Samie Foster's Blog
May 5, 2024
After Getting Lost In The Woods & Trying Bookstagram, I’m Back To Writing Again….Also I think Indie April Went Well..
Hello all, I’m back. I took an early vacation. I went up north, backpacked in the woods, did some stuff with family, and hung out with some old friends. It was a break I needed. But now I am back and am diving into book related work once again. And now that I am back, I want to share what is going on.
First of all, I thought the Indie April giveaways went fairly well. Rainy Day Hotel got into the hands of a bunch of readers. With Once Upon a Time in Boston, there was no traffic for some reason. But things picked up again for Meteor City, despite the fact I was not really actively promoting it as hard as the first two weeks. I was getting pretty tired by that point. So it did go well. And of course, I participated Indie April and bought a few indie books as well. So it was nice. It was the first time I went as hard promoting my stuff to try to make the most out of Indie April and, to be honest, it was kind of exhausting. Hence why I had to take a break after nonstop self advertising after three weeks straight.
And during my little vacation, I did some book stuff as well. I really wanted to try Bookstagram. So I had a plan. I ordered some author copies of a recently published hardback version. (Yes. I stealth released it. I don’t advertise it, because I feel it’s too expensive for the consumer, & I’m still tinkering with print size & whatnot.) They were supposed to arrive around the 16th. They did not. But I had a proof copy and some ribbon to cover up the watermark. And everywhere I hiked, I had a copy of Rainy Day Hotel in my backpack, to take photos of I found a really pretty spot. And I got a lot of photos and found that it was kinda fun to do it this way. It might be a little different from what other Bookstagram folks are doing, but I like this vibe. I think it makes my shots unique and I hope it catches on and actually helps book sales as people claim it does.
Also during my break, I wrote and finished writing a short story. An urban fantasy murder mystery. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but I’m looking forward to working it into something really nice in future drafts.
But what about the future? Well, I got an dark fantasy full of vampires, werewolves, and witches coming your way. It’s kinda an urban fantasy twist on the Universal Monster gimmick. It’s fun. It’s campy. It’s not as dark as my recent works. My last few stories dealt with so much grief, trauma, and loss. And I’m trying to change the tone a little bit. This is a vibe I gravitated to when I personally went through a rough patch during the pandemic, and I’m trying to change that in my writing. I want to release something less dark and a little more fun. I really hope the beta readers find it fun. Speaking of which, back to the point. It’s edited. I submitted it to Scribophile for beta readers to critique, and they swarmed the story within a couple of days. I am quite surprised. There is usually a two week turn around. So soon I will get to digging through the reviews and take notes on what all the critics have to say. This is a shorter, less complicated story, so hopefully this will not take over a year of editing before making its way to KDP.
And that is it. That is the plan for now. I am back home, trying to slip into the indie author groove and get some stuff done. I hope to have some new fun stuff to share soon.
First of all, I thought the Indie April giveaways went fairly well. Rainy Day Hotel got into the hands of a bunch of readers. With Once Upon a Time in Boston, there was no traffic for some reason. But things picked up again for Meteor City, despite the fact I was not really actively promoting it as hard as the first two weeks. I was getting pretty tired by that point. So it did go well. And of course, I participated Indie April and bought a few indie books as well. So it was nice. It was the first time I went as hard promoting my stuff to try to make the most out of Indie April and, to be honest, it was kind of exhausting. Hence why I had to take a break after nonstop self advertising after three weeks straight.
And during my little vacation, I did some book stuff as well. I really wanted to try Bookstagram. So I had a plan. I ordered some author copies of a recently published hardback version. (Yes. I stealth released it. I don’t advertise it, because I feel it’s too expensive for the consumer, & I’m still tinkering with print size & whatnot.) They were supposed to arrive around the 16th. They did not. But I had a proof copy and some ribbon to cover up the watermark. And everywhere I hiked, I had a copy of Rainy Day Hotel in my backpack, to take photos of I found a really pretty spot. And I got a lot of photos and found that it was kinda fun to do it this way. It might be a little different from what other Bookstagram folks are doing, but I like this vibe. I think it makes my shots unique and I hope it catches on and actually helps book sales as people claim it does.
Also during my break, I wrote and finished writing a short story. An urban fantasy murder mystery. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but I’m looking forward to working it into something really nice in future drafts.
But what about the future? Well, I got an dark fantasy full of vampires, werewolves, and witches coming your way. It’s kinda an urban fantasy twist on the Universal Monster gimmick. It’s fun. It’s campy. It’s not as dark as my recent works. My last few stories dealt with so much grief, trauma, and loss. And I’m trying to change the tone a little bit. This is a vibe I gravitated to when I personally went through a rough patch during the pandemic, and I’m trying to change that in my writing. I want to release something less dark and a little more fun. I really hope the beta readers find it fun. Speaking of which, back to the point. It’s edited. I submitted it to Scribophile for beta readers to critique, and they swarmed the story within a couple of days. I am quite surprised. There is usually a two week turn around. So soon I will get to digging through the reviews and take notes on what all the critics have to say. This is a shorter, less complicated story, so hopefully this will not take over a year of editing before making its way to KDP.
And that is it. That is the plan for now. I am back home, trying to slip into the indie author groove and get some stuff done. I hope to have some new fun stuff to share soon.
April 8, 2024
Once Upon a Time in Boston is the Next Indie April Giveaway…...Also The Giveaway Last Week Went Very Well.
Hello everyone! I’m back with another blog all about my writings and fun stuff like giveaways. So what’s been going on since the last blog, which was a week ago? And the answer is not a lot.
I actually had an awful virus over the past week. So I couldn’t do much of anything. But in my windows of feeling not quite so dead, I did dust off an old notebook and started writing a story. It has a young woman who inherits an estate from billionaire grandfather she never knew she had, a djinn, and it might be a murder mystery of some sort. It is a fun project so far. I hoping it will turn out to be something nice that I can publish and share with all of you in the future.
And then there is another thing that happened. This last week was the first Indie April give away. I gave away the kindle version of Rainy Day Hotel. And for this giveaway I used the powers of Twitter, Threads, Goodreads, and Substack combined to push this. And despite the terrible launch of this book, it did pretty well. For the first time, one of my works landed on an Amazon top ten list. It ranked number 7 in pulp thrillers, and that is amazing for me. None of my stuff ever ranked that high on Amazon. I also got a four-star review, which I am happy with. And I hope there are more positive reviews to come. Did I giveaway hundreds? No. But a modest number of people now have or will at some point read the story. And I call that a success. It went very well.
But what is next? Well this week, it the giveaway switching from scifi horror, to horror dark fantasy, featuring the walking dead, monstrous birds being worshipped as angels, an eternal winter, and teen who’s trying to set the world right again It’s called Once Upon a Time in Boston, and it will be free from April 10th to April 14th.
The world broke decades ago. An eternal winter has engulfed the Earth. The dead no longer pass on, becoming souls trapped in decaying bodies. Humanoid feathered creatures known as Ravens come to collect the souls to escort them to the mysterious council to move on to the afterlife. Many people have come to believe the Ravens are angels; doing God’s work until the cosmos are fixed.
Tai is a teenager who learns this is a lie. The Ravens are doing something nefarious with the souls, and those who die are not moving on after death. Angry and frustrated with the recent loss of a loved one, Tai does something rash. He decides he will try to stop the Ravens. He will try to fix the world and overthrow this mysterious council. But he’s not doing it alone. He has found the aid of a Raven who holds a grudge against the council as well.
Grab free ebook copy @ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09947RR69
And that’s all I really got for this week. Just another giveaway. Will this go as well as Rainy Day Hotel? Will another one of my novellas end up on a top ten list again? Who knows? Let’s just see what happens. I will be blogging again soon.
P.S. Thank you to any all of you who gave my work a chance last week. You have no idea how much I really do appreciate it!
I actually had an awful virus over the past week. So I couldn’t do much of anything. But in my windows of feeling not quite so dead, I did dust off an old notebook and started writing a story. It has a young woman who inherits an estate from billionaire grandfather she never knew she had, a djinn, and it might be a murder mystery of some sort. It is a fun project so far. I hoping it will turn out to be something nice that I can publish and share with all of you in the future.
And then there is another thing that happened. This last week was the first Indie April give away. I gave away the kindle version of Rainy Day Hotel. And for this giveaway I used the powers of Twitter, Threads, Goodreads, and Substack combined to push this. And despite the terrible launch of this book, it did pretty well. For the first time, one of my works landed on an Amazon top ten list. It ranked number 7 in pulp thrillers, and that is amazing for me. None of my stuff ever ranked that high on Amazon. I also got a four-star review, which I am happy with. And I hope there are more positive reviews to come. Did I giveaway hundreds? No. But a modest number of people now have or will at some point read the story. And I call that a success. It went very well.
But what is next? Well this week, it the giveaway switching from scifi horror, to horror dark fantasy, featuring the walking dead, monstrous birds being worshipped as angels, an eternal winter, and teen who’s trying to set the world right again It’s called Once Upon a Time in Boston, and it will be free from April 10th to April 14th.
The world broke decades ago. An eternal winter has engulfed the Earth. The dead no longer pass on, becoming souls trapped in decaying bodies. Humanoid feathered creatures known as Ravens come to collect the souls to escort them to the mysterious council to move on to the afterlife. Many people have come to believe the Ravens are angels; doing God’s work until the cosmos are fixed.
Tai is a teenager who learns this is a lie. The Ravens are doing something nefarious with the souls, and those who die are not moving on after death. Angry and frustrated with the recent loss of a loved one, Tai does something rash. He decides he will try to stop the Ravens. He will try to fix the world and overthrow this mysterious council. But he’s not doing it alone. He has found the aid of a Raven who holds a grudge against the council as well.
Grab free ebook copy @ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09947RR69
And that’s all I really got for this week. Just another giveaway. Will this go as well as Rainy Day Hotel? Will another one of my novellas end up on a top ten list again? Who knows? Let’s just see what happens. I will be blogging again soon.
P.S. Thank you to any all of you who gave my work a chance last week. You have no idea how much I really do appreciate it!
April 1, 2024
Indie April is Here Which Means it's Time For Giveaways...and the First One is Rainy Day Hotel..
Hello everyone! I hope all is going well. Things are going on well my end. Finally got Rainy Day Hotel out. I just submitted the final version of the hardback version to go live on Amazon, and am looking forward to getting clean copies for some marketing ideas. Also, there’s this certain wintery mountain top horror story that I have been writing for the last three months or so that I finished! I finish the first draft the other night. So everything moving forward is brand new. And what is new stuff? Well, some of it is giveaways.
Indie April is coming up, and I hoping to do a giveaway away a different novella every week. I say hoping, because I am going hiking in the woods and mountains on an weeklong outdoorsy vacation. But first three weeks. Those are happening for sure.
And the first one up is obviously Rainy Day Hotel. I really wanna get this in the hands of people. And if people get a chance to check it out, hopefully I’ll get some reviews. I worked so hard on this. I really want people to read it.
The scifi horror thriller novella will be free from April 3rd to April 7th. You can grab your copy @ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXSH9FC2
And in case you forgot what it is about. I’ll post the synopsis down below.
Life is simple on Imber. There may be months of acid rain, but in the research base nicked named by the crew as Rainy Day Hotel, it’s pretty easygoing. At their own pace, they collect samples, do lab work, compile the results and wait for their employer to pick them up in a few months. But things turn sideways for the crew when a couple members run into alien life on what they thought was a desolate planet. And the worst part of it is, it followed them. The base is locked down, as the creatures dwell outside their doorstep. But all is not well as they wait it out. The crew that returned is injured and sick. A parasite was brought inside with them. So with monsters outside and a contagion inside, they must find a way to survive.
And that’s what I got for this week. I hope you take a chance on my novella. And have a lovely week.
Indie April is coming up, and I hoping to do a giveaway away a different novella every week. I say hoping, because I am going hiking in the woods and mountains on an weeklong outdoorsy vacation. But first three weeks. Those are happening for sure.
And the first one up is obviously Rainy Day Hotel. I really wanna get this in the hands of people. And if people get a chance to check it out, hopefully I’ll get some reviews. I worked so hard on this. I really want people to read it.
The scifi horror thriller novella will be free from April 3rd to April 7th. You can grab your copy @ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXSH9FC2
And in case you forgot what it is about. I’ll post the synopsis down below.
Life is simple on Imber. There may be months of acid rain, but in the research base nicked named by the crew as Rainy Day Hotel, it’s pretty easygoing. At their own pace, they collect samples, do lab work, compile the results and wait for their employer to pick them up in a few months. But things turn sideways for the crew when a couple members run into alien life on what they thought was a desolate planet. And the worst part of it is, it followed them. The base is locked down, as the creatures dwell outside their doorstep. But all is not well as they wait it out. The crew that returned is injured and sick. A parasite was brought inside with them. So with monsters outside and a contagion inside, they must find a way to survive.
And that’s what I got for this week. I hope you take a chance on my novella. And have a lovely week.
March 2, 2024
Let’s Talk About Upcoming Releases, Writing Groups, & A Snowy Mountaintop Dark Fantasy & A Bunch Of Other Stuff To Talk About
Hey all. I wanted to share another one of these update blogs, or newsletters, or whatever the heck you want to call them to let you all know what is going on. I think it’s been three weeks (or month maybe) since the last one so I wanted to share what’s going on. So what has been going on?
Well…. I have a confession to make. I’ve been distracted. After finishing the final draft of Rainy Day Hotel I just didn’t want to do anything with it for a while. I just wanted to enjoy the bliss of being done. And in that break I joined a local writing group at a book themed cafe which is incredibly lovely. And then in those sessions and during writing at home I returned to something I started around last September. It’s a wintery mountaintop horror, dark fantasy. I am making so much progress on it, and I am just reminded how storytelling is so much fun after crawling out of the sea of editing, beta readers, formatting, proofreading and blah blah blah. I’m having a really good time writing it, and I am looking forward to the day that I can share it with you in the future. But that is miles away.
What about now? I am shifting focus back to Rainy Day Hotel, and I am sure you want to know what is going on with that. So this is the tentative plan. I’m shooting for a March release. I’m gonna do a social media push with a free book giveaway during the first week, so that it can get some real reviews and get it in the hands of a lot of people at first. So there will be a press release and notes on Substack about t beforehand. I’ll release a newsletter on Goodreads. Threads and Twitter writing communities are going to hit with a bunch of ads. There will be an announcement on Scribophile. And quite possibly I may try to boost it with Freebooksy. I have looked into Amazon Ads, and the general feedback I heard is they aren’t as good as they appear to be. Booktasters seem good, but a tad shady. I would like to do more research before doing anything with them. And maybe Bookstagram.
Here me out. This is my Instagram, or Bookstagram as writers call it, idea I get my account going. I am constantly posting nature and hiking photos from my outdoorsy trips on Twitter and Threads already. So I’m thinking about making a paperback of my shorts, or longer projects (Or hardbacks of those said stories. Might hold up better in backpacks now that I think about it) and setting them up in really pretty places and taking a snapshot to promote my stuff. I don’t know how long it would take to a get physical copy made and delivered. It has been a long time since I used Print On Demand. But if it can be done in a timely nature, then I may do that as part of a promotion gig as well for Rainy Day Hotel. It’s just an idea. I’m not sure if it the idea will work overall, but it’s worth a try. And starting with almost no followers with Rainy Day Hotel? Why not give it a try? If nothing else, it might be a fun way to start a Bookstagram account and get a following.
Also, I am working on some other things sporadically. I am editing some rough drafts of some other stories, trying to figure out what I want to add to the editing block next and put on the route to publication. I’m also revising an older horror book called Hollows. I’m just smoothing it out of any mistakes I may have overlooked because I didn’t know about ProWritingAid at the time of the release. It’s never too late to go back and revise your work. I have a become so thorough in my editing process in the years since, that it is worth the effort to do so.
Also, one other thing. My book covers, especially on my older shorts, are quite shabby. So I really wanna redo some of those. Especially now that I have a professional art tablet. It all should be so much easier now.
But that is what’s going on. Like always, it is constant chaos. But things are getting done. Maybe it’s all done in a scattershot, almost seemingly nonsensical fashion. But a book is coming out. Writing is happening. New projects are on the way. I will have more news for you in future posts.
Well…. I have a confession to make. I’ve been distracted. After finishing the final draft of Rainy Day Hotel I just didn’t want to do anything with it for a while. I just wanted to enjoy the bliss of being done. And in that break I joined a local writing group at a book themed cafe which is incredibly lovely. And then in those sessions and during writing at home I returned to something I started around last September. It’s a wintery mountaintop horror, dark fantasy. I am making so much progress on it, and I am just reminded how storytelling is so much fun after crawling out of the sea of editing, beta readers, formatting, proofreading and blah blah blah. I’m having a really good time writing it, and I am looking forward to the day that I can share it with you in the future. But that is miles away.
What about now? I am shifting focus back to Rainy Day Hotel, and I am sure you want to know what is going on with that. So this is the tentative plan. I’m shooting for a March release. I’m gonna do a social media push with a free book giveaway during the first week, so that it can get some real reviews and get it in the hands of a lot of people at first. So there will be a press release and notes on Substack about t beforehand. I’ll release a newsletter on Goodreads. Threads and Twitter writing communities are going to hit with a bunch of ads. There will be an announcement on Scribophile. And quite possibly I may try to boost it with Freebooksy. I have looked into Amazon Ads, and the general feedback I heard is they aren’t as good as they appear to be. Booktasters seem good, but a tad shady. I would like to do more research before doing anything with them. And maybe Bookstagram.
Here me out. This is my Instagram, or Bookstagram as writers call it, idea I get my account going. I am constantly posting nature and hiking photos from my outdoorsy trips on Twitter and Threads already. So I’m thinking about making a paperback of my shorts, or longer projects (Or hardbacks of those said stories. Might hold up better in backpacks now that I think about it) and setting them up in really pretty places and taking a snapshot to promote my stuff. I don’t know how long it would take to a get physical copy made and delivered. It has been a long time since I used Print On Demand. But if it can be done in a timely nature, then I may do that as part of a promotion gig as well for Rainy Day Hotel. It’s just an idea. I’m not sure if it the idea will work overall, but it’s worth a try. And starting with almost no followers with Rainy Day Hotel? Why not give it a try? If nothing else, it might be a fun way to start a Bookstagram account and get a following.
Also, I am working on some other things sporadically. I am editing some rough drafts of some other stories, trying to figure out what I want to add to the editing block next and put on the route to publication. I’m also revising an older horror book called Hollows. I’m just smoothing it out of any mistakes I may have overlooked because I didn’t know about ProWritingAid at the time of the release. It’s never too late to go back and revise your work. I have a become so thorough in my editing process in the years since, that it is worth the effort to do so.
Also, one other thing. My book covers, especially on my older shorts, are quite shabby. So I really wanna redo some of those. Especially now that I have a professional art tablet. It all should be so much easier now.
But that is what’s going on. Like always, it is constant chaos. But things are getting done. Maybe it’s all done in a scattershot, almost seemingly nonsensical fashion. But a book is coming out. Writing is happening. New projects are on the way. I will have more news for you in future posts.
February 9, 2024
Rainy Hotel is Done. I'm Just Figuring Out How To Got About the Release Right Now and Some Other Random News
Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well. It has been a little while since the last post. And I’m happy to say I made quite a lot of progress. So let’s discuss it.
The main thing is Rainy Day Hotel is done. It’s finished, polished, formatted, and I actually finished the cover art for. Well, mostly finished the cover. I still may tweak it a little bit. But it’s ready to upload to KDP and thrown out into the world. And I have been enjoying blissful feeling of being done after a year of rewrites, and chaos! But the question now is, when is it going to be released? Well….I’m trying to figure that out. In the past, I kind of just threw things out there. Then I used Twitter to push things harder, and the result has been not the greatest to okay. So I’m just taking a moment to see what I can do to promote it. Should I do a giveaway? Maybe a pre order countdown thingy? Push on multiple social media outlets instead of just one? Because let’s face it. Twitter is not nearly as useful as it should be in the marketing department. Should purchase a digital ad service? Or maybe to do physical giveaways? I think because it’s only gonna be 70ish page story, it would be relatively cheap to produce paperbacks for a giveaway. But that would require a lot of courage that I’m not sure it at the moment. And I’m toying around with the thought of making a book trailer to coincide with the release. I do have audio files from reading the story out loud in the final polishing phase. One part in particular would be perfect to coincide with some sketches and a nice guitar rift. It’s something that I can do given a bit of time. But anyway, that is what is going on. I’m just brainstorming about how to go about this release at the moment, and will have a release date news soon.
Beyond that, I still need to decide what to work on next. I actually been busy with life, Rainy Day Hotel, and sick lately so it’s taking a longer than I wished. But the other night I printed out some rough drafts of a trio of stories. They include the science fiction Grey Matter, the dark fantasy Witches in the Castle (Working title for now), and the horror fantasy The Curse of Kiera White. As I go through them, I will make my final decision about what I will focus on next. I am dying to get something else closer to publication.
And that’s all I got for now. Sure it this might be a more dull update than usual, but I am quite happy that with the progress that is being made. And when I do finally release Rainy Day Hotel, I hope that some of you will give it a chance and enjoy it. I did work really hard on this.
The main thing is Rainy Day Hotel is done. It’s finished, polished, formatted, and I actually finished the cover art for. Well, mostly finished the cover. I still may tweak it a little bit. But it’s ready to upload to KDP and thrown out into the world. And I have been enjoying blissful feeling of being done after a year of rewrites, and chaos! But the question now is, when is it going to be released? Well….I’m trying to figure that out. In the past, I kind of just threw things out there. Then I used Twitter to push things harder, and the result has been not the greatest to okay. So I’m just taking a moment to see what I can do to promote it. Should I do a giveaway? Maybe a pre order countdown thingy? Push on multiple social media outlets instead of just one? Because let’s face it. Twitter is not nearly as useful as it should be in the marketing department. Should purchase a digital ad service? Or maybe to do physical giveaways? I think because it’s only gonna be 70ish page story, it would be relatively cheap to produce paperbacks for a giveaway. But that would require a lot of courage that I’m not sure it at the moment. And I’m toying around with the thought of making a book trailer to coincide with the release. I do have audio files from reading the story out loud in the final polishing phase. One part in particular would be perfect to coincide with some sketches and a nice guitar rift. It’s something that I can do given a bit of time. But anyway, that is what is going on. I’m just brainstorming about how to go about this release at the moment, and will have a release date news soon.
Beyond that, I still need to decide what to work on next. I actually been busy with life, Rainy Day Hotel, and sick lately so it’s taking a longer than I wished. But the other night I printed out some rough drafts of a trio of stories. They include the science fiction Grey Matter, the dark fantasy Witches in the Castle (Working title for now), and the horror fantasy The Curse of Kiera White. As I go through them, I will make my final decision about what I will focus on next. I am dying to get something else closer to publication.
And that’s all I got for now. Sure it this might be a more dull update than usual, but I am quite happy that with the progress that is being made. And when I do finally release Rainy Day Hotel, I hope that some of you will give it a chance and enjoy it. I did work really hard on this.
January 1, 2024
Got a Lot of Writing Goals for 2024....And I’m Probably Not Gonna Hit Most of Them. But Darn It! I’m Gonna Try.
Hello all. Happy 2024! It’s a new year. Woohoo! And wow! And after getting so little done in 2023, that I am ready to make up for it in 2024! Or at least attempt to. Because let’s be honest. I am one very scattered brained person with only so much time and way too many goals. But darn it! I’m gonna try!
So what are the goals for the upcoming year? The main one is to get Rainy Day Hotel out. That is my number one priority. I really want to finish polishing the final draft and get it out on KDP for others to read. I also want to continue to clean up a couple of older books I self-published a few years ago. Then I plan to advertise my novellas and short stories more to make sales. (I made almost nothing last year.) I’m gonna try to promote through multiple social media sites, get involved in writing communities again, maybe try some new in person stuff and possibly experiment with making book trailers/possible audio drama with sketches and audio material, I have from my editing process. I sketch a lot, and I read everything out loud while polishing the final draft. I always record the narration just I in case it turns out well enough for such a project. But those are my standard goals, rolling over from last year. I also want to do so much more.
What about everything else? Well, I cleaned up my home office during the holiday break, and I currently have seven half written short stories, four episodic short story projects (one of which I started the other night) and one really big half written novel. Yes. I am that crazy person with physical notebooks of half written stories laying around everywhere, But I do intend to finish some of these. The rest might be abandoned. Who knows? We’ll see what happens. I also have a story of the episodic Alice project that needs to be reworked. (The Alice project is a short story series where each tale focuses on a different woman named Alice who navigates a dark Wonderland) It was reviewed okay a while ago, but was missing something according to most critics, and I think I know a way to expand it, and make the story stronger. Since this particular tale deals so much with mental health, revenge, and crawling out of a spiral of madness, it needs this other part to make it whole.
And that’s all the fun stuff I want to do Because I love writing. It is the best part. Even if most of it does not see the light of day, it’s just a joy to create these worlds. But sadly, for it to see the light of day, there is all that stuff that feels like work.
So what is the work plan after Rainy Day Hotel? All my short stories have been progressively getting longer. All the works that are on my computer currently are novella (or very close to novella) length, except for one and I think that one is gonna need some reworking. So they all are gonna require a lot work. So at the moment for what I’m gonna edit for publication next, I’m thinking of tackling a scifi story called Grey Matter or a one of my dark fantasy horrors The Curse of Kiera White or The Witches in the Castle. I’m sure it’s gonna be one of these three. Rainy Day Hotel is kinda of a tragic horror tale, and these are more fun. And I want to edit something more fun. Also, if I manage to get that Alice story expanded and reworked, I really will try to get that out there in self publication as well. But it all boils down to how much time I have.
So that is the absolute chaotic plan for 2024. It’s gonna be scattered brained craziness where I bounce around projects while marketing my stuff and trying to squeeze this all around my day job and life somehow. I guess that’s the joy of self publishing. Especially when you write a lot of different stuff. Sometimes I wish traditional publishing wasn’t a cocktail of the waiting game and rejection letters. But this is somehow better I think because I still tend to get stuff out there for people to read on Kindle faster than a collection would take to be considered, accepted, and released through the publication process. I just need to work harder at actually selling my stuff.
As the year goes on, I’ll continue to update you all about the journey. Will the next Alice story finally come out? What is Rainy Day Hotel’s release date? What projects will be abandoned? What do I finally choose to put through the editing process next? Will I find the courage to do some sort of in person marketing? These questions will be answered in the future.
With all that said, happy new year everyone! I hope your 2024 is off to a new start, and I hope that good things are coming your way.
P.S. I also apologize for the radio silence here. 2023 was a crazy year for me personally. I'm gonna get better at blogging throughout the new year, and improve my social media presence this year where I don't disappear for months at a time.
So what are the goals for the upcoming year? The main one is to get Rainy Day Hotel out. That is my number one priority. I really want to finish polishing the final draft and get it out on KDP for others to read. I also want to continue to clean up a couple of older books I self-published a few years ago. Then I plan to advertise my novellas and short stories more to make sales. (I made almost nothing last year.) I’m gonna try to promote through multiple social media sites, get involved in writing communities again, maybe try some new in person stuff and possibly experiment with making book trailers/possible audio drama with sketches and audio material, I have from my editing process. I sketch a lot, and I read everything out loud while polishing the final draft. I always record the narration just I in case it turns out well enough for such a project. But those are my standard goals, rolling over from last year. I also want to do so much more.
What about everything else? Well, I cleaned up my home office during the holiday break, and I currently have seven half written short stories, four episodic short story projects (one of which I started the other night) and one really big half written novel. Yes. I am that crazy person with physical notebooks of half written stories laying around everywhere, But I do intend to finish some of these. The rest might be abandoned. Who knows? We’ll see what happens. I also have a story of the episodic Alice project that needs to be reworked. (The Alice project is a short story series where each tale focuses on a different woman named Alice who navigates a dark Wonderland) It was reviewed okay a while ago, but was missing something according to most critics, and I think I know a way to expand it, and make the story stronger. Since this particular tale deals so much with mental health, revenge, and crawling out of a spiral of madness, it needs this other part to make it whole.
And that’s all the fun stuff I want to do Because I love writing. It is the best part. Even if most of it does not see the light of day, it’s just a joy to create these worlds. But sadly, for it to see the light of day, there is all that stuff that feels like work.
So what is the work plan after Rainy Day Hotel? All my short stories have been progressively getting longer. All the works that are on my computer currently are novella (or very close to novella) length, except for one and I think that one is gonna need some reworking. So they all are gonna require a lot work. So at the moment for what I’m gonna edit for publication next, I’m thinking of tackling a scifi story called Grey Matter or a one of my dark fantasy horrors The Curse of Kiera White or The Witches in the Castle. I’m sure it’s gonna be one of these three. Rainy Day Hotel is kinda of a tragic horror tale, and these are more fun. And I want to edit something more fun. Also, if I manage to get that Alice story expanded and reworked, I really will try to get that out there in self publication as well. But it all boils down to how much time I have.
So that is the absolute chaotic plan for 2024. It’s gonna be scattered brained craziness where I bounce around projects while marketing my stuff and trying to squeeze this all around my day job and life somehow. I guess that’s the joy of self publishing. Especially when you write a lot of different stuff. Sometimes I wish traditional publishing wasn’t a cocktail of the waiting game and rejection letters. But this is somehow better I think because I still tend to get stuff out there for people to read on Kindle faster than a collection would take to be considered, accepted, and released through the publication process. I just need to work harder at actually selling my stuff.
As the year goes on, I’ll continue to update you all about the journey. Will the next Alice story finally come out? What is Rainy Day Hotel’s release date? What projects will be abandoned? What do I finally choose to put through the editing process next? Will I find the courage to do some sort of in person marketing? These questions will be answered in the future.
With all that said, happy new year everyone! I hope your 2024 is off to a new start, and I hope that good things are coming your way.
P.S. I also apologize for the radio silence here. 2023 was a crazy year for me personally. I'm gonna get better at blogging throughout the new year, and improve my social media presence this year where I don't disappear for months at a time.
July 8, 2023
Rainy Day Hotel is a Little Closer to Publication & There's a Free Short Story Giveaway This Week
Hey there. It has been a while since I posted. And in that time, I been working behind the scenes on some things. What things? Well, let me update you on all of it.
First of all, Rainy Day Hotel is finally sent out to beta readers through Scribophile. And finally, new critiques are trickling in. With the short story now around 80 pages long with the recent rewrite, I know its a bit of waiting game for all the reviews before the possible final rounds of edits. I strongly feel that there is going to be a lot of positive feedback for this one, with all the work so far and I am so close to the final draft. In the meantime, I am working on putting together some cover art until all the reviews come in.
Beyond that, I’ve been writing some new stuff and figuring out what to edit on next. I’ve been jotting down a fantasy tale with a blind protagonist. It’s a half finished novella so far. But I’m sure I’ll see it to the end, and some day it’ll be a kindle release for all to read. But as for what can be on track for self publishing next, I’m still trying to figure that out. I have been working so long on this horror thriller, that I wanted to work on something a bit more simple and different. A change of pace would be really nice. I have a scifi short story on my computer. It’s about a man who moves into a house that an invisible girl is squatting in, and it’s a bit of a scifi romance. I think I’m gonna clean it up, share it around, and see what the reactions are before I consider self publishing it. Those raw reactions are so incredibly important.
And lastly, I wanted to do a giveaway. I haven’t given away a short story in a long time. And because its the middle of summer and hot for a lot of people, it might be nice to read an urban fantasy about a half siren girl who can control water. It’s called The Siren on Berry Ave and I will post the synopsis down below.
Half-bood. It’s a term for those not quite human. Offspring of monsters and humans. It is an issue that the United States has not known how to deal with. The solution for the longest time was to lock them away from the public. But when a new law is passed to make them citizens, and they are released into the world.
One of these half-bloods is Cyan. A teenage girl with a Siren blood flowing through her veins. With her mom long gone, her step father takes her in and, for the first time, enters the real world. But it’s not an easy one for a half-blood. In a world that hates monsters, it’s hard to find her place in it. And as she tries to find her way, she knows the monstrous half of her family is out there. And she fears he may come for her.
This e short story will be free from July 12th to July 16th, and you can grab your copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09X4STDYY.
And that is all that I have for now. I wish that I had something more exciting, but I don’t at the moment. I apologize for being slow as I work on this sort of stuff lately. Since taking a new job a year ago, my time management skills toward my writing after long work days (and work weeks), has been poor. But I’m not giving up. I got too much stuff written down to not share it with the world. Have a good week all. I hope have a new stuff ready in the near future.
First of all, Rainy Day Hotel is finally sent out to beta readers through Scribophile. And finally, new critiques are trickling in. With the short story now around 80 pages long with the recent rewrite, I know its a bit of waiting game for all the reviews before the possible final rounds of edits. I strongly feel that there is going to be a lot of positive feedback for this one, with all the work so far and I am so close to the final draft. In the meantime, I am working on putting together some cover art until all the reviews come in.
Beyond that, I’ve been writing some new stuff and figuring out what to edit on next. I’ve been jotting down a fantasy tale with a blind protagonist. It’s a half finished novella so far. But I’m sure I’ll see it to the end, and some day it’ll be a kindle release for all to read. But as for what can be on track for self publishing next, I’m still trying to figure that out. I have been working so long on this horror thriller, that I wanted to work on something a bit more simple and different. A change of pace would be really nice. I have a scifi short story on my computer. It’s about a man who moves into a house that an invisible girl is squatting in, and it’s a bit of a scifi romance. I think I’m gonna clean it up, share it around, and see what the reactions are before I consider self publishing it. Those raw reactions are so incredibly important.
And lastly, I wanted to do a giveaway. I haven’t given away a short story in a long time. And because its the middle of summer and hot for a lot of people, it might be nice to read an urban fantasy about a half siren girl who can control water. It’s called The Siren on Berry Ave and I will post the synopsis down below.
Half-bood. It’s a term for those not quite human. Offspring of monsters and humans. It is an issue that the United States has not known how to deal with. The solution for the longest time was to lock them away from the public. But when a new law is passed to make them citizens, and they are released into the world.
One of these half-bloods is Cyan. A teenage girl with a Siren blood flowing through her veins. With her mom long gone, her step father takes her in and, for the first time, enters the real world. But it’s not an easy one for a half-blood. In a world that hates monsters, it’s hard to find her place in it. And as she tries to find her way, she knows the monstrous half of her family is out there. And she fears he may come for her.
This e short story will be free from July 12th to July 16th, and you can grab your copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09X4STDYY.
And that is all that I have for now. I wish that I had something more exciting, but I don’t at the moment. I apologize for being slow as I work on this sort of stuff lately. Since taking a new job a year ago, my time management skills toward my writing after long work days (and work weeks), has been poor. But I’m not giving up. I got too much stuff written down to not share it with the world. Have a good week all. I hope have a new stuff ready in the near future.
June 3, 2023
Another Round of Updates
Hello there. Its been a while since my last post. I know its been a little bit of a wastelands on my Goodreads blog, but I promise I am working on stuff behind the scenes. So let’s discuss the progress I’ve made since the last post.
First of all, the Rainy Day Hotel rewrite is finished. That story had mixed reviews, but beta readers seemed to generally like it. But it had some glaring issues that many of the readers had complaints about. So I decided to rework it, make it more exciting. I added characters, added a fourth and fifth act, and really let my imagination go wild taking full advantage of the alien exotic world in Rainy Day Hotel. But after so much work, I realized the story jumped the shark. It had completely derailed and turned into an over the top scifi odyssey when the original theme was a grounded scifi horror thriller. And that original vibe is what the beta readers loved so much. So then I scaled it back. I kept some of the new elements that fit the tone and worked them into the original template to create a stronger and much longer version of the other original tale. I am going to be sending this new draft out to beta readers on Scribophile very soon. I am hopeful that the response will be more positive than the original draft but I’m open to all sorts of constructive criticism. If they are positive then I am looking forward to moving onto the next step of the publication process.
Second of all, the revised version of Palm’s Inn is done and uploaded to the Kindle Store. Its the original tale that is all cleaned up errors, plot holes, and has some improved flow. Its one of the first things I self published as a teen, but it seems to be worth the effort to clean up and keep online for the world to see. At least I think it was worth the effort. So feel free to check that out if it sounds like your thing. Its quite different than the stuff I write today, but it might find an audience.
And that’s all I got for now. I wish that I had more to share. I want to have more to share. But I don’t even know what the next project is gonna be. I have been super focused on these two things, with my limited time around work lately. But I’m sure I’ve have fun stuff to share in the future though.
First of all, the Rainy Day Hotel rewrite is finished. That story had mixed reviews, but beta readers seemed to generally like it. But it had some glaring issues that many of the readers had complaints about. So I decided to rework it, make it more exciting. I added characters, added a fourth and fifth act, and really let my imagination go wild taking full advantage of the alien exotic world in Rainy Day Hotel. But after so much work, I realized the story jumped the shark. It had completely derailed and turned into an over the top scifi odyssey when the original theme was a grounded scifi horror thriller. And that original vibe is what the beta readers loved so much. So then I scaled it back. I kept some of the new elements that fit the tone and worked them into the original template to create a stronger and much longer version of the other original tale. I am going to be sending this new draft out to beta readers on Scribophile very soon. I am hopeful that the response will be more positive than the original draft but I’m open to all sorts of constructive criticism. If they are positive then I am looking forward to moving onto the next step of the publication process.
Second of all, the revised version of Palm’s Inn is done and uploaded to the Kindle Store. Its the original tale that is all cleaned up errors, plot holes, and has some improved flow. Its one of the first things I self published as a teen, but it seems to be worth the effort to clean up and keep online for the world to see. At least I think it was worth the effort. So feel free to check that out if it sounds like your thing. Its quite different than the stuff I write today, but it might find an audience.
And that’s all I got for now. I wish that I had more to share. I want to have more to share. But I don’t even know what the next project is gonna be. I have been super focused on these two things, with my limited time around work lately. But I’m sure I’ve have fun stuff to share in the future though.
April 9, 2023
Some New Updates After A Very Long Time
Hi there all. It has been quite a while since a blog, any updates, new short stories or even promotions. Other than some Twitter activity and my reading progress on Goodreads.com, I became a ghost. So what happened? Where did I go? Well, I’m a geologist who got a very big job and had to make a big move and now have this weird crazy schedule and I have been trying to balance this new status quo with writing. And finally some stuff has been happening. And I got some updates for you.
First of all, Palm’s Inn. I’ve been going back through my earliest self published stuff and doing revisions because I want the best of the best versions of my stuff out there. And early last year I was cleaning up Palm’s Inn. And its completely revised now. I am formatting the new draft and will be uploading it to the Kindle store.
Also I am slowly but surely making progress on getting a new novella closer to publication. Its a horror thriller tale called Rainy Day Hotel.
Another thing is, I’m running a discount on an anthology. Flying Pigs and Witches will be $.99 on Tuesday. Synopsis and information is down below.
Lily must travel to a scientific dystopia to save her husband. A gunslinging Alice is looking for a way out of a dark Wonderland. A cashier must take the late shift in a haunted retail store. Siblings Liz and Denny encounter an evil witch in the woods. A teenager learns his uncle is a wizard. A little girl races into another world to get back her favorite socks. This is a collection of eight short stories stretching across horror, fantasy, and science fiction.
This collection includes:
-The Island
-Late Shift at Pennies
-Socks and Fluffle Puffs
-Somewhere Beyond the Sea
-My Name Is...
-Alice: Winter's Story
-Secrets of Charles Mahogany
-Vanity
This book will be $.99 from April 11th 2023 to April 18th 2023. The discounted Kindle edition will be found at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TZBTYWB
And that is what I got. I would like to give more updates more often. If I can find a balance between my day job and writing then there might be fun stuff coming very soon.
First of all, Palm’s Inn. I’ve been going back through my earliest self published stuff and doing revisions because I want the best of the best versions of my stuff out there. And early last year I was cleaning up Palm’s Inn. And its completely revised now. I am formatting the new draft and will be uploading it to the Kindle store.
Also I am slowly but surely making progress on getting a new novella closer to publication. Its a horror thriller tale called Rainy Day Hotel.
Another thing is, I’m running a discount on an anthology. Flying Pigs and Witches will be $.99 on Tuesday. Synopsis and information is down below.
Lily must travel to a scientific dystopia to save her husband. A gunslinging Alice is looking for a way out of a dark Wonderland. A cashier must take the late shift in a haunted retail store. Siblings Liz and Denny encounter an evil witch in the woods. A teenager learns his uncle is a wizard. A little girl races into another world to get back her favorite socks. This is a collection of eight short stories stretching across horror, fantasy, and science fiction.
This collection includes:
-The Island
-Late Shift at Pennies
-Socks and Fluffle Puffs
-Somewhere Beyond the Sea
-My Name Is...
-Alice: Winter's Story
-Secrets of Charles Mahogany
-Vanity
This book will be $.99 from April 11th 2023 to April 18th 2023. The discounted Kindle edition will be found at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TZBTYWB
And that is what I got. I would like to give more updates more often. If I can find a balance between my day job and writing then there might be fun stuff coming very soon.
September 5, 2022
Siren on Berry Avenue is Free This Week!
Hello there. It’s been a while since I done one of these. A very long while. And you’re probably wondering what has been going on? Wel,l a lot has been going on. In the last three years, my life has been a whirlwind. I had the job from hell that overworked me until I was broken, then came the pandemic where I was hustling to get a job and stability, then the warehouse adventures and Fedex while hustling to interview after interview, and then finally I was hired at a good job back in the field of geology in July. The catch is, I had to move across the state. I have done a good job making progress on my books throughout most of this, but in May and June I was so exhausted it became hard to do so, and I certainly can’t do work concerning my books during the move. But now it’s September. I’m settled into a new city and I am ready to get back to work. So this is what is going on now?
I am trying to get back into the swing of things. I have resumed editing Rainy Day Hotel. It is a scifi short story about some researchers on another planet dealing with aliens. I’m close to polishing up the first draft entirely, but I am seriously considering adding another act to the tale. Also, I know I have a couple half edited tales that I need to revisit as well. So something will get done, eventually.
Also, I hope to get back to cleaning up Palm’s Inn as well. I like to go back and revise my really old stuff, and I hope to cleaning up Palm’s Inn soon.
And finally, because things are going so well for me personally, I wanted to do some giveaways. throughout the fall I’m going to be giving away free stories. And I am starting with a free promo of Siren on Berry Avenue. I’ll post the synopsis below.
Half-bood. It’s a term for those not quite human. Off spring of monsters and humans. It is an issue that the United States has not known how to deal with. The solution for the longest time was to lock them away from the public. But when a new law is passed to make them citizens, and they are released into the world.
One of these half-bloods is Cyan. A teenage girl with a Siren blood flowing through her veins. With her mom long gone, her step father takes her in and, for the first time, enters the real world. But it’s not an easy one for a half-blood. In a world that hates monsters, it’s hard to find her place in it. And as she tries to find her way, she knows the monstrous half of her family is out there. And she fears he may come for her.
This is Free on Kindle from September 6th to September 10th. You can grab your copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09X4STDYY
That is all I have for this week. I hope you have a good week, and I’ll have more fun stuff coming soon.
I am trying to get back into the swing of things. I have resumed editing Rainy Day Hotel. It is a scifi short story about some researchers on another planet dealing with aliens. I’m close to polishing up the first draft entirely, but I am seriously considering adding another act to the tale. Also, I know I have a couple half edited tales that I need to revisit as well. So something will get done, eventually.
Also, I hope to get back to cleaning up Palm’s Inn as well. I like to go back and revise my really old stuff, and I hope to cleaning up Palm’s Inn soon.
And finally, because things are going so well for me personally, I wanted to do some giveaways. throughout the fall I’m going to be giving away free stories. And I am starting with a free promo of Siren on Berry Avenue. I’ll post the synopsis below.
Half-bood. It’s a term for those not quite human. Off spring of monsters and humans. It is an issue that the United States has not known how to deal with. The solution for the longest time was to lock them away from the public. But when a new law is passed to make them citizens, and they are released into the world.
One of these half-bloods is Cyan. A teenage girl with a Siren blood flowing through her veins. With her mom long gone, her step father takes her in and, for the first time, enters the real world. But it’s not an easy one for a half-blood. In a world that hates monsters, it’s hard to find her place in it. And as she tries to find her way, she knows the monstrous half of her family is out there. And she fears he may come for her.
This is Free on Kindle from September 6th to September 10th. You can grab your copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09X4STDYY
That is all I have for this week. I hope you have a good week, and I’ll have more fun stuff coming soon.
