Alexander Engel-Hodgkinson's Blog: Way to Stay "In the Know", page 4
October 22, 2016
Update and New Cover Reveals!
Alright, so I've been keeping myself mostly busy. Not just with writing and drawing, but also with adulting (unfortunately, lol). I actually had a job interview last Friday, so hopefully I got the job, because there isn't much left I can apply for in this town. LOL.
Anyway, as you may (or most likely may not, lol) have seen, I added some more upcoming books to my list of works. There's 'Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 3: Cemetery Rumble, Part I', which will be the first completed in the list of queued work. Then...
'Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 3.5: Hell Week', a sort-of spin-off companion of 'Cemetery Rumble'. It's an important subplot in the overall story arc, but I don't have enough room for it in the main novel (since I maintain a 500-page limit for these volumes). It details Damian's first week under the forced employ of Painkiller, the psychotic anarchist/main antagonist of this arc.
Then, 'Jumping for Charlotte', which is a revised version of a short story I wrote in the collaborative anthology, 'Reality Glitch'; about a man who travels through multiple dimensions in search for his wife, who has tragically and suddenly died in his world.
As you can see from my past few posts, I have a lot of work to do!
In the meantime, I shall continue my motivational working spree in both my drawing and my writing. And my reviews for those of you who are waiting for my feedback on your work are coming!
So stay tuned!
Anyway, as you may (or most likely may not, lol) have seen, I added some more upcoming books to my list of works. There's 'Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 3: Cemetery Rumble, Part I', which will be the first completed in the list of queued work. Then...
'Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 3.5: Hell Week', a sort-of spin-off companion of 'Cemetery Rumble'. It's an important subplot in the overall story arc, but I don't have enough room for it in the main novel (since I maintain a 500-page limit for these volumes). It details Damian's first week under the forced employ of Painkiller, the psychotic anarchist/main antagonist of this arc.
Then, 'Jumping for Charlotte', which is a revised version of a short story I wrote in the collaborative anthology, 'Reality Glitch'; about a man who travels through multiple dimensions in search for his wife, who has tragically and suddenly died in his world.
As you can see from my past few posts, I have a lot of work to do!
In the meantime, I shall continue my motivational working spree in both my drawing and my writing. And my reviews for those of you who are waiting for my feedback on your work are coming!
So stay tuned!
October 17, 2016
Halloween Update!
Given that this is the month to get scared, I should be (haven't yet, but should be) binge-watching a bunch of horror flicks new and old and in between. But aside from watching, I should be drawing something Halloween-ish... or writing something Halloween-ish.
Which brings me to the main point of my announcement: I've been looking through some of my old horror short stories that I'd originally written and uploaded onto DeviantART way back in high school, and I've been picking out which ones have the most potential to work as fleshed-out novellas. While all of them are definitely imperfect and in serious need of a thorough editing sweep and a rework process, they could work. I know what I want to do with each of them.
#1: 'The Peculiar Man', where a man is confronted by a mysterious intruder in a Fawkes mask who boasts ridiculous claims about his past achievements, and offers our main character a disturbing premonition.
It was only about five pages when I first wrote it, but I see some potential in the buildup leading to the end.
#2: 'Face' [WORKING TITLE] where a small town is terrorized by a mysterious man, or man-creature, that seems to have some kind of sick fixation with children. As the disappearances pile up, the looming threat that hangs over the town draws closer.
This one will require the most attention, since there were six original parts that ranged between 2-5 pages each, and because it was Slender Man fan fiction. I know, "When has anything worth reading ever originated from fan fiction?" Trust me, this is no 'Fifty Shades', because if it was, I'd be extremely disappointed in myself as a writer and as a human being. Come to think of it, it's the only fan fiction I ever wrote. I also did a sequel to this little mini-series thing, but I won't adapt that into the planned novella, because that one kind of sucked.
Also, since Slender Man is a copyrighted property, I would need to change the monster into an original creation with no face but enough unique characteristics of his own so that he isn't just some stupid Slender Man clone.
There're a lot of ideas in my head that I really want to use, but I also want to take my time with this one. Who knows, this might get a Halloween '17 release. Good goal to work towards.
#3: 'The Laughter in the Woods' where a family gathering for a Christmas dinner in grandma's remote household is interrupted by a strange stalker with distorted features who slowly approaches the house and flees into the woods when he's noticed, only to re-emerge from a different spot in an endless series of attempts to break into the house unseen. Unfortunately for the family, the house is surrounded by thick, dark forest, and the stalker could come from anywhere.
I've already kind of started this one. No deadline for this one yet, but it's also a planned novella. I can't see it going any longer than 140 pages, if that. I know I said the same thing for 'I Keep My True Love in the Basement/REMIX', which has about two hundred more pages than I was freaking expecting, but I mean it this time. There isn't nearly as much material for 'Woods' as there was for '/REMIX' anyway, so I'd better have a good reason to make it a novel that goes on for more than 200. I'm not expecting it to be longer than 'The Tea Party Affair' (which is about 113 pages without page breaks), and if it is, it won't be by much.
It might interest you guys (or not) to know that all three of these originated from some nightmares I remember having. Even 'Face', despite it also being Slender Man fan fiction. It wasn't even called 'Face', originally--it was called 'Slendy', but that has to change, for obvious reasons.
I was really into Slender Man at the time, alright?
So that's my main horror line-up for the next year or so, guys. That's my Halloween update. I'm still working on juggling life and that 'Cobalt Rogue: Vol. 2' edit I keep promising, but it's coming along. I'm also working through all these books I got for honest review requests. I'll be updating my current reads more closely from now on, so any authors in my review queue need not be concerned that I forgot about them, because I haven't. Hell, they're even saved in a separate folder called 'Pending Reviews.'
Stay tuned.
Which brings me to the main point of my announcement: I've been looking through some of my old horror short stories that I'd originally written and uploaded onto DeviantART way back in high school, and I've been picking out which ones have the most potential to work as fleshed-out novellas. While all of them are definitely imperfect and in serious need of a thorough editing sweep and a rework process, they could work. I know what I want to do with each of them.
#1: 'The Peculiar Man', where a man is confronted by a mysterious intruder in a Fawkes mask who boasts ridiculous claims about his past achievements, and offers our main character a disturbing premonition.
It was only about five pages when I first wrote it, but I see some potential in the buildup leading to the end.
#2: 'Face' [WORKING TITLE] where a small town is terrorized by a mysterious man, or man-creature, that seems to have some kind of sick fixation with children. As the disappearances pile up, the looming threat that hangs over the town draws closer.
This one will require the most attention, since there were six original parts that ranged between 2-5 pages each, and because it was Slender Man fan fiction. I know, "When has anything worth reading ever originated from fan fiction?" Trust me, this is no 'Fifty Shades', because if it was, I'd be extremely disappointed in myself as a writer and as a human being. Come to think of it, it's the only fan fiction I ever wrote. I also did a sequel to this little mini-series thing, but I won't adapt that into the planned novella, because that one kind of sucked.
Also, since Slender Man is a copyrighted property, I would need to change the monster into an original creation with no face but enough unique characteristics of his own so that he isn't just some stupid Slender Man clone.
There're a lot of ideas in my head that I really want to use, but I also want to take my time with this one. Who knows, this might get a Halloween '17 release. Good goal to work towards.
#3: 'The Laughter in the Woods' where a family gathering for a Christmas dinner in grandma's remote household is interrupted by a strange stalker with distorted features who slowly approaches the house and flees into the woods when he's noticed, only to re-emerge from a different spot in an endless series of attempts to break into the house unseen. Unfortunately for the family, the house is surrounded by thick, dark forest, and the stalker could come from anywhere.
I've already kind of started this one. No deadline for this one yet, but it's also a planned novella. I can't see it going any longer than 140 pages, if that. I know I said the same thing for 'I Keep My True Love in the Basement/REMIX', which has about two hundred more pages than I was freaking expecting, but I mean it this time. There isn't nearly as much material for 'Woods' as there was for '/REMIX' anyway, so I'd better have a good reason to make it a novel that goes on for more than 200. I'm not expecting it to be longer than 'The Tea Party Affair' (which is about 113 pages without page breaks), and if it is, it won't be by much.
It might interest you guys (or not) to know that all three of these originated from some nightmares I remember having. Even 'Face', despite it also being Slender Man fan fiction. It wasn't even called 'Face', originally--it was called 'Slendy', but that has to change, for obvious reasons.
I was really into Slender Man at the time, alright?
So that's my main horror line-up for the next year or so, guys. That's my Halloween update. I'm still working on juggling life and that 'Cobalt Rogue: Vol. 2' edit I keep promising, but it's coming along. I'm also working through all these books I got for honest review requests. I'll be updating my current reads more closely from now on, so any authors in my review queue need not be concerned that I forgot about them, because I haven't. Hell, they're even saved in a separate folder called 'Pending Reviews.'
Stay tuned.
September 29, 2016
'Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 3' Progress Report/Cover Reveal
So while I'm in the midst of editing Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 2: Sky Japan Welcome Party to be fit for professional re-publication, I've also been making progress on Vol. 3.
Alright, so first of all, now that things are settling down for me, I can stop dawdling and get back to work. Once I've completed Vol. 2, I can get back to Vol. 3: Cemetery Rumble, Part I.... and it's going to be a BIG one. I'm already three hundred pages in--it has thus exceeded the page count for Vol. 1, which will no doubt maintain the record as the shortest volume in the entire series once I finish it (eventually...).
Secondly: I've got a Christmas-ish release deadline planned. For reals this time. I know I keep setting deadlines and missing them, but with life settling and all the bullshit I've had to deal with (I had a REALLY nasty streak of bad-to-worse luck for the past ten or eleven months), I'm confident to say that this will be the last Vol. 3 deadline I set up. I plan to make it this time. So expect it around late December, early January. Whenever the Amazon staff isn't on vacation, LOL.
Thirdly: the synopsis! The plot has been mildly tweaked, and is still subject to minor changes here and there. Oh, yeah, the synopsis:
Damian and co. fly to the independent capital of Cemetery City on the isolated coast of North Liberty in their continued search for Zero and the mother of the Knight Sisters. Unfortunately, hell rises, resulting in the party being split up, their movements and fate under the control of an anarchistic madman known only as Painkiller. To make matters worse, he wants to use Damian as his own personal weapon, forcing him to make daring moves against government figures and opposing forces with the sole purpose of raising tensions and bringing the cold war between the alliances to a simmering boil. Somewhere in the mix is a device with limitless information--information that every organization on the planet is willing to kill for in order to gain the upper hand. Painkiller wants to see the world destroy itself, and with Damian's reluctant help, he just might accomplish his goal--unless Damian can plan around him and everyone else.
Yeah, that's about the gist of the whole trilogy, LOL. Like I said, though, it's gonna be a really big one, so I might end up pulling a Hitchhiker's Guide and splitting the volumes themselves into two parts unless I can find a way to scale it down. I just have so much story to tell for this story arc.
Fourthly, COVER REVEAL! Since I just learned how to properly format HTML for image posting, here you go, the third volume cover, tweaked and everything!
Alright, so first of all, now that things are settling down for me, I can stop dawdling and get back to work. Once I've completed Vol. 2, I can get back to Vol. 3: Cemetery Rumble, Part I.... and it's going to be a BIG one. I'm already three hundred pages in--it has thus exceeded the page count for Vol. 1, which will no doubt maintain the record as the shortest volume in the entire series once I finish it (eventually...).
Secondly: I've got a Christmas-ish release deadline planned. For reals this time. I know I keep setting deadlines and missing them, but with life settling and all the bullshit I've had to deal with (I had a REALLY nasty streak of bad-to-worse luck for the past ten or eleven months), I'm confident to say that this will be the last Vol. 3 deadline I set up. I plan to make it this time. So expect it around late December, early January. Whenever the Amazon staff isn't on vacation, LOL.
Thirdly: the synopsis! The plot has been mildly tweaked, and is still subject to minor changes here and there. Oh, yeah, the synopsis:
Damian and co. fly to the independent capital of Cemetery City on the isolated coast of North Liberty in their continued search for Zero and the mother of the Knight Sisters. Unfortunately, hell rises, resulting in the party being split up, their movements and fate under the control of an anarchistic madman known only as Painkiller. To make matters worse, he wants to use Damian as his own personal weapon, forcing him to make daring moves against government figures and opposing forces with the sole purpose of raising tensions and bringing the cold war between the alliances to a simmering boil. Somewhere in the mix is a device with limitless information--information that every organization on the planet is willing to kill for in order to gain the upper hand. Painkiller wants to see the world destroy itself, and with Damian's reluctant help, he just might accomplish his goal--unless Damian can plan around him and everyone else.
Yeah, that's about the gist of the whole trilogy, LOL. Like I said, though, it's gonna be a really big one, so I might end up pulling a Hitchhiker's Guide and splitting the volumes themselves into two parts unless I can find a way to scale it down. I just have so much story to tell for this story arc.
Fourthly, COVER REVEAL! Since I just learned how to properly format HTML for image posting, here you go, the third volume cover, tweaked and everything!
September 16, 2016
Things Are Finally Back in Order, Mostly!
Alright, so things have been really hectic these past five months. There've been a lot of personal issues going on, and I was missing deadlines and failing to stay consistent with updates and whatnot.
Finally, though, things are getting back in order for sure now. Got my own place. Getting a decent job soon (hopefully). Oh, and the wifi's free! EEEEEEEEEE.
So that Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 2 edit I meant to finish at like... the beginning of the freaking month ought to be finished up in a few days (give or take), and I should be catching up on my review swaps! No, I haven't forgotten about you guys, and I'm really sorry it's taken me so long to get to your work! I swear I've been looking forward to reading them! LOL.
Anyway, it's now 3 AM and I have things that must be done. Like sleep...
Stay tuned.
Finally, though, things are getting back in order for sure now. Got my own place. Getting a decent job soon (hopefully). Oh, and the wifi's free! EEEEEEEEEE.
So that Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 2 edit I meant to finish at like... the beginning of the freaking month ought to be finished up in a few days (give or take), and I should be catching up on my review swaps! No, I haven't forgotten about you guys, and I'm really sorry it's taken me so long to get to your work! I swear I've been looking forward to reading them! LOL.
Anyway, it's now 3 AM and I have things that must be done. Like sleep...
Stay tuned.
July 26, 2016
Dark-Boy/Cobalt Rogue - Addressing Any Possible Confusion...
Yes, I've finally added new covers/titles to the existing Dark-Boy/Cobalt Rogue volumes! The name-change is officially underway! So before you guys go rushing onto Amazon and find yourselves scrambling to find the new cover editions (I wish, LOL), I just thought I'd point out that I'm spending the remainder of the week checking the existing volumes for any remaining errors I may have missed the first few times. Then everything shall be right as rain. :D
Stay tuned.
Stay tuned.
July 8, 2016
New '/REMIX' Book Trailer!
Yep, I made a trailer for my latest cyberpunk novel, I Keep My True Love in the Basement/REMIX!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpxd1...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpxd1...
July 1, 2016
June 19, 2016
'I Keep My True Love in the Basement/REMIX' is now LIVE!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Still trying to figure out this goddamn Createspace thing. Its banking options only give me the European and US banks, and I'm Canadian. No idea why the hell it's giving me that issue.
Anyway, 'REMIX' is still available on Kobo and Amazon Kindle for $4.99! It's sure to be a blast!
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Keep-True-Love...
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebo...
Still trying to figure out this goddamn Createspace thing. Its banking options only give me the European and US banks, and I'm Canadian. No idea why the hell it's giving me that issue.
Anyway, 'REMIX' is still available on Kobo and Amazon Kindle for $4.99! It's sure to be a blast!
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Keep-True-Love...
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebo...
June 10, 2016
'I Keep My True Love in the Basement/REMIX' now on pre-order!
So that's finally complete, and you can pre-order it here (or on your respective country's Amazon page): https://www.amazon.com/Keep-True-Love...
In other news, I'm now putting the 'Cobalt Rogue' title changes into effect, so expect updates on those soon!
In other news, I'm now putting the 'Cobalt Rogue' title changes into effect, so expect updates on those soon!
June 3, 2016
Two Chapters Left in /REMIX--Advanced Copies Available Soon
So, I Keep My True Love in the Basement/REMIX is finally close to completion. I'll have to run through it for any editing that'll be needed, but since I've got the plot all sorted out, it'll be mostly for errors and pacing. I might finish the draft this weekend, might not, in which case, I may send out advance copies to those who may be interested. After that, I plan to do one or two illustrations for it, gloss over it once more, and then officially publish it before the end of June.
Once that's done, I'll immediately move on to finish up Dark-Boy/Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 3: Cemetery Rumble, Part I, for which I'm aiming to release in late August.
Stay tuned.
Once that's done, I'll immediately move on to finish up Dark-Boy/Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 3: Cemetery Rumble, Part I, for which I'm aiming to release in late August.
Stay tuned.
Way to Stay "In the Know"
Hopefully I can keep this thing up. I get distracted easily and often forget about keeping up with some things. I'll have to fix that. Here, I'll write as briefly as I can without rambling too much ab
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