Nick Orsini's Blog

Hi!

So, I wanted to share some exciting stuff:

My third book, The Mega has returned from proofreading and all edits are being made as we speak. The final draft is scheduled to be ready by early November 2015. I’ll begin sending letters out to literary agents as I search for representation.

Also- in an effort to shore up my website, I will be migrating from WordPress to Squarespace in the winter. The redesign is going to be based on an all-new logo designed by Survivor contestant and all-around amazing dude Erik Reichenbach. Here’s a preview of my brand new logo:

Everyone out there who’s been waiting for this book – the wait is almost over!

So, it’s been over a year since this started. It’s now 61,000 words, 179 typed pages. The Mega is Kick-Ass meets John Green. It’s about a lot of things, but to me, at the heart of it is a story about loving where you’re from, and who you are at moments throughout your life. I think that’s always been a challenge for me: to see self-worth and growth even when I wasn’t at my best.

Today, the first copy of The Mega will exist in the world (even though it’s just a printed manuscript) – I couldn’t be more excited to tell this story.

The final step is to put the book into proofreading, which will be done by some amazing and helpful people.

This has been a true journey to try to tell a story that’s really close to my heart. I’m sad that part of the journey is over, because so much has happened since I first outlined this book with pen and paper. But then there’s a whole other part of this journey, one that’s just starting.

So here’s an update: my book isn’t long enough.

I’ve been working on The Mega for what feels like forever (it’s been about 2 years) – and now, only three steps remain:

1.Expand it from 53k words to 57-58k words.

2.Go through proofreading one more time

3.Get the book into the world.

So, some of you might now, but writing isn’t my job. I work at an advertising agency. It’s no big secret, bills have to be paid, right? I have an apartment, a car, a dog. I even cook dinner most nights and brown-bag my lunch every day. But I’ve been hard at work on this story, re-writing the beginning, the ending, trying to quicken the pace. When writing isn’t your job, you can’t be afraid to take your time, to get into that headspace where you can let the rest of your stuff drop away and get back to your characters and the story at hand.

The Mega is the story of Cole Cofield. He loves comics, loves horror movies, and loves flying under the radar. After 4 years of high school, he’s perfected the art of going unnoticed. His best friend, William Pinkerton, not so much. William wears his geekdom like a black eye for everyone to see. There’s also a girl, Marissa Glove, whom Cole has pined after for years. Marissa is that girl in high school that was already half out the door to college. She’s got an old soul. During their senior year of high school, a sudden a violent series of crimes break out in Harpoon, a pretty idyllic suburb. As the crime wave hits closer and closer to home for Cole, affecting his friends, and his way of life, he does something pretty insane. Drawing on his influences from discount comic books, he becomes a homemade superhero – The Mega, who isn’t much of a superhero at all.

I wrote this to combine my two favorite things – I wanted a superhero origin story with a very John-Hughes-esque outsider vibe. Growing up, I spent time in comic shops, playing video games, and watching movies. I never really felt heroic, and I was so desperate to leave my town. I guess now, without knowing it, my town in New Jersey wasn’t a bad place to grow up. That’s what this book is about – coming to terms with not only who you are, but where you are. It’s about not hiding from yourself.

And look, write as much as you can when you can. If you have a story you believe in and characters you like, that’s the most important thing.

So, As a writer, you’re always working, always learning. I think what makes a book great is the time you spend with it. The Mega started at about 65,000 words, and I brought it down to 40,000 – which as many of you know, isn’t really enough. I’ve worked to get it to about 50,000 words, and have to keep rebuilding it. I don’t think I put enough weight on the repercussions of what Cole is doing – how it reverberates through his life. You can’t just put on a mask one day and still be the same person. Think of any great hero, putting that costume on changes you. I also think the lead-up to the decision needed to be fleshed out a bit more. I wanted the choice to become a hero to be this spontaneous thing that just sort of happened as a result of circumstance. It’s been quite a journey with this book. I’m re-doing Chapter 1 for length. Then it will move into proofreading. My hope is to be done within the year. I work full time, about 50-60 hours per week – and it’s been hard to advance a career in advertising but also to stay the course and deliver an incredible book. I think I told a pretty special story. I hope you love it as much as I do. -n.o.

Nothing left to be said. Below you can download a PDF of the first chapter of my book, The Mega. Read it, share it, let me know what you think!

The Mega Chapter 1.1 – copyright 2015 Nick Orsini, author.

Hi all – I wanted to share an update on my third book, The Mega. So, the journey of writing a book is crazy difficult. It starts with an idea, and in the case of The Mega, a short story. I ended up expanding it into an original manuscript, which has been copy-edited down. I struggle with certain things as a writer, so I owe a huge debt to my editor who has been working with me on improving things like story speed, and reducing things like superfluous detail. I also am new to writing dialogue, so it’s been a challenge to let these characters breathe on their own. I don’t want to tell everything and show my hand, but at the same time, I want to give them nuances to lend to their wealth of emotions.

Long story short, I’ve been doing it. I’m about 65% percent done with copy edits, then comes two main re-writes, and then a final round of proofreading. I can say, right now, that I’ve never been more happy with a book at this stage before. I reached out to former Survivor, Erik Reichenbach , who is an incredible artist, to help me bring the book to life. Happy to show off the first piece of art from the upcoming work The Mega: A Superhero Story

The Mega follows Cole Cofield – supermarket clerk, pulp comic book lover, video game master, and horror movie guru, through his last turbulent year of high school. To add to the pressure, a rash of crime breaks out in his hometown of Harpoon. When it hits closer and closer to home, Cole has no choice but to create the most homemade of homemade heroes – The Mega. Equal parts Kick-Ass and Super coupled with the YA sensibilities of Looking for Alaska and This Song Will Save Your Life, The Mega is a superhero origin story the way it’s never been told before.

-N.O.

@nickorsini on Twitter

just wanted to update you guys on my new book, The Mega. I’ve hired a copy editor and proofreader to tighten the whole story up. I’ll be getting my first round of revisions back in July and will work through the summer to get the book in tip-top shape. I tried to do Fingerless Gloves with minimal editorial and I heard everyone’s feedback – the book just wasn’t as tight as it could be.

I’m also working with several designs on some promotional materials to prep the book. Hopefully I can share some sneak peeks at the design work soon.

That being said, for anyone who has wanted to write a book, put your whole self into it. Here’s some inspiration from Stan Lee to help you.

In the mean time- you can buy my other books here:

Fingerless Gloves

Two Wrongs Make a Vice

The Human Projector (Poetry)

All my books are super cheap and buying anything will help me out. Find me on Goodreads

and as always @NickOrsini on twitter!

Hey everyone -

So, my new novel, The Mega, is currently in editorial. I’ve gone out and hired a copy editor and proofreader to make the book air-tight. I wasn’t too happy with my final version of Fingerless Gloves as it contained way too many errors in grammar and story. My hope is to have the book completed by Fall 2014. I’ll be shopping it around, looking for distribution. This has been an insane 1.5 year journey. The book started out as a short story right here.

I started writing the book last August (right after I moved into my new apartment in Queens). The story is about girlfriends, superheroes, comic books, horror movies, being bullied, fighting back. It’s an origin story meant to be continued on into a series. I seriously can’t wait for you to all get your hands on it. Here’s a poster and the book trailer!

Hey! So thanks to my friends who helped me out with this, the Front Bottoms for being okay with me using their song, and for everyone who has stuck with me in the process of writing all these books. It’s been such a journey. The Mega will be coming your way soon. I’ve been scrapping and working on getting money for copy edits and proofreading, and once that’s done, the manuscript will be getting shopped around until hopefully it ends up in your hands as a finished, beautiful book!

For now, enjoy this killer trailer:

Below is the new trailer for my upcoming book, The Mega. For those of you who know, I’ve been working on this manuscript for about a year and half …working full time and trying to tell this great story on weekends and at night. The book is based on the short short that you can read, on AdorkableLife, right here

It’s a story about learning to love your town, no matter how bad it might seem. It’s about the most uncool you’ve ever felt, and the people who built you back up. I think it’s a really personal story for me and my friends and what we’ve all gone through. In the end, it’s about becoming a superhero and deciding to (perhaps unwisely) stand up to the things you hate. Look for it soon and watch the video!

nick