Josef Matulich's Blog, page 22
February 22, 2014
Breakfast at Camp Arcanum
It is now only twenty-five days until the release of “Camp Arcanum”, a comedic odyssey of my hero’s battle with deadlines and the supernatural in the construction of a renaissance faire. To whet your appetites, I give a short abridged excerpt:
Marc stepped out of his trailer and raised his coffee cup to Michael and Eleazar, who sat on the picnic table. He marveled at the end of the rain and the red-clouded morning sky. This was the beginning of a warm Indian summer day.
“It’s miraculous,” Eleazar called out. “We thwart the evil sorcerer’s intentions for one night and the rain withdraws. You’ve broken the curse, milord.”
Eleazar sounded very pleased with the results of Operation Elfin Magic. Marc was just happy that the sheriff hadn’t been on their doorsteps when they awoke this morning.
“It’s a high-pressure system out of Wisconsin,” Michael countered.
“You simply love to suck all the romance out of life.” Eleazar didn’t seem to have the energy to put his heart into the argument. They were all a little short on sleep.
“Occam’s Razor, my friend,” Michael stated. “The simplest explanation that fits all the facts should always be the truth.”
Marc strolled over to join the debate.
“And how do you explain witches, demons, and undead, skinless bunnies?” he asked.
“Simple,” Michael said. “We’re living in the scariest place on Earth.”
Eleazar raised his coffee mug.
“Hear, hear!”
Marc and Eleazar clinked mugs in a light-hearted salute.
“I’ll drink to that,” Marc replied.
The three took a brief moment to enjoy their coffee and the morning sun.
“Camp Arcanum”, an occult comedy about sex magick, and power tools, will be released by Post Mortem Press on March 18th. You may pre-order a copy or purchase an eBook now at their website:
http://www.postmortem-press.com/arcanum.php
February 21, 2014
Spell Checker Writes my Comedy
A co-worker was emailing herself a recipe that included “deveined” shrimp. This was not a word that the computer approved of at all. It gave her alternatives of “divine” shrimp, “divisive” shrimp and “deceived” shrimp.
I like the concept of “deceived shrimp.” I imagine them lured into the nets with signs like “Free Lunch” and “Live Nude Crustaceans.”
February 19, 2014
A good morning
Woke up this morning to get the email that the Big Name Author who used to be in my writer’s group was able to give me a short blurb. I then emailed and IMed said blurb to my publisher, who eventually responded with a huge smily face.
On top of that, in my morning shower and on the drive into work the little light bulb came on twice, illuminating valuable plotpoints for my next two novels in progress. It’s amazing how well your mind works when you are hopeful and validated.
Getting back to the dirt-under-the-fingernails business of writer’s self-promotion, “Camp Arcanum” is now available for pre-order or immediate e-book order through Post Mortem Press. Just follow the bouncing hyperlink: http://t.co/3S9LgTCf3K
It’s an occult comedy about sex, magick and power tools. Everybody should buy a copy, unless you are offended by that sort of thing. In that case, buy two and burn them.
February 15, 2014
#astoryaweek tally week 7
More winter plague, more winter weather and the Third Annual Wedding Fashion Show at our vintage & costume store, and still finished a story this week. My wife pointed out that it wasn’t horrific at all. It was a scifi story I had in my head for a few years and I finally hunkered down and finished it, which is the whole point of a writing challenge like this. You can’t keep writing the same story over and over again. Unless you’re James Patterson, Clive Cussler or Tom Clancy and you want to make millions selling highly predictable corporate-brand novels. Wait a minute, maybe I do want that…
week 1: Tunnel Vision app. 450 words
week 2: Nightmare on a String
app. 1850 words
week 3: Ding Dong app. 275 words
week 4: Fly app. 480 words
week 5: abject failure and the lamentation of broken souls
week 6: Many Returns app. 400 words
week 7: Green Day
app. 1000 words
running total app. 4455 words
February 12, 2014
Prepare For Release!
We are plummeting towards the full release of my first novel “Camp Arcanum” at a rapidly increasing rate. Editing is essentially done, just a matter of blurbs on the back cover now. I just got word from Eric at Post Mortem Press that Camp Arcanum is up on the website for preorder of hard-copy with the eBook actually available now!
I am taking an opportunity to breath into a small paper bag for a few moments.
We have a cover. We have a pretty manuscript. We have a great small press behind us. It’s time to jump now!
Camp Arcanum is an occult comedy about sex, magick and power tools. It follows the standard romantic plot of Boy meets Witch; Boy loses Witch; Witch’s ex tries to kill boy with Invisible Tentacle Demon.
Here’s a picture of the cover:
February 9, 2014
#storyaweek tally week 6
I had hoped to catch up this week with two stories, but fell short. More White Fluffy Death and organizing and modeling in the Steampunk Fashion Show by The Alley Vintage & Costume today. I wore black and carried a gun axe and a serpent cane. Big departure for me, you know.
Anyway, here is the tally. I have already picked up an unfinished fragment to complete this week. Maybe, I can catch up with that flash this week…
week 1: Tunnel Vision app. 450 words
week 2: Nightmare on a String app. 1850 words
week 3: Ding Dong app. 275 words
week 4: Fly app. 480 words
week 5: abject failure and the lamentation of broken souls
week 6: Many Returns app. 400 words
running total app. 3455 words
