Horror Comics

My father used to buy stacks of comics once a week when we were kids.  I remember, Haunted Tales, House of Horror, The Witching Hour, House of Secrets, Unexpected, Ghosts, Weird Tales, just to name a few.   The comics cost $0.15 to $0.25 each.  Find the same ones on eBay now, and you'll pay much, much more.  (Had we only known!)

My brother and I awakened well before sunrise during the summer to read these.  I was six-years-old but I never found the tales actually scary.  The artwork for the ghosts and skeletons was captivating, often making me develop my own stories in my mind, molding my early creativity.  As people say, "A picture is worth a thousand words."  While this is true, a picture also has other tales that can be siphoned from it.

We all see things differently and it's good to breakaway from the cookie-cutter mentality and be different.  And that's what I hope readers come away with after reading my novels.  Originality.  Something different from the norm.  If they have, I hope they tell all their reading friends.

Cloudy Rainy Days

My creativeness tends to thrive on days when the sun is hidden behind clouds.  Rain is a bonus.  I believe this correlation comes because without the sunshine, I have little outside attractions and I also have this sense of shelter, as the clouds are a cushion that surround and enclose me.

I am also a huge fan of thick fog, as long as I don't have to drive through it.  I love how sheets of fog roll in and make familiar areas mystical.  Once, when I was about six years old, I awakened to see our yard swamped in by thick fog.  I've yet to encounter another day quite like this one.  You couldn't see more than a foot ahead of you, and as a child I found this frightening and fun at the same time.  It's strange when swirling mists flow around you and moisture drips from leaves and buildings.  I believe this sensation is why such fog hung over Pittsburgh in Predators of Darkness: Aftermath.  Add blood-thirsty monsters to the mix, and you have a page-turning scare ride.

Today it's raining, so time to get busy working on my novel.

Fischer-Price Memories

I don't understand why my mind seems to recall so many instances from my youth, but a lot of my imagination developed during that time.  In part to escape how we were raised by an overbearing father and in part because my sister and I grew up in the time when "kids were to be seen, not heard."  Understand, this was also before cable networks took over television broadcasting.  We had three stations, one of which might come in clear enough to watch if the wind blew properly.

So television had little hold or control over us.  My sister and I spent countless hours playing with Fischer-Price Little People.  We created, for us, what we believed the perfect family life should be.  It was our little place to dream our dreams without outside interference telling us we couldn't.  We had a lot of great adventures together that time has not erased.

Lately, I keep having dreams of my old homestead where my sister and I were raised.  The dreams are pleasant, as are a lot of my memories.  Unless a time machine is ever invented, we cannot travel back to our past physically, but mentally, we can.  Not all memories are great, but I've learned to take the bad and apply those lessons to my life.  I believe I'm a better person for the experiences I've had.

I believe I've always been destined to be a writer because I've always tried to figure out why people do bad things to others.  Whenever someone deliberately did me wrong, I'd review the situation over and over in my mind, trying to figure out why they did what they did.  It never gave me a direct answer, but it developed my craft of seeing how others might think.  And perhaps this is why I am able to get into the minds of the characters in my books.

Writer's Notebook

As part of class requirement as I pursue my MFA in creative writing, I am supposed to keep a writing notebook journal.  This nifty idea is something I used to do.  It's really a great idea.  There are many times when an idea hits and you don't have anything to write it down on.  The old mentality is that "I'll remember it."  But, sadly, this doesn't seem to happen.

I would have never written Predators of Darkness: Aftermath had I not immediately put down words to paper the night the opening line came to me.  This gift from the Netherworld was a mere piece I could have easily lost if I had not realized its true importance.  However, I never imagined the series would be up to four books, either.  That is something the characters decided, and I've listened.  I've not been disappointed with the outcome, and honestly, I cannot wait to get back to working on the fourth book.  But, Devils' Den has to be finished.  Just has to be.

The current struggle within my mind is when I keep hearing my characters in Death's Valley wanting their due attention.  And I tell them, "I'm coming.  You'll be heard."

Devils' Den set in a musty box for nearly eleven years.  The book needs its chance to be read.  To find readers.  I have to admit though, due to so many years unread, and how I've matured both as a writer and a person, this book will be a LOT different than what it initially was.  The characters have had time to grow, new outlooks, and new decisions.  These unique characters have already promised to play out their own series as well.  This is great and refreshing but demands a lot of time, too.  Time that I love to give to these works, characters, and of course, to you, my reading audience.

Kindle Boards--A Place for Kindle Authors/Readers to Meet

For those of you who own a Kindle and have yet to discover the Kindle Board community, I invite you to check it out at: Kindle Boards.  There are lots of interesting topics and discussions about books, authors, writing techniques, quirks, etc.  A great place to connect with other authors and readers.

Lap Cat vs. Laptop

Yesterday marked the first day of my Masters course in Creative Writing.  Since my classes are online, I have to use an Apple laptop instead of any of our Windows computers (not compatible with my classes).  However, I soon discovered a little problem.  My black cat, Slinx, is very jealous of the laptop as it has taken priority over him.  Well, at least over his seating arrangement.

Slinx is different than most cats.  His mother has 25 toes, and he was born with 22 toes.  He's a lonely kitten.  The only sibling he would have had was stillborn.  Once his mother went into heat again, she has had absolutely nothing to do with him.  So, he adopted me.

He's the most unique cat I've ever had.  You can see the jealousy in his attitude, which cats are known for, and now he follows me from room to room more than ever.  He is the first cat I've seen that begs for you to play with him (feathered toy on a stick is his favorite).  He knows where the toy is kept and stares at it, crying until you play with him and tire him down.

Of course, if you've read my series you know I have a soft spot for cats.

Just a note, but Morton says you'll see him again.  He's already plotting to get into the fourth book in my series.  Hmm.  I wonder what he'll do this time.

Devils' Den Progress

I have passed the 50,000 word mark for Devils' Den.  This is the first book of my dark fantasy series, and quite a different genre for me, too.

One of the best compliments I get for the Darkness Series is the originality of plot and characters, which is good because it apparently works.  I have no doubt that Devils' Den is filled with originality of its own.  In fact, it's so different that I hope I don't alienate my audience.  Perhaps it's my self-doubt that makes me question the uniqueness of the story.  I don't know.  But in The Game of Pawns, I introduced a quartet of new characters that I almost cut from the story because I didn't believe my audience would like them.  Feedback has been overwhelming at how much they are LOVED.  So cutting them would have been like cutting my own throat.

Being a novelist is a lonely occupation because I sit and write what I hope will become a great story, but yet, I will question myself unmercifully until the end.  I actually held off sending Beyond the Darkness to print an additional six months because of this inner doubt.  I believe other authors experience this as well.

At the rate Devils' Den is progressing I believe I should be finished with the novel this month.  However, that's in what I consider the first draft.  I will have my editing friend, Ann, take a read through and possibly one other.  When I am writing a novel, I start back with the previous three pages from the day before and revise them.  I do this to refresh my mind on what I've written, plus tighten up the prose and dialogue.  At each 15,000 word point, I will go to the beginning of the manuscript, read and revise until I reach the end point.  This way I keep polishing the novel until I've finished the first draft.

Once I've reach the end of the novel, I will reread the entire manuscript two more times, and sometimes more than that.  Even after it goes to print, I still wonder if I've done enough.