For
the first time today, I noticed his Goat Lord T-shirt – a kick ass death metal
band we enjoyed. We actually had the same
shirt and made sure we didn’t wear it on the same day. He could wear it on
Wednesdays, I wore mine on Tuesdays. The last time we matched shirts, the jokes were aplenty about us being a
couple. Now we avoid that risk.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“You want to get out of here when we are done class?” He asked.

“Damn right I do,” I said.

“Right on, you got some green in your locker?” Alex asked.

“Sure do,” I said with a grin. “We should get Felicia in on
this too.”

“You just want to try and stick your hands down her pants,”
Alex said.

I tightened the grip on the pencil. Alex’s words irritated
me because they were right. He was a good
friend and had the rights to remind me if I was doing something stupid. I just
didn’t want to hear it. I couldn’t understand why she would go for someone like
Don. I suppose being quarterback made you cool despite being a complete dud. Then
there was his goofy face.

“Well,” I said. “If I run into Felicia, I will talk to her.
If I don’t, we can just head to the ravine instead.”

“Sure, whatever you say,” Alex said. “As long as she is cool
with my mixtape.”

“Totally, she’s into metal.”

“Yeah, the mainstream stuff,” he mumbled while staring down
at his book. His face painted confusion while reading the text – probably a
very similar version of my own expression throughout the class. Neither of us was interested in physics. Got to love that
forced education system hey?

For the rest of the period,
we stared at our assignments, pretending to work. Alex was doing something in
the book while I doodled around the edges of the paper. Unfortunately, Mr. Patton watched everyone like a hawk,
waiting to strike its prey. He loved catching students misbehaving. That’s why
we pretended to work. Later, we would pay off one of the smarter kids to help
us with our assignment. Smart kids like drugs too.

Eventually, the heavens heard our agony, and the bell rang.

Finally, I
thought. That class could not have ended
soon enough.

Gathering the Goods

Alex and I packed up our things and hurried out of the
classroom. We had our exit strategy on routine and were often the first one to
leave the class, despite being in the
back of the room. Alex and I walked through the hallway to our lockers. They
were at the opposite wings of the school. It was kind of a bummer, but we
always knew where to meet up when skipping class. Physics was pretty dull, but the next period was social sciences.
God no.

I hurried through the hall to get my locker. My route when leaving
physics class took me right past Felicia’s locker. On most days I could see her
making out with Don. That creep would have his hands all over her body. The
rage I felt mostly comes from jealousy. Truthfully, that’s what I wanted you to
her.

Just like every other day, she was at her locker. Lucky for
me, today, Don was not here.

Looks like Felicia can
have some fun, I thought.

Slowing my pace to a relaxed
stride, I approached Felicia as she sifted through her locker. I nodded my head
at her, saying, “hey sup?”

“Hey!” Felicia jumped and smiled at me. There it was, that
deadly smile, one that could freeze even the most willful of souls. She had a way
with her grin – and maybe her whole mouth. I’d love to find out. Either way, I
sometimes wondered if she was friendly to everyone or she actually liked me.
We’ve known each other since junior high. My feelings for her just multiplied
over the years. It probably had something to do with teenage hormones.

“Alex and I are going to the ravine to have some dope. You
want in?” I asked.

“Yes! I do.” Felicia shut her locker and adjusted her
backpack. “We going now?”

“Yep, going to meet Alex just out by the east wing.”

“Think we have some time to grab Don?” Felicia asked.

“Uh, probably not,” I
said. “Doesn’t he have to go chase around
some boys on the football field?” I said humorously.

Felicia giggled and brushed her red hair aside, exposing her
neck. “So how was Mr. Patton, Is he still running that dictatorship of a
classroom?”

“You betcha,” I said as the two of us began to walk. “How
about you?”

“Oh, you know, math is math. I don’t mind it. I just can’t
wait to get the hell out of here.”

“Two more years,” I said.

Felicia and I reached my locker where I snagged the small
jar that contained joint. I always tried to reduce the smell by hiding it
inside a glass container with the cork. It reduced
the scent a bit. The method wasn’t
perfect though. As long as I kept it at the bottom of my backpack, no one would
know as we left the school. With the joint obtained, Felicia and I left my
locker and went to find Alex.

The two of us continued to walk down the hall to the
opposite wing of the school. Alex’s locker was right beside the exit to the
football field and the track and field course. The two of us chatted during the
walk about the same stuff we usually did: movies, music, and video games. Time
was a blur with that girl.

Blow This Pop Stand

Felicia and I exited the school find Alex leaning against
the brick wall. The boy saw us and perked up.

“There you are,” Alex said. The statement was obviously
directed towards me. Alex was not too fond Felicia. He could see how this girl
had me wrapped around her finger – whether she knew it or not. Plus, Alex was
kind of a purist when it came to music. If anyone didn’t fit within his
criteria of taste, they were not cool enough to hang out with them. He probably
tolerated Felicia just because I liked her.

“Yeah man,” I said. “I was just grabbing my stuff.”

“Cool,” Alex said while walking with Felicia and I.

“I’m so glad you guys can get your hands on some dope,” Felicia
said. “My dad would kill me if he knew I was into this.”

“Me too,” I said. “I just don’t give a shit.”

The three of us laughed as we walked across the grass. Felicia’s
eyes seemed to look at the football field as we moved by it. The football
players were all training together in their uniforms while the coach directed
them to perform specific tasks. That
never looked fun. But I knew Felicia was not looking at the scene, she was
trying to see if Don was there.

That douche, I
thought.

Eventually, our path
took us to the fence at the end of the school’s property. This fence was
directly beside the river valley where we were able to move down the dirt path.
This path was made mostly by students. It wasn’t paved or covered in gravel
which meant roots were sticking out. Bumps and ditches were also throughout the
trail. The three of us had to pay close attention
as we descended deep the ravine. We continued through the forest until we found
our familiar secluded spot. It was off the beaten path and difficult to see due
to the thick foliage and dense trees.

Getting High

“Secluded enough?” Felicia said.

“Well, we don’t want to get caught,” Alex said as he pulled
out his portable boombox from his backpack.

“This is the usual spot Alex and
I go to smoke,” I said while taking the glass container out of my backpack
along with a lighter.

Felicia began to play with her hair saying, “boy I feel
special.” She smiled. That deadly smile again. It caught me, and I couldn’t look away.

Blaring metal music shot me back into reality, and I looked away from the girl to see Alex had
put a CD into the boombox – good old Goat Lord. I didn’t even realize how long
I was staring at Felicia for. Thankfully, she was staring at me, and she didn’t
look away after the music started.

She’s into me, I
thought. Oh, how I would love to make some kind of move on her.

Feeling cool since I had Felicia’s attention, I took the
joint out of the glass container and lit it. I brought it to my lips and took a
puff, embracing that sweet taste of green. The smell of marijuana filled my
lungs and the air around us. I passed the joint to Felicia. She inhaled and then
exhaled slowly, letting the smoke ease its way out of her mouth and past her
lips.

“That’s smooth,” Felicia said while passing the joint Alex.

“The best,” Alex said while taking the joint and having a
puff.

We continue to pass the joint around, each embracing the
wonderfulness of the drug. Each puff that we had caused the weed’s effects to grow stronger in our systems. We
laughed, joked, and chatted until there was nothing left of the joint. At this
point, all three of us were feeling pretty good. Each of us gazed into different directions, downing our
ears to Goat Lord. Felicia began playing with her hair while using a stick
drawing the dirt. Alex was laying on his back looking up at the leaves. His
head rested on his hands. He had a funny smile on his face that just wouldn’t
go away. That is what made weed so awesome – it always put you in a good mood.

As for me, I tried not to stare at Felicia. Man,
she is hot.

My mind wandered from the girl into bigger picture stuff,
like what was the purpose of school? Society forced the youth to work so hard at
pointless subjects. They want us to learn things
we don’t care about. We barely even know ourselves, and we are trying to understand how particles move? It’s
ridiculous. The other part of my mind got sucked back into the Felicia fantasy.
She sat close to me. I wasn’t sure if it was the weed, or if she actually was
leaning a little closer. It was a bit hard
to tell while being high.

“KISS HER,” came a whisper.

I looked around, trying to see where the voice came from. It
had to be Alex. The sound was a raspy
male voice.

“DO IT NOW,” came the voice.

The voice came from Alex’s direction, yet his lips weren’t moving.
Where was it coming from?

“KISS FELICIA,” came the voice again. This time I could see
that the sound came from the Goat Lord T-shirt.
The animal’s mouth moved as it spoke.

No way, I thought.
This was the most intense experience I had ever had on weed. That goat was actually
talking to me.

“KISS HER NOW, OR YOU WILL REGRET IT,” said the goat. The
illustration of the goat looked directly at me while it talked. The mouth moved
in a very human-like motion.

I was not a fool, I knew that T-shirts couldn’t talk let
alone give pretty good advice. Even though I knew it was the drug talking, I
liked what the goat had to say.

I looked away from the goat illustration and at Felicia. Her
red hair, green eyes, smooth legs… everything about her. That goat was a
reflection of my deepest desires. All I wanted to do was take Felicia into my
arms and start playing suck-face. It’s all I ever wanted to do. From what I
could tell she was into me too, despite being with Don.

I leaned in slowly towards
the girl and then paused. No, I
thought.

A moment of clarity hit me: if I kissed Felicia, what would
that mean? Felicia was seeing Don, and things seem to be going well with them.
I was already not in the good books with the football team, how much more
difficult would that make my life? At the core of my relationship with Felicia,
I was her friend. I truly cared about her. What if she wasn’t giving me hints
and I did kiss her? She would feel betrayed and creeped
out. Don would kick my ass.

“DO IT NOW!” came the commanding voice of the goat
illustration. “DO IT NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”

I froze. This was a dilemma I never thought I would have to
experience in my life. On the one hand, the
girl wanted was right beside me – being questionably close. On the other hand,
I could not tell if this was all just the weed. After
all, I was getting advice from a talking goat illustration on a T-shirt.

“YOU MUST,” the goat said.

“No!” I shouted.

My shouting caught the attention of Felicia and Alex. Hell,
I startled myself too. The sudden sound threw us all off, killing the weed-vibe
we were experiencing. Felicia scooted away from me while Alex stood up,
brushing the dirt and grass from the back of his shirt.

“What time is it?” Felicia asked.

“Probably getting close to the end of the period,” Alex said
pressing stop on the boombox and grabbing it.

I stared at Alex’s T-shirt, my eyes fixated on the goat
illustration. It was no longer animated. The eyes were as lifeless as they were
before the weed. Its mouth didn’t move. There were no voices.

Regret

I got up on the grass scratched my neck, I felt nervous that
I shouted out some words to my friends that had no context to the situation.

“Smoke much, man?”
Alex said with a grin.

“I guess so. Shit, I
had some bizarre thoughts,” I said. “I’m wondering if that thing laced with something
else.”

“Doubt it. Seemed normal to me,” Alex said. “I think you
just tripped some serious balls.”

Felicia giggled while the two of them began to walk back to
the school. I followed them, and the
three of us walked as a group. I wanted to tell my friends about the ridiculous
experience I had with the auditory hallucination. The rational part of me said no.
It was a ridiculous story, and it might weird Felicia out. Maybe I could
tell Alex later. For now, this stayed with me.

The three of us exited the ravine and returned to the school
property. We walked across the grass until we made it near the football field
where the football team was just
finishing up their training routine.

One football player noticed us, and he stepped away from the group, waving.

Oh no, I thought.
Right away I knew it was Don.

Felicia waved at the boy at the football field. He began to
jog toward us. Felicia hurried towards
him, leaving me with Alex behind.

“There goes your girl,” Alex said.

“Yeah,” I said. There really wasn’t much else to say. Felicia
had the most popular guys in school for her boyfriend. I was just her stoner
buddy, watching in disgust as Don and Felicia embraced one another. Her arms wrapped
around his neck. His hands firmly gripped her ass. The two of them began to
make out disgustingly. I just couldn’t
look at anymore.

“Let’s get something to eat,” I said. Truthfully, I wanted
to get out of there.

He was right, I
suddenly thought.

In that doped-up state-of-existence, I heard words of wisdom from an unlikely source. Instead of listening to the strange goat’s words, I decided not to. With a clear mind, I recalled the scene in the ravine: Felicia and my knees were nearly touching, she kept playing with her hair while leaning towards me, and she was looking at me for prolonged periods. She was just too shy to make a move – just like me. The goat was the voice of reason in the situation who was trying to guide me into something that would have been beautiful. The goat was providing words of wisdom, and I did not listen. I should have never doubted the Goat Lord.

The post Goat Wisdom appeared first on Konn Lavery.

Moving from KDP to IngramSpark

During August and September of 2018, Createspace officially merged with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), and the usage of the previous interface, rules, and pricing were no longer valid. The migration process was a bit of a learning curve for many people and caused some indie authors and publishers to steer away from Amazon’s services altogether. Each person has their reasons as to why they want to move away from Amazon’s KDP, this blog post is not to discuss the why. So where do you go and how do you do it? There are other print on demand services out there such as Lulu, Blurb, and IngramSpark. In this post, we’re going to look at moving from KDP to IngramSpark.

Why IngramSpark?

Competitive pricing and customization. Some of the other
print on demand services offer excellent products as well. I have used Blurb
before and like it. However, they don’t have the same customizations or price
point per book as IngramSpark has.

Yes, Amazon’s KDP is still cheaper, but this post isn’t
about convincing you why you should move from Amazon’s KDP. We’re going to
assume you already made your choice why, for whatever the reason may be. This
post is about how to do it.

From the time I migrated my first book over to IngramSpark –
which was January 2019 – there was very little information online. The process
I took was trial and error, a couple of months of determination, and some
costly mistakes. I hope the information here helps you avoid some headaches during
your migration!

Step One: Do you own your ISBN?

Okay, so we’re ready to migrate our book from KDP to IngramSpark.
The first question to ask yourself is: do you own your ISBN? Or did Amazon provide
one for you? If you own your ISBN, then great, you can migrate the same version
of the book over to IngramSpark. If you don’t own your ISBN (Amazon provided
one for you), you cannot migrate this edition of your book. This is a critical step.
The process below is intended if you own your ISBN and need to make the migration
over to IngramSpark.

Why Transfer an ISBN Vs Making a New One?

The benefit of keeping your ISBN vs just making a new one is
you keep the edition of your book. All sales, stores, libraries, and archives
reference the ISBN to know what book is what. When you get a new ISBN, you are
creating a new version of your book, and it needs to be resubmitted to book
stores like Indigo, sites like Goodreads, etc. Basically, you are publishing a new
book.

Step Two: Creating an IngramSpark account

This should be a no-brainer but make sure you create an account on their
website. Follow their steps which are very similar to Amazon’s KDP. There are a
few different choices on terminology, but that is all.

Do not begin
re-creating your title in IngramSpark yet. Doing so, your re-created title
on Ingramspark will be replaced with the latest-live Amazon version if you
migrate the same ISBN version. Read the steps below to see if you need to
create the title or not.

Using a New ISBN

For those that do not own their own ISBN, you need to obtain
a new one. This process is more straightforward than transferring an ISBN you
own. In Canada, they are free through the Government’s website. If you’re in
the USA, IngramSpark does let you buy an ISBN through Bowker. Once you obtain a
new ISBN, you can follow the steps of creating a new novel on IngramSpark’s
website, order a proof, and publish.

Step Three: Migrating Your Existing ISBN

Remember, with Amazon, once your book is published, it can
never officially be removed from Amazon. Even if you unpublish it, the book
still appears on search results and your author page. It’s up to you if you
want to continue having your book available on Amazon for people to buy or if
you want to unpublish it completely. The steps below are the same.

Log onto KDP and edit the paperback you wish to
migrate.Go to Paperback Rights & PricingUncheck “Expanded Distribution”Both KDP and IngramSpark have a distribution with
the same resellers and leaving this checked on creates a conflict between the
two distributors. Be sure to uncheck it, so the book is only on the Amazon
marketplace.Contact
Amazon by going to their help, under Book Details and ISBN. Choose either
E-mail or Phone, whichever you prefer.For email, be very specific what you want to do.


For the subject: Migrating my ISBN 000-0-0000000-0-0
over to IngramSpark

For the message include this sentence: Please
release my ISBN 000-0-0000000-0-0 to allow IngramSpark to migrate the book.

Amazon’s support prefers exact instructions. I failed to mention IngramSpark
the first time, and they denied releasing my ISBN. Be polite and respectful too.
It gets you a lot further than demanding.



Step Four: Inform IngramSpark

After you have finished the initiation process with KDP,
inform IngramSpark through their Live Chat which ISBN and title of your book
you are migrating. Inform them that you want to distribute through IngramSpark
and have already requested for KDP to release the ISBN.

Ingram will send you a transfer form for you to fill out and
send back to them. Once this is complete, the process can take about 30 days
for the migration to be finished.

Step Five: Review

Now, you wait 30 days. You will get an email when the
migration is complete which can take less time. If it does, be sure to order a
proof copy of your book and review all settings and metadata to ensure it is correct.

IngramSpark copies the last live published version of your
book from Amazon KDP. Ordering a proof is a good indicator to ensure that you are
printing the right file. Unlike KDP, there
is a charge for updating the file. To avoid future charges, be sure that
your proof is correct before hitting publish.

Summary

Moving from KDP to IngramSpark is a lengthy, technical, process.
Be patient and professional during the process, and it will go as smoothly as
it can. Again, for whatever the reason is for you to move from Amazon’s KDP, I
hope this guide offers some clear direction on the process. When I went through
the process, most information I could find was out of date and inaccurate.

If you have some of your own experiences with migrating from
KDP or have questions, please share in the comments.

The post Moving from KDP to IngramSpark appeared first on Konn Lavery.

H.M. Gooden – YA, Fantasy, and Paranormal Author

This month’s guest author is H.M. Gooden who writes young
adult, fantasy and paranormal novels. Her first release was Dream of Darkness. She is a full-time
worker bee, mother and writer by the wee hours of the day. Even with her busy
life, she still finds time to write her trilogy and beyond, Let’s learn more
about that and welcome H.M. Gooden to the blog!

Thank you for joining us H.M. Gooden, can you give us a brief introduction
to yourself?

Thank you for having me!

I am a married mother of four children, the oldest just
turned 16 and the youngest just turned 4, I work full time in the health field,
which I love, but can sometimes be draining.

I started writing again after a very long break during my
education and early career and family years, and picked it up again after my
youngest was born. I had been saying I would write a book “one day” and maybe
it was being up at all hours of the night that made me just crazy enough to
start but I did, and now here I am, loving every moment of it!

Since your first novel release, Dream
of Darkness, you have a total of ten books. Impressive! A lot of writers
struggle to find time, how do you balance writing with life?

It is more of a juggling act or a teeter-totter than actual
balance haha! I sometimes can’t squeeze in even a free second, and other times
I find my brain is too full with all my responsibilities. Mostly, I do at least
15-30 min of writing a day in the “edges” as it were. Either very early, very late,
or while driving.

Can you share a bit about your writing process that allows you to write so
effectively?

Dictation has been a life saver or perhaps has made my life
crazier, I’m still unsure which it is! I can now easily get through a first
draft in about a month or so, as I do it during my commute and can sometimes
get 5-10,000 words in if things are flowing. But the problem of course is I
still don’t have more time to complete the edits, and that means I have about
10 more books I need to finish edits and final drafts for!

Tell us about your latest novel, The
Raven and the Witch Hunter: Honeymoon and Full Moon Blues?

This book was fun to write. It combined two of my favorite characters with France, a country that I love. I used real events from history that had a spookiness I enjoyed and created this as a consequence. What is better than a Honeymoon in France? Fighting supernatural evil of course!

You currently have three series, do you have a new one in the works or will
you keep developing these storylines?

Oh, I have three in the works right now. One series is a spin-off from book 4 of the Rise of the Light, which will hopefully launch this fall. I’ve also drafted out another two series that take place in the same original town as my Rise of the Light series. I hadn’t planned to do it, but it seems as I’ve created a world of my own.

Back to the writing and time, what pushed you to take your writing from
just a draft, to where you are at today?

My strongest motivation was likely that I would be one of
those people who regretted not doing something when I died. I like to think
that I can do anything I put my mind to, and writing is one of those things. I
don’t want to sit back and say one day anymore- I’m far too busy to put it on
the tomorrow to-do list these days, and regret is too time consuming. In my
line of work I see too many people who have died full of sadness over the
things they’ve never tried, and very few full of regret for trying and failing.

Let’s thank H.M.
Gooden for joining us again to the blog!

You can find her work on her website, amazon, and the
various links below:

Website: hmgoodenauthor.comAmazon: amazon.com/H.-M.-Gooden/e/B078JXQZQR/Twitter: twitter.com/hmgoodenauthorGoodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/17229510.H_...Facebook: facebook.com/HMGoodenAuthor

The post H.M. Gooden – YA, Fantasy, and Paranormal Author appeared first on Konn Lavery.

Potholes, Not Dead Ends

Three months into the new year and so much planning have
been made to pave the road for what is to come. That is a vague and quick
summary of what I have been up to for 2019. Overall my online activity has been
a bit quiet as of late; this is due to an array of reasons. To paint it with a
broad stroke: the road is filled with potholes, not dead ends.

Welcome to another edition of Unprocessed Thoughts

Life is full of various analogies such as a highway, road, river,
ocean, etc. Life can also be pretty unpredictable
and throw you under the bus without any explanation or reasoning. That’s the
funny thing about life – it isn’t biased. That means it doesn’t love, hate,
judge or favour anyone. At least that is
what I believe, and each person is entitled to their own beliefs in life. One
thing is for sure; we are here as we are
for a short period then eventually death meets us all.

Hence the Potholes, Not Dead Ends

The theme of this blog post is based on one of those life analogies though: the road. We’re all on some path going somewhere whether we know it or not. You might have an idea for what the end destination of that road might be, or maybe you don’t. That’s okay. Get ready for another cliché… it’s the journey that counts! For real though, the path you take is where you are now and says what type of a person you are.

In my case, the end destination progressively becomes less
clear. Kind of like fog on the road, making you drive a little slower, be a
little more aware of what is happening right in front of you. You also don’t know
where the hell the road is going. Thankfully a lot of the hard work that I put
in earlier this year and late last year is offering some clear direction on
where everything is going in my life. It’s like the map.

Next comes the pothole
analogy. Some scenarios came up in my personal and professional life that took
me on a ride, and I was questioning if they were going to put a stop to previously
planned things – like the Calgary Comic Expo in April, or the contract life I’ve
been living. No. Thankfully that wasn’t the case. It turned out to be some bumps
that made the road a bit unstable. The fog is still there, but that’s fine. Eventually, it will clear up, just like the potholes are slowly going away. Pretty vague
huh?

I’ve never been much for sharing every detail of my life
online, nor on the blog. The blog is about my writing journey, discovering new authors and exploring the craft. So the analogy
given for this post is to summarize what we all go through on occasion. We all
get stuck, but if you’re a writer, you’ll keep writing.

This edition of Unprocessed Thoughts is less structured than
the others, mostly because it is a bumpy ride as of late. Good things come to
those that wait though. If you haven’t caught the news, The White Hand, a
Rutherford Manor novel has finished its editing phase and will be entering
formatting – woohoo! More info on the actual release date will be coming down
the pipeline once there are more detailed finalized.

Keep watch for next week;
there’s an exciting tip-based post that will be helpful if you are self-publishing!

Beer Note: Dead Guy Ale Rogue

This beer is based on a German Maibock, sitting at a 6.8% alcohol
percentage. It isn’t hopy – because it is
a Maibock – but it has a rich, deep
flavour that gets better with each sip that you take. If you enjoy bolder beers, this is one that is worth having.

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Calgary Comic Expo 2019

YEGman, Mental Damnation and Seed Me at the Calgary Comic Expo!

I will be heading over to Calgary for the exciting yearly expo of comics and entertainment. This year I will be bringing YEGman, Seed Me Dream and Reality novels for you to CONSUME. I will also be on a couple of panels during the event. Be sure to check the panel guide to find times and days.

Where is the Calgary Comic Expo?

April 25 – 28, 2019

Calgary Stampede Park

Thurs: 4:00PM – 9:00PM, Fri: 12:00PM – 8:00PM, Sat: 10:00AM – 7:00PM, Sun: 10:00AM – 5:00PM

I’ll be in Artist Alley. Booth number TBA

See you all then!

Be sure to grab your ticket to join this exciting event of costumes and pop culture.

The post Calgary Comic Expo 2019 appeared first on Konn Lavery.

Book Signing at Westside Chapters

Head over to Westside Chapters for a meet and greet with the author!

This April 20th I will be at Westside Chapters for a signing of all five of my books. Drop in for a meet & greet the author, artwork, and of course, the books themselves.
When and Where:

Saturday, April 20th from 11:00am – 4:00pm
Westside Chapters
9952 170 St NW,
Edmonton, AB T5T 6G7

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Mercer Warehouse Haunt

Mark is stuck working late while everyone else is off to the
building’s mixer event. The office is inside Edmonton’s famous Mercer Warehouse
that is known to be haunted due to an unsettling history…

Mercer Warehouse Haunt is March’s flash fiction that brings readers into Edmonton’s Mercer Warehouse, following Mark who
witnesses the supposedly true hauntings. Experience the story in written word, audio, artwork and soundscape.

Mercer Warehouse Haunt









Office Overtime

Just one more email,
I thought while hammering away at my keyboard. The night was getting on, most
people had left the building. I was possibly
one of the last ones at the office, well that and the Startup Edmonton space on
the floor above. They often hosted events after hours for their entrepreneur
community. It was pretty cool if you were going down the businessperson route. For
me, even in a small studio, I didn’t have that go-getter attitude that everyone
seems to have around me. All I want is to clock in, do my job, and get home. I
also wasn’t a fan of the big corporate factory. So, unfortunately, I am part of
a small team, which meant overtime.

Footsteps echoed from the hallway outside the office. “Mark!”
came a man’s nasally voice, easily recognizable as my co-worker Gabe.

“Yeah?” I called out, still typing rapidly on my keyboard.

Gabe appeared from around the corner, his frizzy hair
bouncing with each step he made.

“How’s the event upstairs?” I asked, clearly able to hear the muffled voices of the people upstairs mingling. The wooden floors weren’t
that soundproof.

“Good! You should have joined. Some potential hires if we
get big enough.”

“I’m sure Todd would love to hear that.” I used my trackpad
and hit send on the email. Leaning back in my chair I pushed my glasses up and
looked at my colleague who stared back.

“They’re wrapping up the event. Alice and I thought we could
go down to Mercer Tavern for some drinks, you in?” Gabe asked.

I looked down at my computer screen to see one half of the
screen had the email software open – with over two dozen unread emails from
today. The other half had a word document I was working on before the blast of
emails arrived at the end of the workday.
As tempting as it was to go get piss-faced with my coworkers after a long shift,
I knew I shouldn’t. The fact that our office was in the same building as a pub
didn’t help the temptation. The Mercer Warehouse was a fantastic historical
structure.

“I would love to, but I got a pile of work to do here,” I
said, brushing my slicked-back hair aside. I really didn’t want to stay and
work, but I knew better.

“Save it for tomorrow!” Gabe said with a toothy grin.

“You know Todd would have my head if this briefing isn’t
written for the dev team. I got to get this done.”

Mercer Tavern Fun

Footsteps came from down the hall until a third person
entered the room. Alice, the brunette intern we hired. Damn. That’s really the
best way to describe her. I tried not to stare at her hips wrapped in a tight
skirt as she walked in. I had work-place ethics.

“Mark,” Alice said. “What are you still doing here?” she
asked in a playful tone.

I waved my hands at the laptop. “Just getting this work
done. There’s a lot we haven’t even gotten through.”

“Told you,” Gabe said. “Mark just can’t look away from that
screen.”

Alice smiled at me and shook her head. “Don’t work too late, okay?”

I smiled at her, “yeah.” As
if the pub wasn’t tempting enough, I thought. I had been so wrapped up in
work that I didn’t know Alice had stayed at the Start-Up
Edmonton event. I’d love to get her out for a drink.

A loud thud came from upstairs, causing the three of us to
jump.

“Christ,” Alice said while placing her hand on her chest.

Gabe scratched his mustache, saying, “someone has had one
too many drinks up there.”

I shook my head. “That sounded like it was on this floor.
Anyone else still here?”

“Not that I am aware of,” Alice said while waving her hand
to create a slight breeze.

“Who knows, this place is full of sounds throughout the day.
Just extra spooky at night.” Gabe said.

I unbuttoned the upper button of my shirt and exhaled,
feeling whatever heatwave Alice was getting. For whatever reason, the building’s furnace decided it was a
good idea to crank the floor with warmth. This place was getting close to being
100 years old, who knows what kind of quirks it has. Between the original brick
walls, the wood floors, elevators, various floors, and many rooms, this place was as mysterious as when my clock-out time
was going to be.

“Okay, someone blasted the heat,” Alice said waving her hand.

“Probably one of those ghosts in this building,” Gabe said.

“What?” Alice said. “There are no ghosts here.” She looked
at me for confirmation.

I shrugged at her. “I have no idea about the history of this
place.”

Gabe scratched his head. “I swear, it was something about a
fire in this place when it was a stable. Tragic.”

“A stable?” I snorted. “This is a brick building with four
floors. It doesn’t exactly look like one.”

Gabe shook his head. “Look, that is all I have been told.
People talk about it all the time here.”

“I never heard of anything like that,” I said.

“Me either,” Alice said.

“Maybe it’s just small talk,” Gabe said. “Look, it’s getting
way too hot here. I’m going for a cool drink.”

Alice nodded. “Maybe if you’re done early come find us
downstairs,” she said before turning to leave.

“Thanks,” I said.

Gabe waved goodbye at me. “Remember to lock up when you’re
done.”

“Of course. Have a drink for me!” I called out as he left
the open-space office.

Gabe gave me a thumbs up as he walked out of our office and
down the wooden hallway, leaving me with my work. At least I presumed I was
alone on the floor – what was that thud noise? I wasn’t sure if it was worth
investigating or not. Probably not. Being overworked and tired had a way of
making you paranoid. Plus, I had so much work to do that I didn’t see taking a
break was very optional. Maybe a piss break at some point. That is all.

Working Horse

I continued to hammer away at the keyboard, working on the creative-brief document for the development
team. At this point in the day, I had probably been at work for a good twelve
hours. Time seemed to pass by as an abstract concept while my eyes watched the
digital alphabet glyphs pop up on the screen with each key I pressed. When did
Alice and Gabe come by? An hour… or two hours ago? I honestly could not
remember. I entered a trance. A mundane, work trance.

I could use that beer,
I thought. The temptation of joining my co-workers at the Mercer Tavern below
was rising again. Piss break.

I got up from my seat while hitting the save button. A
stretch and bathroom break wouldn’t hurt anyone. I was making good progress and
deserved a break. Time didn’t matter at this point. No matter how late or early
I left, no one cared, as long as the work got done.

Some heavy-walker in high-heels began to stomp on the floor
above.

“Jesus,” I muttered to myself while checking the time on my
smartphone, it was just about midnight. The heat in the building hadn’t exactly cooled off either. Now that I wasn’t
glued to my computer screen, I could focus on the temperature. I was unsure if
it got hotter or if I was paying attention to it now. Regardless, I had
pit-sweats now. That’d be attractive to Alice.

I walked out of our office and down the hall towards the
restroom. All of the other office doors were now shut and locked – everyone
else had gone home for the day. I really was the last one on this floor,
possibly the building – minus the tavern below.

Another stomp came, reverbing off the empty hallway walls.
The sound was more substantial than a
high-heel, like a pole hitting the ground. It was close, more levelled than the ceiling.

That wasn’t the floor
above, I thought, knowing well off that the Startup Edmonton event ended
hours ago. It’s got to be the old pipes.

Sighing, I pushed the strange sound of my head and went for
the bathroom. On this floor, it was a shared one-stall option. Sure, there were
two stalls, but they were both in the hall, facing away from each other. This
building tended to be forward thinking and introduced shared bathrooms. I
didn’t lose my shit over it like some people. To me, when you had to go, you
had to go.

Entering the bathroom, I flicked the light on, put my phone
on the counter, and closed to door. Lifting the toilet lid with my foot, I
undid my pant buckle and took care of business. Relief. The moment passed.
Flushed. Lid dropped.

THUD!

The sound outside the bathroom caused me to jump, and I snagged my pants to keep them up.

THUD! THUD! The bathroom door pounded.
Its entire shape pushed inward with each pound it made.

“Cut it out!” I
called out. It had to be Gabe pulling some stupid prank.

THUD! THUD! THUD! Came the sound from behind the door again. The
temperature drastically increased, and I
could feel sweat dripping down my face. A snort came from out in the hall, followed
by the same thudding from earlier.

“Alright! Give me a moment,” I called out. Those drunks. I buckled up my pants and
washed my hands then swung the door open. The hall was empty. I flicked my wet
hands and glanced down both ways of the hall
to see no one.

Oneness with Mercer Warehouse

“Hello?” I called out, wiping my forehead of sweat.

Silence.

“Gabe? Alice?” I said while walking down the hall towards
the staircase. This didn’t make sense. It had to be one of them pulling some
joke on him. The floors needed a key to get in at this hour. It had to be
someone who has access to the building.

I opened to door to the stairwell and looked up and down the
steps – no one. This end of the hall was clear. I closed the door and picked up
my pace and hurried down the other end of the hallway. The heat continued to
rise, leaving me a soaking mess.

“This joke isn’t funny anymore!” I shouted while reaching
the other end of the hall. No one. Every office was locked, as it should be. I
was stumped.

“Clearly I’m working too late,” I mumbled to myself.

Despite the heat, I had to get the work done. Even though I
had a laptop, I needed the files that were on the server. There was no option
other than to work in this overheating environment.

Sighing, I returned to the office while airing out my
shirt.  I entered the office, noticing an
intense grey haze that started to gloom over the space. I took a sniff to smell
the subtle scent of smoke.

Smoke? Heat? It finally
hit me – the building was on fire. Instantly I clued in that I had left my
smartphone on the bathroom counter. Without hesitation, I rushed to leave the
office to get my cellphone. Before I
could make it to the office entrance, a large pile of wood collapsed in front
of it, blocking me inside. Intense heat, piercing flames, and smoke shot
through the cracks of the collapsed timber,
forcing me to shield myself with my arm.

A whinnying sound pierced through the sounds of flames
followed by an echoed thumping. The smoke thickened drastically, making it
difficult to see anything other than a few feet in front of me. I coughed
violently while bringing my shirt up to my face, trying to keep my head low.

Heavy trotting picked up inside the office followed by the crashing
of desks and computers. I looked up to see through the haze was the silhouette
of a massive steed stomping through the
office.

What the…? I
thought. It had to be the lack of oxygen. That was the only logical
explanation.

The creature galloped towards me, knocking over my desk and
sending my laptop to the ground. Flames burst from the animal’s nostrils and
eye sockets like some sort of hell creature. The animal neighed while its long
mane bounced with each step it made.

I jumped to the side, trying to dodge the stomping animal.
The attempt was too late. The animal reached my being and moved through me like
a spectral. It left a trail of flame with each step of the hoof as it trotted.
My face collided into the ground, face first, causing me to skid on the wood.

This can’t be it,
I thought to myself. It was the only words I could process. The rest were
memories. Reminiscences that were not my own. It was as if another entity had
pierced into my psyche and was filling my mind with visuals of farmers, horses,
and fire. Emotions of fear, agony, and distress washed over my body. The
impression of loss and confusion was all that was left. The fires around me
continued to light up until there was nothing but brightness, not even the heat
could be felt anymore. The whinnying sound of a horse echoed through my mind
followed by a heavy thud.

The poor animal.
Burned alive, I thought. The creature’s agonizing death played through my
mind. The animal’s soul was communicating with me. It was trapped within these
walls. The horse channelled through my
being. I was this animal.

An instinctual sensation pulsated through my body, and I lifted my head up. Resting on my knees, I
screeched an ear-piercing neigh as the fire began to consume my form.

Reality Check

Mark! A voice echoed my head.

“Christ, Mark!” the voice shouted once more. This time it
was more distinguishable. The sound didn’t originate in my head. No. This was
my co-worker. He was in the room with me. He was in the fire.

“Gabe!” I used all my strength to spring to my feet. “Get
out of here!” I shouted, looking towards the hallway. The office door was wide
open. There was no collapsed wood. Alice walked towards me from the doorway,
wide-eyed.

A hand touched my shoulder, causing me to flinch. “Mark,” came
Gabe’s voice. “What on earth are you screaming about?”

I looked over to see the man was beside me.

“What?” I asked, glancing around. The fires, the horse, the
smoke – all of it was gone.

“Are you okay?” Alice asked.

“I… I don’t know,” I said while wiping my face.

“You were shouting on your knees,” Gabe said while laughing.
“This briefing got you that rattled up?”

I didn’t answer, still looking around the office. Everything
was left as is. The desks were upright, and the computers were on top, unharmed.
How? I thought.

“You’re drenched in sweat,” Alice said. “Maybe you should
take the day off tomorrow.”

“Or maybe the heat hit you,” Gabe said. “Lucky we went back
up here to check on you.”

“Yeah,” I said. “It had to be the heat.” Did I just
shout like a horse? I thought, now feeling sheepish that my co-workers had
found me in such a bizarre state. I could barely process what had just happened
to me.

Sure, I could tell my co-workers that the whole floor caught
fire, wood began to collapse around me, a
horse-ghost appeared on the third floor, and channelled
its essence through me, but that was crazy. Ghosts weren’t real. At least that
is what I try to tell myself. If that were true, then what was the vision I
had? What was the sensation of oneness I had with a creature I had never met
before?

Maybe I would never have any answers. I could only accept what I saw and felt: the impression of an animal in agony, sharing it story with me of burning in the fire at the Mercer Warehouse.

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Scarlett Holloway – Savagely Sweet Romance Author of Policy of Truth

This month’s guest author is Scarlett Holloway who has now
released her debut novel, Policy of Truth.
She has grown up on the Central Coast and has always had a dream of seeing her
name on the cover of a book. She brings her past into the words in her writing,
Let’s learn more about that and welcome Scarlett Holloway to the blog!

Thank you for joining us Scarlett Holloway, can you give us a brief introduction to yourself?

–waves- I’m Scarlett, but we knew that already lol. These questions are always soooo hard, I never really talk about myself, and I’m more interested in everyone else. Hmm, I am currently living in the south, I am married and have 3 children─4 if you count the husband. I am a lover of all things cupcakes, glitter, coffee, unicorns and bunnies.

Your first novel release, Policy of Truth has just come out. Can you share with us a bit about the new book? 

Oh my. Of course. Let’s see here … The book takes place in a fictional city that I created in the Mojave, based on Edwards, Calif. It is about an all-female motorcycle club that is one of the first to wear the 1% diamond. Policy delves into their lives and how it is to go up against a male dominated world and be successful. The main character is Tamra ‘Durty’ Simons and her struggle in the club with maintaining some form of a relationship with a guy who is a plant (or spy) from their support group.  It’s about the lies told and having to find a way to overcome it and keep the love that she has tried to avoid, and found she honestly needs it.

Have you written any previous, unpublished work? If so what type of stories have you written?

Yes, I have. It’s Dark PNR that I am actually releasing March 25th. I have a cozy mystery that crosses with the motorcycle series, and I have another series that I will be releasing this year that is PNR based on an island that is inhabited solely by supernaturals.

You also have a saga in the works, can you share more about what readers can look forward to?

I do. It is a soap opera styled series that is a mixture of some night time soaps that we all have loved.

For aspiring authors, what type of advice would you give a first-time author?

Never give up. No matter what anyone ever tells you, never stop writing. Always research any publisher or agent before you submit and make sure they are a right fit for you.

Let’s thank Scarlett
Holloway for joining us again to the blog!

You can find her work on her website, amazon, and the
various links below:

Website: scarlettholloway.comAmazon:amazon.com/Scarlett-Holloway/e/B07MMG...Twitter: twitter.com/ScarlettsSongInstagram: instagram.com/ascarlettssongFacebook:
facebook.com/thescarlettholloway

The post Scarlett Holloway – Savagely Sweet Romance Author of Policy of Truth appeared first on Konn Lavery.

Dissect Your Book Reviews

Reviews. The double-edged sword that can make us authors
feel like we are soaring through the skies or it can have us feeling as if we
are crashing to the planet’s surface. Reviews are challenging to get. It can be
like pulling teeth to get honest reviews from your
readers. There are unethical ways to get
reviews. Other people do review exchanges. Sites like Amazon and Kobo change
their review policy overnight, and you
lose your reviews! When you finally get those honest reviews, they might not be
pleasant. You might get a one star or a five star. Why are the reviews so extreme and what do you do with this
information? This is why we will look at
how to dissect your book reviews.

Fast-forward on the ‘How To’

As the intro mentioned, there are plenty of ways to get reviews – which we are not here to discuss. There are many discussions about the ever-changing policies on distribution sites and methods of obtaining reviews. There is plenty of advice on how to get reviews from your readers. Let’s fast-forward to say you have reviews. What do you do with them? Are they helpful or hurtful?

Looking at Reviews

I wanted to cover the idea of
not looking at your reviews briefly. Some authors I have met do believe
that you shouldn’t look at the reviews because it will tamper with your
creativity and style. Yes, this is true. If you take the feedback on the book
to heart, you will start to change your writing style to try and appeal to an individual
or group of people that just aren’t your
audience. This is why we are going to
look at how to analyze your reviews critically.

Understanding your book’s reviews

For the sake of simplicity, we will stick with Amazon
reviews. The platform is a playing field most
people are familiar with being on. Book reviews
on Amazon can help your ranking on the chosen genres and encourage people to
read more about your book. What does the review
say to you though, as the author?

Your book’s reviews tell you a lot more information rather
than what is just on the surface, most of the time. A good review is defined by the constructive criticism it
offers. The five stars and the one stars don’t help much if there isn’t a lot
of backing information in the content itself.

Knowing What to Look For

To dissect your book reviews, you need to break down what
people are trying to say. Are they expressing their personal opinion (subjectively
analyzing) the book? Alternatively, are
they providing valuable feedback (objectively looking at the book)? If the reviewer is subjectively analyzing the book
in their review, then they are expressing their opinion, and their thoughts aren’t to be taken into full consideration. Below are
some extreme examples of subjective reviews.

Good Reviews

If you are given a
bunch of five-star reviews on your book, this can begin to look fishy to
potential readers. Especially if the reviews lack any substance other than “this
book was great!” “What a page turner!”. As lovely
as these are to the ego, they aren’t going to do you any good when it comes to
your craft. If you have good reviews, look for what they think was right in
the book and why. This will tell you far more about what you are
doing right with your audience than blanket statements about how great the book
was.

Bad Reviews

The same theory is applied
to bad reviews. In a hypothetical, simplified situation, if your erotica novel has
a one-star review that says something along the lines of “there was too much
sex.” That type of one-star review is stating
the obvious about your book. This could also
be said for books that are too scary and
are in the horror genre. That is kind of
the point of the novel.

These types of reviews might come up because someone gave
your book a chance from searches or other sources, or perhaps you gave them a
review copy. Regardless, these intense one-star reviewers are most likely not
your target audience. So, don’t take this information to heart.

What Do You Look for In Book Reviews?

Now that we have covered subjective analyzations. Objective-based reviews are very similar to creative critiques – from the design world or reading groups – they will be far more specific about what worked and what didn’t work in the book. This is why the two-to-four-star reviews can offer so much insight into you as a writer. Often there’s more thought put into them. Notice how most rating systems moved to a thumbs up and thumbs down?

Some example points to look for in a review are:

What scene did/didn’t they like, and why?What characters worked? Which ones didn’t?The book didn’t
draw them in because…The writing style
was too ___ because…

The examples above are a few which
follow the same formula: a topic and a reason.
This is the basis of any good
constructive criticism or form of a debate. The same theory applies when you dissect
your book reviews instead of reading the extreme
reviews that send you through a rollercoaster of emotions.

Keep A Thick Skin

As mentioned earlier, reading reviews aren’t something you
need to do at all. They can help if you do not have a strong peer support
group. They can also be damaging if you do not know how to navigate through the
trenches of harsh words or empty praises.

If you choose to read your reviews, read them with caution.
Learn to read past the empty statements if there is no why to their what.

Additional Thoughts?

Any thoughts on your experiences with reviews? Do you read
them? If so, are they helpful to you?

The post Dissect Your Book Reviews appeared first on Konn Lavery.

No Pain No Gain

Post number two with testing speech to text. So far, it has been a challenging experience. Like other authors say, it is a completely different way of handling your thinking process. While writing with a keyboard, you enter a trance where words are processed differently rather than when you are talking. This state of mind is something most writers are familiar with. Speech to text is not like this. I suppose is all part of the learning curve – which is one of my main writing goals for the year. As they say, no pain no gain.

Welcome to another edition of unprocessed thoughts.

Another new tool that I had obtained was the Scripture tool and that is the super powerful word processing software. I had mentioned it in the previous unprocessed thoughts and I still have yet to try it on a new manuscript. The third software I’m exploring is called Sigil. It is for formatting e-books which offers a lot of technical automation that will save you hours of time set up trying to mess around with XML and HTML. Using Sigil, I experimented with getting my books back on the iBooks. Seed Me is the first one that I am working on with revising. Just waiting to get final approval from the iTunes store, crisscrossed!

The interesting thing about any sort of creative pursuit is you are, in my opinion, always required to learn and grow. If you don’t your process will become stale and your work will remain the same. Because of this, theory, craft, and new technology are vital to continue learning so you can a better and faster writer.

Growing pains

much like exercising where you feel your muscles burn. Learning anything becomes a difficult task. Since the unprocessed series are a collection of raw thoughts my writing career. You are going to see a lot more posts about these growing pains I will go through. I simply have to remind myself to keep a no pain no gain attitude. It is easier to keep this mentality when you are exercising. The end goal is much more direct.

Keep Writing

While learning these new tools, I am still writing! They are just difficult to incorporate into my current process. Unfortunately, with my current process, I have felt that I have hit a wall and need to explore outside methods. So, keep watch on how this all goes!

Beer Note: White Wolf Witbier

Truthfully, I picked up a case of this beer when it was on sale. Turns out is an Alberta beer that is a white ale if I recall correctly. It is an easy sipping beer and is easy to down a couple. Otherwise it doesn’t have a lot of unique flavour. The design does catch my eye though (the designer in me is coming out)!

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