Heath Stallcup's Blog, page 13

Spread Too Thin

Well, as I announced in my previous blog post, to get the creative juices flowing, I began working on a second story in tandem with the fifth installment of the Monster Squad, Homecoming.  I think I opened a can of worms.  Although the two stories were beginning to form up nicely, more and more ideas began popping into this echoing cavern of a noodle of mine.  The problem?  The ideas had nothing to do with the two stories I was working on.  They did, however, have to do with another story that I wanted to make into a trilogy…or a short series.

What to do??

Why, start a THIRD story as well.  All while doing some minor editing on the first three MS stories and putting them back to back and restructuring the chapters in them for a little World Horror Con surprise.  And breaking ground on a fourth little project that had been bouncing around in my head just so it would quit ricocheting off other ideas and really throwing me for loops.

So now, when I sit at my computer, the first major decision is…which one of these can of worms do I want to stick my hands into?  Which story is calling to me?  I had to draw a line in the sand.  No more.  No matter how many ideas flow from this stupid mind of mine, there is simply no way I could create them all.  I wish I could…believe me, I do.  There are stories just itching to pour forth, but my old arthritic hands can only pound out so many words at a time.  And not all of the stories are worth the effort.  At least, not to me.

Hmm.  Is it a focus problem?  Is it a time management problem?  Or maybe it’s just a sanity problem…too many alternate realities jockeying for pole position?  Regardless, it alleviates one problem.  When I sit at my computer and my brain draws a blank on a particular project, I can quickly switch to another and see if anything comes to mind.  While I absolutely DETEST doing things this way, I fear that at least for now, it’s how I’ll have to operate.

So there we have it.  The inane ramblings of an inane storyteller.  Oh yeah…I think I’m going to drop the whole ‘author’ thing.  Some people take the title way too seriously.  I don’t want to be one of those people.  So, I think I prefer the title ‘Storyteller’.  I feel it fits better.

For now, anyway.

Strategies

I’m trying something new.  I sort of had to.  I’ve been working on MS5 and it’s been an uphill battle the entire way.  This is unusual for me because the characters had literally come to life previously.  They told their own story.  Even after I had decided that the story was finished and I was moving on to other pastures, snippets of their continuing lives continued to bombard my mind at odd times.  Like, while driving.  Or in the shower.  Or while talking on the phone.  Key scenes of what ‘should happen next’ flooded my mind while I tried to write other stories.  My wife was right (again).  I should have written it down…because now that I’m actually trying to WRITE MS5…blank.  My mind turns into a wasteland and I can literally hear the winds blowing between my ears.  If I close my eyes, I can see tumbleweeds scampering across the dank recesses of my mind.

What to do, what to do??

Start a different book instead, that’s what.  And of course, the ideas start flowing again.

So, for the first time, I’m trying to write two different books at the same time.  Even though Caldera isn’t scheduled to be released until March, I’m working on the followup to it now and it has gotten the creative juices flowing once more.  After sitting at my computer screen and drawing a blank for so long, I’ve found that getting the story down isn’t such a chore.  It’s still slow going since I’m bouncing between two stories now and I’m constantly having to remind myself what occurred in the past, at least the creative juices are flowing again and progress is being made.

As pappy used to say, do what you gotta do to get it done.  If it means writing two stories to get one out, then so be it.

A Worthy Cause

For those of you who may not have heard yet, Armand Rosamilia is collecting fellow author’s books to send to the troops stationed in Kuwait and Afghanistan in April. If you are an author and want to help, join this effort and then get in touch with Armand at Facebook for the address to send your copies. Let’s do something positive for someone else! And props to Joe McKinney for previously doing an event like this and seeding the idea!

Not an author and still want to support the cause?  You can help with shipping costs AND get a really cool t-shirt, too! Just go to http://teespring.com/ASOT2014 and order the size you want.  Don’t want a shirt, but still want to help with shipping?  Reach out to Armand and he’ll get you the Paypal email address where you can donate to help.

Do it.  It’s a worthy cause.

Bits of Tid…er, Tidbits?

Is there really a point to this late night blog entry?  Sort of.  Kinda, but not really?  Most of my blog entries are at such odd times.  While most ‘bloggers’ try to time their blog posts to where the most people will see them, I write mine when I can.  You see, I have a new full time job.  It’s as a full time Grumpy to my youngest grandson, Poot.  Yes, that is his name.  I know it is, cuz I gave it to him.  Sometimes being a grandpa has its perks.

Anyway, with mom having to reenter the work force and daycare rates being so high, I got voluntold that I get to watch him.  At 5 months old, he and I have a lot in common.  We both have few teeth, little hair, we cry a lot, have strange smells that emanate from our bodies and we both can be pretty whiny.  Really, we’re about even at the moment. While I’ve got him beat in that I’m not in diapers, he has me beat in the ‘cuteness’ department…but that’s sort of subjective.

And apparently, we both have the attention span of a fruitfly because I almost forgot the point to all of this.  Due to my new full time employment, my online presence will be greatly diminished.  Okay, it will be almost nil.  Unless it’s late at night.  Same thing goes for my writing.  But, since I did most of my writing at night anyway, that part won’t really take a beating.

Since I was roaming the halls of this blog tonight, cleaning up a few corners, updating the ‘Works’ page by adding Amazon links to COD, (which came out a day EARLY for those paying attention) and just generally making things a little more presentable, I thought I’d drop a line to those few who frequent here and let you know…I may not be around as much as I used to be.  I still intend to meet the deadlines as set forth by my publisher.  At least, I will do my absolute BEST to meet those deadlines.  We still have Caldera penciled in for a March release.  We’re still planning on May for MS4 Blood Apocalypse.  I’ve got folks looking at Forneus Corson to see if there is some way to salvage it.  I’m currently working on MS5 The Return, and we’re hoping for a January release for it.  It won’t be until 2015 that things really get messy.  By then, I’m supposed to have a new release every couple months…alternating between an MS story and (hopefully) the Caldera line.  That is FULL-TIME writing.  So unless I can figure out how to teach Poot the in’s and out’s to a word processor…I may need to invest in a Velcro wall and a special suit for the little guy…and some noise cancelling headphones.

MS3 Target: Monday!

If you’re one of the few who have been waiting for the release of MS3, Coalition of the Damned, your wait grows shorter.  The target release date is set for Monday.  But, if we’ve learned anything over the last year, we know that sometimes things happen.  So, if it doesn’t happen Monday, please, let’s keep the hate mail to a minimum.  Angry mobs with pitchforks and flaming torches, please try to be just a little more patient.  Besides, I’m not really sure if two people cursing in my yard shaking a pitchfork is REALLY considered an ‘angry mob’ these days, but hey, I’ll call it what it’s meant to be.

Either way, as announced before, we’ve included a wee peek into the world of viral infected zombies at the end of this one.  With luck, come March, you’ll be able to dive into a whole new world where man has fallen from his perch at the ‘top of the food chain’.

Caldera is my first dive into the zombie infected pool and it’s my hope that you’ll enjoy it enough to allow it to be my next series.

So, with that said, enjoy your weekend, wrap up whatever else you may be in the middle of reading and get ready for the third installment in the Monster Squad series.

Countdown Has Begun

As the title to this blog entry suggests, the countdown to the release of MS3, Coalition of the Damned, has begun.  While I don’t have an exact date, it should be about a week (give or take) for the third installment to be released to the masses.

This release will be a little bit different than the previous Monster Squad books.  This time we plan to include a peek at an upcoming release.  We’ll be including a chapter from Caldera, my first novel delving in the zombie genre.  These aren’t your typical Romero style, slow moving, mindless munchers either.  These are the viral infected, fast moving, eat-anything-that-moves, rage type.  Pulling a chapter from early in the book, I’m hoping it will tempt you to take a chance on what I hope will become my next series.  Although Caldera was planned to be a stand alone novel without follow-up, I’ve been convinced otherwise by my beta readers and my missus.

As the release date draws closer, you know I’ll let you know.  And once it is ‘set in stone’, I’ll announce it.  Until then, keep believing, keep reading and keep checking under the bed.

 

A Clean Mouth

The audible version of my first release has hit a serious delay.  Apparently the Producer was simply too busy.  Or perhaps I simply chose wrong.  I can’t say for sure.  After numerous delays in production, the deadline was reached and passed and when I called him on it, he backed out of the project.  I’m seriously hoping that I can convince the narrator for Whispers to pick up the project as he is a much more professional producer…but that’s another story.

Of the few chapters that were posted for my review, my ears caught something I hadn’t really noticed before.  It had been brought to my attention by a few readers, but I always dismissed it as ‘adding realism’ to the military characters.  That something was the prolific use of profanity.  When I first wrote ROP, I never intended for it to actually be published.  It was a pet project meant only for my wife to read and to see if I could actually COMPLETE a writing project.  I based many of the military characters on people I had known in my past.  I tried to write their dialog based on how those guys actually spoke.  I guess that’s why I found it so humorous when one reviewer tore me to shreds because I had ‘the stereotypical huge black guy’…um…excuse me?  He was based on a REAL person.

Yet again, I digress.  So easily sidetracked without my coffee.  My point was, until I heard somebody else read the story back to me, I hadn’t realized just how prolific the profanity truly was.  Oh, an occasional F bomb during times of duress or emotional distress is understandable.  Or to truly emphasize a characters anger, but…ALL the time?  No, this wasn’t going to work.  So, I took a break shortly after beginning the draft for MS5 and began re-editing the profanity from the first four.

Honestly, sometimes it just doesn’t work.  When a guy that I knew tries to say ‘darn’ when it would have been a STRING of expletives?  But, these are characters, not the people they are based loosely off of.  Will it make the stories ‘readable’ for kids?  NO.  Situations happen in Phoenix that still just aren’t appropriate for kids IMHO.  Think Senator Franklin and the redhead in New Orleans.  Some kids, that scene wouldn’t phaze a bit.  Others?  I wouldn’t want to expose to anything like it.

So, that’s it.  Cleaning up the operators mouths a bit, fixing a few minor errors that I saw and then getting it ready for Aaron to read to see if the project is something he can take on.  Should make for a lot better listen when it does come out on audio.

A Review That I Had to Share

I’ve seen other authors share their reviews.  Honestly, I couldn’t understand why.  I remember thinking as I read them, “Gee, do they so seldom get a 5 star review?” or maybe, “Was this review a certain milestone for them?”

If you’ve read my previous posts, then you know how important reviews are for writers.  We live and die by them.  Numbers matter.  Whether you work in an office and have to get quarterly reports out in time or if you work on an assembly line and have a production quota, numbers matter.  As a writer…so much weight is put into reviews that…well, it isn’t worth rehashing here.  Just trust me when I say, they MATTER.

So, what made this particular review so noteworthy?  What made me keep going back and re-reading this review?  I’ve received numerous 5 star reviews in the past.  I’ve received more than my share of 4 star reviews.  I’ve even received a 3 star review.  Heck…I even got blasted by one guy who handed down a 2 star review.  And the ONLY reason he offered up 2 stars instead of 1 was because the story had solid editing.  Of course, of all of his nitpicking, he only had one valid gripe…but is it worth going online and arguing with someone and proving them wrong?  Will it change their mind?  Will it cause them to suddenly admit they were wrong and raise their rating?  No, of course not.  Pappy always said, never argue with an idiot.  They’ll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.  Besides, reviews are OTHER PEOPLE’S OPINIONS.  You can’t blame someone for having a different opinion or for not liking what you offered.

So, back to the point of this blog entry.  What was it about this one particular review that had me going back to it time and again, re-reading it and smiling each time I read it?  I’ll let you decide.

Whispers – A true masterpiece!

Before I begin, I just want to say that no matter how hard I try to write a deserving review for Heath Stallcup’s “Whispers”, I fear there is no way I am going to be able to do it justice. Read the book and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

Descriptive writing can be quite the challenge for authors, so I’ve been told. Too much description – too little description; there’s a fine line between the two. Heath Stallcup has without a doubt found his “comfort zone”. In my opinion his descriptions are dead on, creating the perfect imagery for me, the reader, to envision the characters and their surroundings. Speaking of character’s – there are several main character’s, each one is well developed with a personality and voice distinctive to them. As Heath tells his story, switching between the characters is clearly defined. I never found myself confused by the story line or the character’s roles. The dialog between character’s is genuine and flow’s effortlessly.

Without saying too much, told in the prologue, “Whispers” unfolds far back in Western times. The tragic events surrounding Sheriff James “Two Guns” Tolbert and the love of his life Mary O’Dell drew me in and I was hooked, compelled to continue reading. Chapter one sets the scene in present day as local law enforcement personnel, faced with a string of grisly murders, work diligently to solve the crimes. Though I am not educated in the legal field I found Heath’s portrayal of legal behavior and the interactions between these characters believable; true to life.

I strongly recommend “Whispers”. It is so suspenseful it will keep you anxiously turning the pages wanting more, desperately needing to find out what happens next. I had difficulty putting the book down.

Treat yourself, read “Whispers”, you will not regret it, I promise.

Is this review really any different than what others have said?  Is it simply a compilation of what others have written, just strung together?  I don’t think so.  I think she nailed the hammer right on the thumb…well, okay, you know what I mean.  I’ve said all along that this was one of my favorite stories to date.  I still think this is one of my best works.  Although I’ve questioned the quality of what I do, it’s reviews like this that make me think it’s all worth it.

Zombie Anothology Worth Reading

Here’s a zombie anthology worth checking out.  With authors like Mark Tufo and Armand Rosamilia, you know this anthology is going to be a knockout.

Nine different authors come together to deliver an anthology you won’t soon forget.

http://www.amazon.com/Still-Dying-2-Days-ebook/dp/B00H4HHALO/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1386337747&sr=8-10&keywords=still+dying+2

A Box Set To Remember

My buddy James Cook has boxed up the first three books of his Surviving the Dead series just for you and in time to make a really great Christmas gift.

Don’t miss out on this holiday special!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H0IQ87Y