C.N. Faust's Blog, page 6

DRAMS – cover art – part 2

Another piece of cover art that I am considering. Again, your vote is what helps make the decision!! What do you think of this one, in comparison to the original? 

No, I haven’t slept. Why do you ask? 

DRAMS – cover art?

So, give it to me honestly. What do you think about this cover art? What do you like about it, what do you hate? What would you change? If you were browsing through a list of Kindle books, would you pick it up based on cover alone? Share your thoughts, you know I love to hear them! 

New Project, some strategy

Hello my lovelies! 

It’s been a few days, but in my defense I’ve been working diligently on my latest project. And I’m going to be actively updating this blog for a few weeks because I want to try a more organized strategy for its release. 

About this project: It’s under a new pen name, J.M. Morgan. Why? Because I like to try different things. (So far it’s just for this one book, I’m not changing my entire identity. It’s like A.N. Roquelaure or Anne Rampling). Because this book has a different feel and message from what I am used to writing, I feel like it deserves to be separated from my dark fantasy brand. 

Themes of the project: It focuses largely on social injustice, while also reading as a paranormal / kind of an urban fantasy novel. It also focuses on the morality of murder, issues of race, etc. It is meant to be, in some aspects, blatant and offensive. It is about two ghetto white boys who witness their Hispanic friend get harassed and shot by a cop. Then they do drugs, summon a demon on accident, and decide to exact their own justice by killing people who “deserve” to die, including the cop. And of course, because it’s me, there is an LGBT presence – the two main characters are gay. Other themes include grief (due to the loss of a child), separation from family, the sex trade as a business (such as with webcam performers), and suicide. It covers a lot of heavy, dark shit but there is also some dark comedy and levity between the lines. There is also a good deal of strong language (and I do mean “shit” and “fuck” is abundant). 

Length: I do not know yet how long it is going to be. I intend for it to be full novel length but it may fall a bit short, depending on how things go. 

Title: The standing title right now is “Drams”, a slang term for Dramamine, a drug that people abuse for a high but is used most often to alleviate sea sickness. 

What I would like from YOU: There are many ways I would like to get people excited about this book. Whether you end up loving it or absolutely HATING it I want to hear why. I want to know what chords were struck – I want the full experience from the reader. I don’t necessarily want to hear about how technically good / bad it is, or how well / poorly written (though if you wish to tell me, I always appreciate some criticism). So here are some things I want to do to prepare for its release, and I need YOUR help!! 

COMMENT here, MESSAGE me on Facebook, or EMAIL me if you are interested in receiving a review copy once the project is complete. I will send you a copy in any preferred format (.PDF, .MOBI, or .EPUB) in exchange for a review posted on Amazon / other vendors the week of its release. I will try to send out review copies at least 2-4 weeks in advance, depending on how the word count turns out. 
I don’t necessarily want paragraphs of professional quality reviews. I just want to know why you love / hate it, what parts made your gut twist, what parts made you laugh – that sort of thing. 
If you are interested in reading and potentially buying, but you don’t want to commit to a review, that’s fine, too! I will send you a SAMPLE of the book, and if you decide to BUY, then my goal is to get as many buyers as possible to make their purchase on the release day. So if possible, please make your purchase on the day it comes out! 
Start discussions about the project! Even if you haven’t read it yet, you know now the themes and ideas. I’d love to talk about them with you, whether as an official “interview” on your page or just in the comments section. I want to generate interest but I also just love talking about the content. This is something I am very, very excited about. 
Subscribe to my newsletter (if you were subscribed to my old one, that one is no longer in commission, so I have a new one) for an easier way to keep up with everything! 

I will also be working on promotional packages, freebies, etc to build up further excitement. If you have any more ideas or suggestions, comment, message, or email! 

You are all wonderful. I hope this really takes off – as you can see, I am very enthusiastic and optimistic about this project!! 

A god’s Nervous Shit (A re-imagining of the Great Flood)

Originally posted on Aleksis Faust :

Stress gestates in the cave of his bowels,

The plate of the world impregnated with the foul,

The red runs of deleterious accounts,

Moral dysentery in copious amounts.

A head count is made and an evacuation planned,

The little army of turds to the porcelain promise land,

But it turns out that they orbit rather sordidly,

Forlornly mourning their former glory in the moorings of their mortuary .

But their god relieved from the refuse of his grief,

Absolved them of their deeds and ushered them to leave,

But the little shits in disbelief, believed themselves deceived,

By their malevolent creator who tried to drown them in the sea.

Choleric and caustic, hot-collared and hostile,

This god would drown them all if it was possible.

He pushed and he puckered, he panted and plunged,

But alas the great hole remained still plugged.

Yet all of a sudden, with a rumble…

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“Dream of Hell”

Originally posted on Aleksis Faust :

Sycophants avid in sagged habits prattle acid at me

Shattered faggot, misshapen from dagger stabs of iron maiden

Casket, jagged crevice of Satan                                                               

Menace me, naked enemy forced vassal

As they torture me

Am vessel precious for sorcery

Possession corners me, soul lessens

Worsening

Acrid cadence, frigid fingering

Brazen flames in me, screaming “Help Me!”

Self-melting

Devilry delves in me

Moral alchemy deplorable, torrid thorns in me

Dazed on floor, hear chortle see edges

Ashen grimace in this sick prison

This is mortuary

Cornered by devils orderly

Forlorn, can’t exit in frisson

Death star hit missin’

Heart quickens, piss britches

Someone listen!

Lost in static the cost is drastic

Kissing devil asses, the world collapses

Blackness drags me, laughing

Heavy in the silent atmos

Phere wear tears like

Messy dresses cherry drenched

Blanched faces screech scary

Just statistics in the vaguery

Says the actuary

Hells menagerie surrounds me

Collapsing me…

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Character Q&A

I actually had some pretty fun questions come in for this one – enjoy! I’ll turn the spotlight over quickly because the boys are getting restless over here. *passes the mic* They’re not allowed to interrupt each other here and it’s very difficult for them. 

—- 

Pharun, what do you look for in a man?

That’s hardly a fair question, I consider myself equal opportunity for all men. However, I tend to swing between the strong, silent-yet-handsome type and the sweet, submissive boi type. It all depends on my mood, I suppose. 

Felix, what’s your fondest memory when you were still serving the church?

My quiet, uninterrupted prayer days. No, no. I suppose if I were to bring any particular memory forward, it would be the night of my first kiss, when Pharun came to visit me and shattered my vows and my morals all at once. He has kissed me many times since then, but that is the one I will always remember, because there was so much passion behind it. I thought he was going to sear my lips shut with his heat. 

Varjin, do you like your new body?

It has its moments. It really isn’t a ‘new’ body, Pharun just restored my old one to its former glory. However, it has started to fall to pieces on me. I can’t count on both hands how many body parts are missing. That’s probably because most of my fingers have fallen off. 

Encarz, do you like any of your children?

That is a loaded, if somewhat insulting, question. I care for all my children (Pharun doesn’t count, he isn’t mine). I do admit to having favorites – and what father does not? Shrukian is prize. He is the perfect specimen for a son and I’m sure one day he will make a fine king, just like his father. 

Septimus!! Have you ever had a fling with one of your soldiers ;P

I can happily answer ‘no’, because I never mix business and bed.

Malhii, have you ever thought of dating someone your own age?

Most people my age are dead, sweetheart. Even if I could find someone as decrepit as I… why would I want to have a relationship with them? I would never pass up a chance for smooth skin, soft hands, quivering lips and gentle whimpers. 

Anthony, when did you first start singing?

My mother recollects me singing when I was as young as three. I’m sure it was terrible. Singing has remained my passion, and I’m sure one could say I began actually singing when I was twelve. That was also when I started composing my own music. My first song was something about men who chopped off their own heads so their wives could boil and eat them. 

Shrukian, how many whores have you banged in one night?

Whores? What is your definition of a ‘whore’? Is it whore - a woman who has sex for money, or whore – a woman with a libido so high she is likened to the former? Because the numbers for both are close to the same, and I’d have to estimate somewhere in the hundreds. 

How did you come to serve Pharun, Jhauril?

He was walking through the city and I hid under a wagon to watch him pass. He was so beautiful. He stopped in the middle of the street and looked right at me, as if he knew I had been there all along. He smiled and told me that if I wanted to come home with him, then I needed to stand myself up and follow. I did. The soldiers smirked and shoved me all the way to the palace, but I followed. Once we arrived he had me cleaned up and brought me to bed. The day after that I became his personal manservant and I have maintained the role ever since.

Morre, did you and your brothers ever get along?

We used to. But then we created the world. No, that’s a lie – we’ve always fought. Saldon and I get along about as well as anyone else who knows when an alliance is good for them, but we both hate Azrael equally. Dragon-blooded prick.

Hey Saldon, ever wish you had a sister?

We do, actually. Her name is Anais. She is the goddess of female fertility and war. She has a small subset religion of her own over in Simisola, a country across the sea. 

Nerissa, what advice do you have for the little girls that look up to you?/How did you become successful in a world and profession dominated by men?

Not many little girls can look up to me, usually they all surpass me in height. If a young woman were to ask me for advice, I would tell her this – don’t let the men in your life take advantage of you, and don’t ever believe that you cannot be a mother and a woman of power at the same time. I am where I am today because I did just that. I fulfilled my role as a mother and wife and I took hold of whatever power I could, gradually, over time. The bits and pieces I had accumulated eventually added up, and when my brother died, I had enough pull and respect within the family and outside of it to keep the barony under my control. 

—- 

Well that’s it for now, folks!! Has some more questions that you would like answered? Ask away, by email or comment! 

What Makes People Buy Self-Published Books?

Originally posted on Tara Sparling writes:

In this post, I discussed the findings of a scientifically incontrovertible study (of myself) on the factors which influenced me when buying a self-published book.

#166991782 / gettyimages.com

The findings surprised me (which surprised me, because I was surveying myself). I found that I knew what made me buy a self-published book when it was in front of me, but not what put that book in front of me, unless I was browsing by genre (e.g. today I feel like reading a romance set in Ulaanbaatar: therefore I will now search specifically for such a story).

It was still hard to know what put those books in front of my eyes in order to buy them; to quote one of the commenters on that post – this is the thorny issue of “discoverability”. How will we find these books in the first place?

So I did the unthinkable, and asked some other people…

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“Whatever”

C.N. Faust:

My husband, Aleksis Faust, has recently started a blog for his own poetry. I insist that you check him out!

Originally posted on Aleksis Faust :

Your love smears like a grease stain.

I kiss you, my teeth,

Yellow like skulls, bleached

Under your glare.

 

Your love chafes like sweaty jeans

In the summer heat, my mind

Is as soupy as a swamp.

Stroke from the strain of thinking of you

The feeling of falling up.

 

Calling back is like picking

A scab that bleeds stigmata, and scars

Like the stigma of a bad son.

Each call a paper crane

Wishes hung on the receiver -

 

And dropped like a salted steak

Into a lonely wound

With all the grace of a deaf songstress

Chanting a chorus of whatever.

 

Whatever, I am a box of junk

In your basement.

 

Whatever, your apology is a bill

You won’t pay.

 

Whatever, it’s not like I wasn’t getting older.

 

Whatever, I’m just one of your children.

 

Whatever, I am spilled milk

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Her Majesty’s Spider – now up on Wattpad!

 

Hello my loves! I just wanted to make a quick post to let you know that the first chapter of Her Majesty’s Spider is up on Wattpad! I’ll update with a new chapter every day until I run out of pre-written chapters and then I’ll probably slow it down to an update every week. Anyhow, go check it out!! Her Majesty’s Spider . 

 

Hello my Wattpad Users

Here is an interesting article about teenage girls and Wattpad. I know some of you are Wattpad users (and I’ve heard varying stories of success). I know a lot of authors (myself included) have tried using it as an advertisement tool, a way to distribute samples, etc. That has not worked for me as well as other methods of sharing samples ,and I’m beginning to think – maybe I’m utilizing it the wrong way. So I think I’m going to hop on this website / app and try again. Except this time, I’m not going to post exclusively samples of my already published work, I think I’m going to try and share poems and short stories (or bits of stories) that I don’t necessarily want published, but I still want to share. I think the purpose of Wattpad is to build a community with other artists, and while it’s primarily for teenage writers, I don’t think there is any reason why some of us can’t use it to make more connections.

If you are interested, here is the link: The Tales Teens Tell: What Wattpad Did for Girls .