Writing as a Release

I'm a firefighter and paramedic in Columbus, Ohio. I've been in the fire service for twenty years and have seen about everything anyone could imagine. Over time what I see affects me as it would anyone else. Seeing a young man die from gunshot wounds, or an older woman waking up to her husband of fifty years lying dead beside her, or a baby who has been shaken to death would weigh on anyone and I'm no different.

For me, I'm lucky to have a strong support system in family and friends who are there for me if I ever need to talk (which I've relied on often). But seven or eight years ago I discovered something else to help me work through what I routinely see. That something else was writing.

While some people write in journals and diaries, I turned to story-telling which was something I've always felt I had talent for. After a horrible call in which a young boy was

in a serious auto accident, I struggled with how to deal with his death and what I saw that day.

When your Editor Crushes your Soul

This blog is aimed at those of you who enjoy writing.

OK, so you've written your masterpiece. You've spent months, maybe years, tweaking it so there is no way anyone could find fault in even a single word. You've let your friends and proofreaders have the manuscript and go to town on it. It is now perfect.

Or so you think.

Then you send it to an editor. Maybe it's your publisher's editor, or maybe it's an editor you've hired to get your manuscript into tip top shape before starting that long, hard journey to publication. Whatever it is, you're ready for the praise to come flowing into your inbox. All that's left is to sit back and wait for the editor to write you back and say, "This is the best manuscript ever. I didn't even have to get out my figurative red pen." After all, you've looked at the story 100 times and from every possible angle and it's flawless.

As you have experienced if you've been through the process, or will soon experience, it doesn't take long for the inevitable punch in the face to come back from that editor. The red on each page is like blood from your own artery.

The Light at the End- A flash fiction crime story

I recently took part in a fun little interview over at CabinGoddess.com (See it here). In addition to questions about what recipes would fit with the theme of my book (I know, right?), the interviewer also asked me to write an original flash fiction story.
The stipulations were:
1.) No more than 500 words (much more difficult than it sounds because it has to tell a story and build a character while being short and sweet).
2.) Must be in a genre in which I don't currently write.
3.) Must use the prompt "Light."

I chose to write a crime story and I titled it The Light at the End. Here is what I came up with. See what you think.

The Light at the End

Headlights.

Blinding Frank as he fell to his hands and knees. Wet crimson from the bullet wound in his shoulder painted the hard pavement beneath him. The charging car's engine sang a death song across the parking lot. Frank reaches for his ankle.

****

Two minutes, fifty-seven seconds earlier.

Friday. 11:00 PM. Frank and Darryl stood roll call in the dark, police substation parking lot. Their sergeant eyed them with narrow, calculated eyes. "So, what do you think, Darryl?" he asked.

Darryl had been a cocky SOB ever since Frank met him during the police academy years ago and probably for a long time before that. He walked with a king-of-the-school kind of swagger and Frank didn't much like him.

"We have to do it, Sergeant," Darryl answered without missing a beat. "It's gotta be Frank."

Frank's stomach turned.

A Long Journey

Today is a very cool day.



A little over four years ago Rhemalda Publishing gave me and my writing a chance by contracting me for my fantasy trilogy, The Light of Epertase. At the time, I had book 1 written with big plans for the rest of the series. Though I knew the major plot points for books 2 and 3, that was about it. Everything from what the covers would eventually look like to how the story would ultimately play out was little more than a vague idea in my head. I never dreamed we would be at this day. Today is Epertase 3's birthday. Though the e-versions will be available any day now (it has to go through Amazon's and BN's system) today is officially release day.



Over those last four years, I have worked with some talented people on this trilogy including editors Kara Klotz and Diane Dalton, my aunt Bobbe Ecleberry, my proofreaders and friends, Emmaline and Rhett Hoffmeister, and the talented artist Steve Murphy. This story couldn't have been told without them and I am overwhelmingly grateful for their help.



It seems almost surreal that the story I started many years ago (Rasi was actually created when I was a teenager) is finally finished and has turned out better than I could have ever imagined. I love the story as a whole and I hope you all give it a chance.

 

Aren't they Purdy together?

Blog Tour- Attention Bloggers

With Epertase 3 about to be released on Aug. 1st, Rhemalda is setting up a blog tour. If you are interested in taking part and helping spread the word about Epertase 3 as well as your own blog, sign up today. If you are interested and haven't yet read books 1 and/or 2, great news. Rhemalda will provide 1 or both in order to get you up to speed. Book 3 should not be read without reading 1 and 2 as this is a true trilogy. Epertase is epic fantasy at its most .. uh ... epic-est. Sign up here.

My Webbweaver Interview and Chapter Reading of Tamed

Today, I was fortunate enough to be interviewed over at Webbweaver's awesome internet radio show and I had a blast. I was able to choose a chapter of Tamed to read and I picked one that I felt could make you a little squeamish. If you'd like to listen to me stutter and stumble my way through an interview, give this a listen. You will clearly hear why I prefer writing over speaking. I just listened to myself and I cringe for the entire segment. The interview is structured with 5 minutes of ads, part of my interview, chapter reading, and then the rest of my interview.
If you're reading this CK Webb, awesome job and thanks so much for having me on. Everyone should totally check out CK's books here.

Listen to my interview here.

Comic Con Philadelphia, Here I Come

I'm counting the days until Comic Con 2013 in Philadelphia. This will be my first year attending Comic Con outside of Columbus, Ohio and I'm stoked to meet a lot of people while hopefully selling lots of books. Last year's Comic Con in Columbus was highly successful for my book sales and I'm excited to try and repeat that success in Philadelphia. Helping me this year once again will be the fantastic Steve Murphy who will be signing the Epertase covers and maybe putting up some of his other artwork for sale as well. If you are going to be in Philly anytime between May 30 and June 2nd, make sure you come by and say hi to us. We'd love to meet you. Look for the following booth.

Updates and an Opportunity for Writers

I have a few things to share today as it relates to writing. Let me start with a pretty cool opportunity that my publisher is giving writers who are seeking a home for their work. If you're like me, you despise the querying process. You spend weeks and weeks tweaking your query letter while never knowing exactly what an agent or publisher is looking for. Then you research who to send your query letter to. And then you wait weeks, months or longer for a response, sometimes never getting one at all. Well, Rhemalda Publishing is giving you a unique opportunity to skip the querying nightmare for the next two weeks. You see, Rhemalda is asking for a two-sentence hook about your book and from that hook, they will request manuscripts from the ones they find intriguing. Pretty freakin' cool, huh? I wonder if they have any idea of the amount of work they're about to fall into. So, are you looking to be published? Sick of the querying process? Here's your chance to wow a publisher with a simple hook and bypass the querying nightmare altogether. Just make sure your manuscript is finished and in the best possible condition before it gets requested, so you have the best chance at a contract. Go through Rhemalda's FB page or Twitter @Rhemalda. Here is the announcement.

 

Beginning April 2, 2013 Rhemalda Publishing's Emmaline Hoffmeister (Owner) and Diane Dalton (Acquisitions Editor) will be hosting a two-week, two-sentence, query blast. Authors will be invited to post up to two sentences about their completed, polished manuscript. Hook Emmaline and Diane with your awesome, fresh idea and they will then request a full manuscript from you! This is your chance to skip the initial full query letter and seemingly endless wait for a full request. The specific genres Emmaline and Diane will be searching for are as follows:

Contemporary Fiction
Contemporary Young Adult/New Adult Fiction
Romance
Contemporary Romance
Historical Romance
Historical Fiction
Jane Austen Adaptations
Sports Memoirs
Crime/Detective/Procedural
Young Adult Paranormal and Dystopian

Get ready for April 2nd!

Please share with every author you know. See More

Next on my agenda are the results from my bookbub.com promotion. As of yesterday I have numbers. As you may have read in my last blog, Bookbub is a site that sends emails to readers about sales on books that they may be interested in buying. On Thursday of last week, my werewolf novel, Tamed, went on sale and was sent out in their email. (The sale is still on for another day at Amazon, BN, and iTunes, BTW, in case you've missed out.) Anyway, during the first four days of the sale, 504 ebook copies of Tamed were sold with steady sales continuing as of this writing. If you are an author or publisher, you may want to try bookbub because it has been wildly successful for me. (I have no affiliations with the site, I am only recommending them from my own marketing experience.)

Third, a quick update about my writing progress. Rhemalda has the final book of my Epertase trilogy, The Rise of Cridon, and I am waiting for their editor to hack away at it. I think as a story it has turned out great. In the meantime, I am closing in on finishing a first draft of my newest dystopian fantasy which is turning out to be pretty cool. I'm excited to finish the first draft because that is always my least favorite part of writing. I like the tweaking stage the most. We'll see how things turn out over the next 15,000 or so words. At this point, I'm very hopeful.

Well, that's it for my update today. If you're a writer, get your two sentence hook ready because the two weeks start at midnight (April 2, 2013). And if you even slightly like werewolves, check out Tamed. I doubt you've ever read a werewolf book quite like it.

Big Sale on Tamed

Ever heard of Bookbub.com? It's a site that sends emails to subscribers about big sales on books that are in the reader's preferred genres to read. It's not a spam site because you actually sign up for only the notifications of books you might be interested in reading. Anyway, this isn't an advertisement for bookbub as much as a gratuitous ad for Tamed. With bookbub, an author or publisher applies to have their book featured in Bookbub's email and if they accept, the author and publisher have a chance at a lot of sales. The hope is to sell enough copies that the book's rankings improve and the book continues  to sell after the deal. As of today, Tamed will be featured in their email and is now on sale for . . . wait for it . . . $1.99 for ebook or $11.99 (Amazon) for a super cool paperback edition (remember those?) Heck, Tamed is even on audiobook. This is your chance to try my werewolf tale with a twist for under two bucks. If you enjoy werewolves, or someone in your family enjoys the furry beasts, then I would enthusiastically recommend that you try Tamed. How's that for over-the-top promotion? Here's the back cover copy.

Werewolves are real.

And they make excellent pets.

Owning one of the legendary creatures is the latest fad. The WereHouse insists their werepets are loyal, docile, and 100% safe, but what happens when these gentle giants turn on their masters?

While on a routine EMS call, paramedic Christine Alt is attacked by a rogue werepet. She escapes with her life, but the encounter leaves her with more than just scars. As her body begins to change, she discovers the WereHouse is hiding a terrible secret, and they will stop at nothing to keep her from exposing them.

Check Amazon, Barnes and Noble, the IBookstore, or Kobo for the deal. I mean, what's two bucks for a cool story among friends? Enjoy your reading.