Updates on Works in Progress & a Free Book Promotion
Hey everyone! I wanted to do another update blog and I have a lot to share so let’s get started.
First of all, I want to share updates on both Nowhere and Once Upon a Time in Boston. Recently I have mostly been digging through a mountain of critiques for these two projects. And the results are not quite what I expected. Nowhere, which is a very short story, is what I expected to polish up for publication next. But the reviews for the story was mixed to negative. They basically all stated, “It’s a good idea, but it needs a lot of work.” So there’s going to have to be a lot more reworking to whip it in shape so it won’t be arriving anytime soon. Then for Once Upon a Time in Boston, the critiques have been very positive but the ending needs work according to everyone. So the story needs an expansion and some reworking in the finale as well as a few minor tweaks here and there throughout the story. That will need another round of critiques for the finale after I figure out how to make it better. So somehow, Once Upon a Time in Boston may be actually be closer to any sort of publication than Nowhere despite its very long length.
Also, I must admit I have been lazy lately when it comes to revisions. I know there’s a couple short stories and novels that need revision. But after finishing the Nel & the Tower Spirits, I needed a break. And now that it’s been a while, I’m ready to dive back in. Soon I will be revising Palm’s Inn and Sam & Miguel’s Run next. So those should be cleaned up and enrolled in Kindle Unlimited in the future.
Lastly, as I have been trying to figure out how to get these stories in the hands of people, I have invested more time in Twitter the last three weeks. I have had twitter for years and posted about my books here and there, but never really engaged. For years I only had a 100 followers, and never really looked into using hashtags or engaging into conversations of any sort. But recently I have been engaging with other writers, posting more updates and engaging in #writerlifts for advertising, and in that short time, followers have increased. So I wanted to do an experiment. I want to run a free short story promotion to see how well it does in one of these #writerlifts. So I decided to do this with Meteor City. In science fiction short stories it ranked at #101 for a weekend during a similar promotion on Amazon last summer without the aid of Twitter. So I want to give it a second try with Twitter and see what happens. I will post the synopsis below.
"Decades ago, a meteor shower hit a metropolis shattering homes and lives of many. With the meteors, the storm also brought a deadly disease that tortures and mutate those infected. As it spread, the walls were put up around the city to quarantine it from the rest of the world. And as the years went on the city, now known as Meteor City, was ignored and willfully forgotten by the United States. But it somehow continued to thrive.
Jo is a photographer within the walls of Meteor City. She goes through the dirt and muck to get shots for the front page of the local paper. She specializes in shots of the most horribly mangled infected in the city. She's brash, spunky, and her luck has run out. After cashing in on shots of an infected serial killer known as the Bloody Man, her home is broken into by a new meteorite afflicted individual. It’s a fight she barely survives, but not all in one piece as she becomes infected herself. Hoping the doctors can stop her terrible fate, her world start falling apart around her. Kidnappings are happening over the city, and she may have to risk everything to save someone she loves."
It will be free on Kindle from April 22nd to April 26th, and can be found at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CKB5GL7
Beyond that there is not a lot. I want to do a lot of things. I want to try something new with the audio content I have. I am also eager to get more stories out there. I love to put Siren on Berry Ave out. I want to get it shared on writing communities and start getting critiques. But I really need to focus on Boston for now. If I learned anything in my writing adventures, it’s that self-publishing is worthless if you don’t do all the proper work before getting it out there.
Anyways, that is all I have. I hope you all have a good week!
First of all, I want to share updates on both Nowhere and Once Upon a Time in Boston. Recently I have mostly been digging through a mountain of critiques for these two projects. And the results are not quite what I expected. Nowhere, which is a very short story, is what I expected to polish up for publication next. But the reviews for the story was mixed to negative. They basically all stated, “It’s a good idea, but it needs a lot of work.” So there’s going to have to be a lot more reworking to whip it in shape so it won’t be arriving anytime soon. Then for Once Upon a Time in Boston, the critiques have been very positive but the ending needs work according to everyone. So the story needs an expansion and some reworking in the finale as well as a few minor tweaks here and there throughout the story. That will need another round of critiques for the finale after I figure out how to make it better. So somehow, Once Upon a Time in Boston may be actually be closer to any sort of publication than Nowhere despite its very long length.
Also, I must admit I have been lazy lately when it comes to revisions. I know there’s a couple short stories and novels that need revision. But after finishing the Nel & the Tower Spirits, I needed a break. And now that it’s been a while, I’m ready to dive back in. Soon I will be revising Palm’s Inn and Sam & Miguel’s Run next. So those should be cleaned up and enrolled in Kindle Unlimited in the future.
Lastly, as I have been trying to figure out how to get these stories in the hands of people, I have invested more time in Twitter the last three weeks. I have had twitter for years and posted about my books here and there, but never really engaged. For years I only had a 100 followers, and never really looked into using hashtags or engaging into conversations of any sort. But recently I have been engaging with other writers, posting more updates and engaging in #writerlifts for advertising, and in that short time, followers have increased. So I wanted to do an experiment. I want to run a free short story promotion to see how well it does in one of these #writerlifts. So I decided to do this with Meteor City. In science fiction short stories it ranked at #101 for a weekend during a similar promotion on Amazon last summer without the aid of Twitter. So I want to give it a second try with Twitter and see what happens. I will post the synopsis below.
"Decades ago, a meteor shower hit a metropolis shattering homes and lives of many. With the meteors, the storm also brought a deadly disease that tortures and mutate those infected. As it spread, the walls were put up around the city to quarantine it from the rest of the world. And as the years went on the city, now known as Meteor City, was ignored and willfully forgotten by the United States. But it somehow continued to thrive.
Jo is a photographer within the walls of Meteor City. She goes through the dirt and muck to get shots for the front page of the local paper. She specializes in shots of the most horribly mangled infected in the city. She's brash, spunky, and her luck has run out. After cashing in on shots of an infected serial killer known as the Bloody Man, her home is broken into by a new meteorite afflicted individual. It’s a fight she barely survives, but not all in one piece as she becomes infected herself. Hoping the doctors can stop her terrible fate, her world start falling apart around her. Kidnappings are happening over the city, and she may have to risk everything to save someone she loves."
It will be free on Kindle from April 22nd to April 26th, and can be found at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CKB5GL7
Beyond that there is not a lot. I want to do a lot of things. I want to try something new with the audio content I have. I am also eager to get more stories out there. I love to put Siren on Berry Ave out. I want to get it shared on writing communities and start getting critiques. But I really need to focus on Boston for now. If I learned anything in my writing adventures, it’s that self-publishing is worthless if you don’t do all the proper work before getting it out there.
Anyways, that is all I have. I hope you all have a good week!
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