David Sakmyster's Blog

Wow it's been a while - both for my blog (apologies!) and publishing a book. Although a year isn't bad. This one is a collection of short stories, some previously published, others just dusted off and re-finished. But all hopefully exciting, mind-bending and thrilling.

Check out DANGEROUS ILLUSIONS - my second collection of short tales (after ESCAPE PLANS in 2015)

Enjoy!

https://amzn.to/2Sd4yUo

Look out, it's release day today for JURASSIC DEAD
Death finds a way! Zombie vs. dinosaur mayhem!

“JURASSIC DEAD is a wild collision of modern SF and oldschool horror. Over the top, inventive and scary fun!” –Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of FALL OF NIGHT and V-WARS

http://www.amazon.com/Jurassic-Dead-R...

Hop on in, and welcome to the Blog Hop extension tour. I want to thank all those who have come before me, blazing the trail like modern-day prophets, especially Rick Chesler (who I’m also excited to be co-writing a novel with at the moment). I’m honored to be among you all on this little journey, and will pass the torch on to several other exciting storytellers so that you can meet them and be introduced to some fantastic voices you may not have heard before.

So without further digression, here we go.

1. What am I working on?


I just released my first-ever short fiction collection. Escape Plans, comprising nineteen previously published tales. So I’ve been on a little mad publicity rush, getting the word out and promoting that one. Now I’m trying to switch gears and get back into what I love most, the creative side of writing (as opposed to the business nitty-gritty). And it’s back to the world of zombies and dinosaurs where I’m writing a collaboration with the aforementioned Rick Chesler, entitled Jurassic Dead. We’re hoping to have that out in the fall, and that will be followed by one I started years ago and just finished this year, Final Solstice—a modern day thriller involving druids and a different sort of ‘man-made’ climate change that will threaten all of civilization. Hopefully that should be out for some fun holiday reading.




2. How does my work differ from others in my genre?
This is a bit of a leading question, and one I have to twist around a bit. In reality, I don’t work in any one genre, and all my books and stories have elements that cross over into other genres. And maybe that’s the answer—but a lot of authors do this as well, and especially books I like to read have surprising bits that touch on various genres and work in some of what you’d never expect. For example, my Morpheus Initiative books (starting with The Pharos Objective), could be found in the thriller/action genres, but since the main characters are all psychic remote viewers—it’s got elements of the paranormal that could be science-fiction related. Blindspots is a suspense thriller with a definite paranormal twist, and Silver and Gold is a straight up historical adventure—or a monster thriller, depending on how you look at it.

3. Why do I write what I do?
I blame my father. Ha, seriously, he’s always been an avid reader, and his library of everything from Poe and Lovecraft to Verne and Swift and Twain gave me all the inspiration I could hope for starting from an early age. I loved reading those works, and I like writing in the same kind of imaginative sense, hoping to evoke the same wonder and enthusiasm in other readers.




4. How does my writing process work?
I have a day job as well, and I get to work from home—so in that sense I’m really blessed because I feel I can balance the two sides, work and writing, and I make time for each, without the hassle of travel and workplace drama. I find time to write before and after work (and occasionally during, I’ll admit). But really the process is creating an outline, whether it’s on paper or just in my mind, and then being dedicated enough to keep at it, writing 5-20 pages a day, more if I’m nearing the end, or at a really fun part. Other than that, it’s different with each project I work on. Novels obviously involve a lot of outlining and planning. A short story could come out all in one night. I wrote the award-winning The Red Envelope in one sitting, without an outline, like I was in the zone. Screenplays take a lot of upfront effort in terms of plotting and characterization, but once I start actually writing, the pages fly by and I can finish a draft in a week. In fact, I plan on doing just that at the end of October, when I’m going on a writer’s retreat and staying at (the Shining’s) Stanley hotel, planning to write a sequel to my optioned screenplay, Nightwatchers.




So there you have it, and now comes the part where I introduce you to some of my friends and send you on your way. Steve Savile is an all-around magnificent bloke, even if he is across the pond, as they say. The fan-boy or girl in everyone should be really pumped. He’s written for Dr. Who and Stargate and Primeval, and he’s got a tremendous output of brilliantly original novels, stories and novellas, including a certain thriller called N.D.E., co-written with yours truly, about the afterlife and people who come back from the dead not quite the same. Phillip Tomasso III is regionally a lot closer—actually right in my neck of the woods. He’s written some amazing page-turners set in upstate New York, but most recently he’s been having great success with a series about a zombie epidemic, beginning with Vaccination. So please, check out what they have to say and read on!

On Facebook, finally got one of these. I'll be posting there as well as here, any news, giveaways, promos, etc.

Would like any 'likes' people could spare...

Thanks and happy reading!

https://www.facebook.com/DavidSakmyst...

Thanks for all who signed up and congrats to the winners. Books are in the mail!

Now I just need to write another one to have another contest!

Can't wait! June 12-17. Monteleone Hotel. Always wanted to go to NOLA, and now's my chance, (combined with a 'work' convention).

I'll be on a panel on Friday at 10am, having coffee with Robert McCammon at 1, signing books at 8pm.

Looking forward to seeing lots of horror writers, and hopefully a few fans!

ps - also all the goody bags for convention attendees will include free coupons for downloads of my novels BLINDSPOTS and CRESCENT LAKE

Thrillerfest was a blast - literally. Arriving early on Wednesday, my wife and I were greeted with a blast of 102-degree heat, which we promptly decided wasn't bad enough to stop us from descending into the even hotter and stuffier depths of the subway to ride down to Battery Park and then take the ferry to see Lady Liberty, determined to finish my research for the new Morpheus Initiative novel. After braving the 300+ steps (I lost count in the sweltering heat) to the viewing platforms, we...

Ugh... I need a larger soapbox to complain about this...
The season finale of 'Criminal Minds' - while a serial murderer is running about Los Angeles doing unspeakably nasty things, the guest detective cries out, "Why is he doing this?"
I'll tell you why - because, like I argued in my first post, the writers are either too stupid to think up another way to ask about a killer's motive, or... there's a conspiracy afoot (and has been for a long time)... I tell you someone's getting paid...

Superman's debut comic book issue sells for $1M - Yahoo! News
A rare copy of the first comic book featuring Superman sold Monday for $1 million, smashing the previous record price for a comic book.
This excited the heck out of me because I had just published a story: 'The Wrong Basement' to Abyss&Apex, concerning a couple that finds a box of mint-condition Superman comics in their basement... If you'd like a read, it's here, free:http://abyssandapex.com/200910-wrong.html

I really wanted to like FOX's new drama, Past Lives. Really, really wanted to. Lost is ending this year, and while Fast Forward is a worthy successor, it's kind of like having a big salad for dinner when you're really hungry and would also like a bite of steak... So another far-reaching series about intertwined character destinies, with a chance to really probe the complexities of human nature, would have gone a long way towards solving my hunger pains.
But alas, this drama sadly veers...