Robert Dunbar's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-streets"
THE ME OF NOW
Writers don’t get to talk about their work much. (Go ahead. Try to interject an anecdote about “character development” or “plot logic” into a conversation. Watch how bored civilians get. And how quickly.) But what else can a writer even talk about? I mean, this is me. This is my life. It’s what I do. If I remove myself from the conversation, I’m left just smiling and nodding.
Fascinating, yes. Uh huh.
Connections are… difficult. You can see people staring at you, but you can’t really see them. You’re really trying to work out that awkward bit of dialogue in chapter fourteen.
Interesting lifestyle choice.
I figured, maybe if I gave all my readers a heads up all at once…
Okay then. At this point, I’m desperately and completely consumed by “Tremble.” No, it’s not a drug. Not exactly. It’s the working title for my new novel. And it is of course killing me. After the last one, I thought I’d write something, you know, easy. Lots of action. An actual monster. Basic situation: a gang of characters barricaded in an old dark house, just trying to survive the night. Hell, just trying to survive. Then I got this really clever idea. Really really clever. I know, I thought to myself, I’ll make them all trash characters. You know? The sort that get disposed of early in a horror movie? Yes, that’s the way to go.
I must be out of my mind. Was I concentrating on unlikable characters to keep myself from becoming too close with these persons? Why did it never occur to me that – hey – these are my people? Suddenly, I am totally involved in their struggle.
Like I said, it’s killing me. It’s also taking me a lot longer to write than it should. There are a few reasons. I started a major editing assignment. Then I let myself get talked into writing a short story that floated off on a tangent… and then another tangent… and then…
And then there’s THE PINES and THE SHORE, two-thirds of my trilogy. For years, they’ve been comfortably ensconced at 47North (with the final part of the series at long last appearing at Uninvited Books). This didn’t seem to bother any of the editors at 47North, but it was sort of driving me a little crazy. There’s a reason I’m bringing this up now. After just a few months of my nagging them, they’ve agreed to release the books. So here I am, finally (finally!) consumed with rewriting and editing and working on the layout and cover (to match THE STREETS). Will they eventually be sold as a boxed trilogy set? It could happen. Will there be signed hardback collector copies? There’s an awful lot of work involved in this.
(Oh, and by the way, my novel THE STREETS is currently available for reviewing at Netgalley. It’s free, but if you’re not a member you’ll need to create a profile. The link for my book is here: https://www.netgalley.com/widget/open...)
A whole new website for Uninvited Books is also being developed. I’m excited.
That’s pretty much it with me, though it feels a lot busier. Oh, wait, the first foreign language version of one of my books is approaching as well. My novel WILLY is being released by Good Kill Edizioni (Rome), the editor of which called it “awesome.”
All right then. I’m pleased.
Back to work.
Fascinating, yes. Uh huh.
Connections are… difficult. You can see people staring at you, but you can’t really see them. You’re really trying to work out that awkward bit of dialogue in chapter fourteen.
Interesting lifestyle choice.
I figured, maybe if I gave all my readers a heads up all at once…
Okay then. At this point, I’m desperately and completely consumed by “Tremble.” No, it’s not a drug. Not exactly. It’s the working title for my new novel. And it is of course killing me. After the last one, I thought I’d write something, you know, easy. Lots of action. An actual monster. Basic situation: a gang of characters barricaded in an old dark house, just trying to survive the night. Hell, just trying to survive. Then I got this really clever idea. Really really clever. I know, I thought to myself, I’ll make them all trash characters. You know? The sort that get disposed of early in a horror movie? Yes, that’s the way to go.
I must be out of my mind. Was I concentrating on unlikable characters to keep myself from becoming too close with these persons? Why did it never occur to me that – hey – these are my people? Suddenly, I am totally involved in their struggle.
Like I said, it’s killing me. It’s also taking me a lot longer to write than it should. There are a few reasons. I started a major editing assignment. Then I let myself get talked into writing a short story that floated off on a tangent… and then another tangent… and then…
And then there’s THE PINES and THE SHORE, two-thirds of my trilogy. For years, they’ve been comfortably ensconced at 47North (with the final part of the series at long last appearing at Uninvited Books). This didn’t seem to bother any of the editors at 47North, but it was sort of driving me a little crazy. There’s a reason I’m bringing this up now. After just a few months of my nagging them, they’ve agreed to release the books. So here I am, finally (finally!) consumed with rewriting and editing and working on the layout and cover (to match THE STREETS). Will they eventually be sold as a boxed trilogy set? It could happen. Will there be signed hardback collector copies? There’s an awful lot of work involved in this.
(Oh, and by the way, my novel THE STREETS is currently available for reviewing at Netgalley. It’s free, but if you’re not a member you’ll need to create a profile. The link for my book is here: https://www.netgalley.com/widget/open...)
A whole new website for Uninvited Books is also being developed. I’m excited.
That’s pretty much it with me, though it feels a lot busier. Oh, wait, the first foreign language version of one of my books is approaching as well. My novel WILLY is being released by Good Kill Edizioni (Rome), the editor of which called it “awesome.”
All right then. I’m pleased.
Back to work.
Closer and Closer
The Pines Trilogy keeps getting closer to actually happening.
Keeps.
Actually.
It’s like a fantasy. (For me anyway.) I find myself picturing new versions of all the three books with gorgeous matching covers. I imagine them revised (in bits, here and there) and most importantly re-edited. Especially THE PINES. Don’t get me started.
What’s happened to make this possible?
THE STREETS, final part of the trilogy, continues to attract excellent reviews, and – quite recently – the rights for THE PINES and THE SHORE were returned to me by 47North. (I asked for them, begged for them. They were nice about it … eventually.) As you can imagine, I’m very pleased about this. The new covers for the editions are beautiful, deep, atmospheric. I’m very pleased about my recent rewrite for THE PINES, and the new version of THE SHORE is cooking along nicely.
Currently, only the first and third entries in the trilogy are available at Amazon, but the new version for the middle part will be along soon ... in a couple of weeks probably. There’ve been a million challenges in this process. Again, don’t get me started. It’s all been daunting to say the least. But the number of errors (and the ham-fisted editing) couldn’t be permitted to stand. After all these years, the text has finally been corrected. Another month and all three of the books will be available at Amazon as paperbacks and ebooks.
I’m excited.
Now… about those new reviews…
Here’s a couple of them.
“A densely populated and intricately plotted work of fiction, whose complexity is magnified by the Hemingway-like concision of Dunbar’s prose… evokes the pleasurable difficulty of reading such heavyweights as Southern Gothic scribe William Faulkner… As an individual novel, it’s excellent; but taken as a whole, Dunbar’s Pines Trilogy stands among the genre’s most finely crafted contemporary series.”
~ Unnerving Magazine
http://www.unnervingmagazine.com/sing...
“What Dunbar does best in The Streets is redefine the word "Monster." Monsters are not only humanized, they are celebrated. They love and are loved. The reader can gaze on the Monsters and see their beauty.”
~ Mrs. Hoskins Summer Reading
https://www.facebook.com/Mrs.HoskinsS...
"Fascinating ... richly written ... prose capturing the beauty and horror weaves within the narrative to spin a yarn that is unforgettable."
~ MBLiterary
https://www.mbliterary.com/single-pos...
“A remarkable example of a thoughtful and talented writer engaged in pushing the boundaries of the genre.”
~ Horror Novel Reviews
http://horrornovelreviews.com/2016/02...
“Dread-inducing, yet remarkably life-affirming ... with amazing depth and emotion.”
~ Nameless Digest
http://www.namelessdigest.com/2015/11...
“Dunbar shows considerable skill … mixing both genre and literary influences into a style all his own.”
~ This Is Horror
http://www.thisishorror.co.uk/look-ou...
Did I mention that I’m very pleased?
Keeps.
Actually.
It’s like a fantasy. (For me anyway.) I find myself picturing new versions of all the three books with gorgeous matching covers. I imagine them revised (in bits, here and there) and most importantly re-edited. Especially THE PINES. Don’t get me started.
What’s happened to make this possible?
THE STREETS, final part of the trilogy, continues to attract excellent reviews, and – quite recently – the rights for THE PINES and THE SHORE were returned to me by 47North. (I asked for them, begged for them. They were nice about it … eventually.) As you can imagine, I’m very pleased about this. The new covers for the editions are beautiful, deep, atmospheric. I’m very pleased about my recent rewrite for THE PINES, and the new version of THE SHORE is cooking along nicely.
Currently, only the first and third entries in the trilogy are available at Amazon, but the new version for the middle part will be along soon ... in a couple of weeks probably. There’ve been a million challenges in this process. Again, don’t get me started. It’s all been daunting to say the least. But the number of errors (and the ham-fisted editing) couldn’t be permitted to stand. After all these years, the text has finally been corrected. Another month and all three of the books will be available at Amazon as paperbacks and ebooks.
I’m excited.
Now… about those new reviews…
Here’s a couple of them.
“A densely populated and intricately plotted work of fiction, whose complexity is magnified by the Hemingway-like concision of Dunbar’s prose… evokes the pleasurable difficulty of reading such heavyweights as Southern Gothic scribe William Faulkner… As an individual novel, it’s excellent; but taken as a whole, Dunbar’s Pines Trilogy stands among the genre’s most finely crafted contemporary series.”
~ Unnerving Magazine
http://www.unnervingmagazine.com/sing...
“What Dunbar does best in The Streets is redefine the word "Monster." Monsters are not only humanized, they are celebrated. They love and are loved. The reader can gaze on the Monsters and see their beauty.”
~ Mrs. Hoskins Summer Reading
https://www.facebook.com/Mrs.HoskinsS...
"Fascinating ... richly written ... prose capturing the beauty and horror weaves within the narrative to spin a yarn that is unforgettable."
~ MBLiterary
https://www.mbliterary.com/single-pos...
“A remarkable example of a thoughtful and talented writer engaged in pushing the boundaries of the genre.”
~ Horror Novel Reviews
http://horrornovelreviews.com/2016/02...
“Dread-inducing, yet remarkably life-affirming ... with amazing depth and emotion.”
~ Nameless Digest
http://www.namelessdigest.com/2015/11...
“Dunbar shows considerable skill … mixing both genre and literary influences into a style all his own.”
~ This Is Horror
http://www.thisishorror.co.uk/look-ou...
Did I mention that I’m very pleased?
THE PINES TRILOGY
My trilogy -- THE PINES, THE SHORE and THE STREETS -- is finally completed. The novels have been extensively revised, and all now have beautiful matching covers. (The flock of birds on each cover is, indeed, the same photograph, digitally altered. In case you were wondering.) Chas Hendricksen did the artwork, and I think you can see why I'm so pleased with them.
The books are featured on the new website (also extensively revised) for Uninvited Books, complete with reviews, interviews, and synopses.
www.UninvitedBooks.com
Drop by. (At least to see the covers in close up!) Let me know what you think.
