I know, I know, I haven’t been doing my part. I haven’t been keeping the blog updated like I should, but believe it or not, I’ve actually been a little busy. Between family commitments and branching out on my own, I’ve been a bit overwhelmed. In fact, I’m just now starting to get back into the swing of things. I sat down to write a bit on MS8 last night and found myself wondering…what the heck is this? Where am I in this story? As a reader, you can set down a story and pick it up later with little to no confusion. As a writer, my mind is always churning, tossing out ideas and weighing them, seeing how they fit the narrative. Because of this, I really had no clue what I did or didn’t put previously into the story. I became the reader.
For those of you who weren’t aware, I decided to go ‘full indie’. (Trust me, it sounds easier than it really is.) To answer your questions up front, no, I wasn’t mad, upset or angry with my publisher. Quite the opposite. They’re still friends and Todd is still going to edit my work. I’ve even sent new writers their direction because I knew that they had the knowledge to help them get started the right way. I also know that if I have any technical questions, Denise is just a phone call away. They know what is going on and gave me their blessing.
Some of you noticed that my Amazon page was messed up for a couple of days…that’s why. Trying to get all the books set up for publication and acceptable for Smashwords Premium, Kindle, Createspace…they all have different requirements. I found out the hard way, but it was a lesson well learned.
You might have noticed that the covers have changed for a lot of the stories. Jeffrey Kosh stepped in to do the cover graphics for the second Monster Squad saga and I was so taken by his work…well, I just had to have him recover the first four in the series. Then Whispers, too. I really like the new look and hope you will as well.
Which brings me to Forneus Corson. I actually wrote this story over a year and a half ago but it never gained traction. I decided to expand my exposure a bit and submitted it to Quinn Cullen and Blaze McRob at Visionary. They liked it and it’s now available. My copies of the paperback just came in and I’ll soon be getting the names and addresses of those who won copies during the release party…so if you won, watch your mailbox in the weeks to come!
I’ve had people ask me, ‘where did you dream up this idea’? so I thought I’d share that with you all here.
A couple of years ago I was with my wife at the beauty parlor (are they still called that??) and her hair dresser asked me when my next book was coming out. After I answered her, a young lady approached me and started with the 20 questions. She was a lit or journalism major at the local university and a member of a writer’s support group and blah blah blah. Well…before I knew it, she was telling me about her big story and how she wanted to introduce an ancient flu to the current population…she just didn’t know how. I gave her about three different options off the top of my head and she was floored. I just HAD to come to their support group.
My mistake was in saying yes. I spent nearly three hours helping aspiring young writers fill plot holes, figure out how to get from point A to point B and basically figuring out all of the tough stuff for their work. MY support from the group was pretty much nil. Needless to say, I didn’t go back.
I laughed to myself and thought, “Too bad I couldn’t charge them for coming up with all of the ‘good ideas’ for their stories…” Ding-Ding!! Winner winner, chicken dinner. The seed was planted. An ‘Idea Man’…a supernatural one. One who hooks you and eventually sucks out your soul.
Now, in retrospect, I could have easily made this a short story. Or novella. But not me…oh, no. I have to go overboard on everything I do. I was determined to stretch it out to a full length novel. And so I did.
For the few who have read the story, thank you for your feedback and thank you for the reviews. To those who have asked, I have toyed with the idea of a follow up and even penned the first chapter or so…but I’m honestly not sure if I’ll see this one through. Maybe one day, but probably not any time soon. I just have too much on my plate at the moment and I’m wanting to add more. Creating a sequel or even stretching it into a trilogy or series? I just don’t know. I’ve toyed with the idea of just putting a few pages up here at a time…make it a free read for whoever wanted to come by and find it. I’m still rolling that idea around.
Anyway, I wanted to let it be known. Corson is out and the few who have read it so far have given really positive feedback. I hope you’ll take a chance on this one as it’s quite a bit different than my other offerings.
Thanks for your time and happy reading. 😉
Heath Stallcup Author 