Josh Handrich's Blog

Hello fellow book lovers! Are you a fan of Indiana Jones or the various books by Dan Brown? The Oceanus Project is an idea that's been floating around in my head for two years. I've played around with the idea of a treasure hunting series set around Jonas Stone, an unknown but brilliant underwater archaeologist and historian who is recruited to find a lost shipwreck. In it, he and his son discover an object so mind boggling that an entire crew is taken hostage and killed. It's an underwater thriller with loads of potential.
Do I have your interest? My only problem is I don't know what angle I want. Should I go with a supernatural theme like The Abyss and Raiders of the Lost Ark? Or keep it earth-based and stick to the science? I look at Jurassic Park, a novel and movie I loved. The science—hokey as it was—sparked debate about what could we do with technology, and what should we do if given the opportunity.
Your thoughts?

My first review!

It took eight months, but I finally got a book review. Book bloggers can make or break you, and Eric Swett from mywriterscramp.com went out of his way to let readers know what they can expect from Kingdom of Rage. Here's what he said:


There is a lot going on in the world today, and it is harder than ever to tell the difference between your enemies and your friends; at least when you're talking on the world stage. When reporter Rich Fordham goes after the story that would cement his name amongst the greatest stars of television journalism, he gets caught up in a plot that twists and turns until Rich is no longer sure exactly who he can trust.

“Kingdom of Rage is an excellent, high intensity thriller that grips you by the hand and pulls you along at a breakneck pace.”

Josh Handrich's Kingdom of Rage is an excellent, high intensity thriller that grips you by the hand and pulls you along at a breakneck pace. I would love to give you some details here, but I don't want to ruin any of it, but I will say that as the events unfold you want to think that it wouldn't happen that way, but the writing is so good, and the storytelling so compelling that instead you scratch your chin and say, "yeah, I can see that," and feel all of the appropriate emotion to match the scene.

The characters are all distinct and believable, each with their unique set of character traits that helps to make them something more than the archetypes they could easily represent. While I have never been to the Middle East, the author paints a picture of it that helps the reader feel a sense of familiarity that can be hard to achieve. The books pace is quick and has enough ups and downs in it that I often had to check my Kindle to see how much more of the book there was.

If there is a problem with this book it is that the main character sets some events in motion early in the book, and doesn't tell the reader what he has done. While I understand the need for this in order to keep the suspense high, it occasionally felt like a little deus ex machina on occasion. It may have been better to drop a couple of hints along the way so that when the preparations come into play the reader can have that AHA! moment.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys some high action and political intrigue.

You can buy the book HERE.

My review of Josh Handrich's first novel: Raw Vengeance.

Full book review

Are you an avid reader? Do you like reading thrillers? I’m giving away three (3) copies of Kingdom of Rage , hard copies of my debut novel. That’s a $10 value....FREE.  All I ask in return is for you to submit a review of the story for Amazon. All it takes is ten minutes write up a short description of what you thought of the book.

Interested? PM me on Facebook or email me at richfordhamseries@yahoo.com

“If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all.”~Dan Rather
To celebrate Memorial Day, I'm kicking off a 3-day sale where for the first time you can buy Kingdom of Rage and Raw Vengeance for the lowest price ever: each a whopping $0.99. That's hours of entertainment for less than a buck. Take advantage of this before time runs out. 
You may wonder what else is on my radar. I've spent the last six month outlining The Oceanus Project, but have yet the inspiration to start writing. The more time I think about it, the less enthused I am. It's not that I don't think that it has the potential to become a great story, but the storyline needs to be simplified. I was trying too hard to be all things in one book; what I mean is I wanted it to be an action thriller, political, this and that, and it was just too much. There were nuclear attack submarines, archaeological discoveries, religious extremists, so you can see that I didn't have a clear-cut idea of what to do. 
The problem is, I don't know what road I want the Rich Fordham Series to venture down. After watching the House of Cards on Netflix, I'm extremely torn about the amount of violence, action, and suspense needed to keep the audience addicted. I mention Cards because the writing is superb. There's little if any violence and the story is authentic. I want to write a story that is well-written enough that it doesn't need gimmicks to keep the flow moving. But, what would the Crichtons and Browns of the world say? Unfortunately, the House music I listen to while I'm writing isn't piped in through a person's iPad. 
For Oceanus, I vow to write a fascinating story, create unforgettable characters, and keep with my own style employing technical gadgets and fast-moving dialogue and action. Originally, I was going to use a "Jesus theme" to make the book more controversial, now I realize that the idea is unoriginal. Plus, I have no desire to debate religious scholars who have spent their entire life devoted to studying Him. 
To the veterans that I have had the privilege of talking with and writing about, happy Memorial Day. I am duly humbled by your service to our country and take great pride in including service members in my stories. 

Book reviews are the backbone of book promotion. No reviews = poor book sales. Kingdom of Rage has been on sale since November but has only garnered two reviews. If you've read the book, all I need is five minutes of your time telling others how much you loved (or hated) the story. That's all it takes. Word of mouth is critical in publishing.

Here's where to go:  Kingdom of Rage 

I want to preface this by announcing that Kingdom of Rage is back on sale on Barnes & Noble and Smashwords!
Much of the last month I've been hemming and hawing over the The Oceanus Project's outline. Like any creative project, what you start out with is vastly different than the final product. If you're new to book outlining, there are two ways you can write a novel: first, you can create a cast of characters and a theme and launch head first into a story, without knowing how the book is going to end until you actually write it. The second is a little more complicated: create an outline of the entire book, with a rough sketch of how you want each chapter to travel. The later is much more sensical in my case because action thrillers utilize red herrings and multiple subplots, making them much easier to plan. 
There are multiple stages of outlining. Sounds monotonous but it's actually the most important part because it allows you to put multiple ideas down onto paper—in this case the screen. I may have ten different paths the story could go, and I need to narrow it down to one. A week from now I may decide that the first path doesn't work. This happened a day ago when I realized that I had a serious plot hole in the opening scene. If I missed it, I would have written gobs of pages only to have to edit or delete out entire sections. What a waste of time that would be. 
The first stage is deciding what the general theme is and how can I incorporate the last book into this one. That's difficult because the last book is set in stone whereas I have flexibility with the current one. 
Once you choose the theme, then you get into the nitty-gritty: the characters, subplots, and plausibility and entertainment value of events. If the scene isn't exciting, I edit it until it is or I scrap it. 
The third part is the worst: second-guessing your work and running the outline through the emotional meat-grinder. Does the story work? Will people read it? Is it dreck? Self-doubt is a normal and sobering part of the process. But it keeps it real. 
Where I am at now is in the plausibility stage. I found an enormous plot hole in the first section and need to work through it or come up with an alternate scene. Solving this could take five seconds or five weeks. 
Some novelists can push out books faster than a Taylor Swift relationship, but I'm not one of them. Below is how I feel.

The one hundred mark is so close but it eludes me. Kingdom of Rage sales stagnated at seventy-four, so I need your help. I want to reach the big 100 by the end of February. To light the fire, I've discounted the book 30%. Reaching this goal would be a pivotal milestone and would inspire my latest project, The Oceanus Project, the third installment in the Rich Fordham Series.
Amazon

I asked friends on Facebook a few weeks ago to give me their opinion on what kind of story I should write next. They had two options to choose from, the first being a sequel to Kingdom of Rage, and would pick up where the story left off. The second, tentatively named The Oceanus Project, has a mysterious theme, one where professional divers find an object hidden within the remains of an ancient Roman shipwreck. I was naturally drawn to the idea of the unknown, the only problem is my brain seems to have stroked out because I can’t figure out what the object should do or if it has any mystical powers. 
This brings me to the book Deception Point, by Dan Brown. In it, scientists discover a large sphere hidden deep in the Arctic ice. Once free, they find traces of extraterrestrial life, proof that we are not alone in the universe. The story was fascinating and gave me the inspiration to try to give life to my mysterious object. But wait, there’s more: the object actually exists. The object was found in the early 20th century and archaeologists were able to ascertain what the object was designed for. It’s the world’s first analog computer, a device eons ahead of anything else. You are either saying 'gee whiz' or 'that's pretty cool'. 
So, that’s where I’m at. What, if anything, does this thing do? Does it have supernatural powers? Is it like the movie Abyss where the thing comes alive? Sci-fi isn’t really my style. Does it have healing powers? Is it sinister? Good? Save the world or destroy it? There’s my problem: almost everything has been done. What would Michael Crichton, Dan Brown, or Tom Clancy do? Thinking...thinking...
Or I could go Indiana Jones on it and make Biblical references—but I don’t know anything about the Bible. Sigh. 
After jotting down over five pages of notes, admittedly I’m stuck. Well, sort of. I want to stick with the media theme, although I don’t think Rich Fordham is going to make the cut. I love his character but making the transition from book to book is extremely difficult to make plausible. 
I like the idea of having a protagonist that has a former military or law enforcement background who delves into the world of underwater photography, journalism, and documentary filmmaking. Something in his/her day job causes them to burn out and retire. 
Let’s take a step back for a moment. When I was plotting a story for Kingdom, it took a good 6-12 months before my epiphany finally struck. The only problem I’ve discovered is that people aren’t inclined to read a story that take place in the Middle East by an unknown author. That’s why I’m trying to figure out a way to keep elements of Oceanus local. When people read they love it when they see a restaurant, city, street, or hotel that they recognize. “Oh! I’ve been there!” they say. 
Oceanus needs to have adventure...romance...mystique...you get the picture. I want characters that are just as interesting and provocative as the object that draws you in immediately. 
By now, you’ve come up with your images of what would make for an epic escapist novel. What do you think I should write about? What should the object do? Any characters that scream out at you?

After jotting down over five pages of notes, the outline for the Kingdom of Rage sequel is no where near complete. There are so many options of where to take the story; *spoiler alert* the first book ended with Saeed’s death and Rich and Gabe were taken into custody and charged with treason by the FBI. The ending was purposefully left open-ended for continuity.

With tensions in Benghazi, Syria, and the Muslim world taking much of the media spotlight, it seems natural to continue the story with a theme of religious fundamentalism. With the uproar over a silly YouTube video, I can see putting my own spin on the video that Rich was forced to make in the first torture scene. Does that mean that the setting should remain in the Middle East? Nothing is off limits.

Rich’s quest to become a world-renowned journalist ended with him being escorted out of a restaurant in shackles. What is really going on? There is an underlying conspiracy that Rich is still unaware of. The question is, how does he find out? By accident? An attack? What would Tom Clancy do? He’d probably devise some uber-methodical contraption that takes fifty pages to describe. I like his work, but he’s a bit long winded.

What fans continue to tell me is they love the technical details, weapons systems, all the gadgets that make 007 flicks so much fun. One movie that struck my attention is Batman, The Dark Knight Rises. Directed by Chris Nolan, it has all the elements needed of a successful action thriller. Granted, I'm not into fantasy-like characters; mine are all people taken straight out of the headlines. This may not be as dramatic, but I prefer a sense of realism because it hits you on a more personal level.

I need your ideas. Where do you want the story to go? What characters should I add? Should I make the theme darker or has it hit its sweet spot? Let me know, and if I like your ideas, I may even include you in the book. How’d you like to see your name in print?

For those of you that have finished Kingdom, let me know how much you liked it. I love feedback and look forward to satisfying your inner thriller seeker.

Linzember started off slow, and at times I was concerned that donations and sales would fail to reach our goal of reaching $1,000. Some very gracious people came forward and helped out when Lindsay needed the financial help the most. After tallying the sales and getting final numbers, I'm proud to say that we actually exceeded our goal. That’s right, we hit the $1,300 mark!

To those that donated: thank you, you know who you are and we’re extremely gracious for your act of generosity. Thanks and happy new year!  Here’s to a happy 2013!