Sanity, Pandora, Zombies and You (me)

It’s been a while, and I figured that when in doubt, give updates!
Sanity Vacuum (if that will be its final name. Probably, I can’t think of anything better) is getting its final facelift before being shipped back to the editor. I am starting to feel really proud of my scifi bundle of madness. The characters have a fascinating dynamic. I don’t want to spoil anything, but let’s just say it’s so me. quIRKy, weird and maybe a little thought-provoking. I’m allowed to have a deeper meaning to it all mixed in somewhere, right?

Moving right along, as my 8th and 9th grade math teacher would say.

Sanity Vacuum has a baby sequel! Junior, titled The Pandora Machine, currently weighs in at almost 52000 words. It’s decidedly dark–that’s how I like it–and the characters get taken for a wild ride. They face betrayal, deceit, conceit, unlikely allies and it only makes them stronger. I’m almost done the skeleton first draft. Then, I’ll add a few chapters here, give a character or two a sex change there, make sure their names are spelled properly. You’ll see, it will be nice. I’m glad I’m still editing Sanity Vacuum while I write this, I like adding my forwards and backwards foreshadowing, Easter eggs and other fun.

Lastly:

You want zombies? I got your zombies, right here! Bedlam is written, and as soon as Sanity Vacuum gets out of edits, the latest Zombie Bedtime Story goes under my knife. It’s the most gruesome and dark piece I’ve written to date. (Well, it might be tied with The Pandora Machine. I’m not quite sure. They’re both depraved, in different ways.) Zombies, a crisis of morality. The choice between duty and your own humanity.

Buccaneer Blogfest: Have some Zombie Bedtime Stories!

The blogfest is winding down, and that’s awesome, but not before I host a giveaway!

I have three copies of the complete-to-date Zombie Bedtime Stories (#1-3) up for grabs. The file format is in PDF, and I hope you like zombies.

Because WordPress is tragically allergic to javascript, please visit my Rafflecopter giveaway directly. This contest runs from August 1-4.

Happiness is a completed first draft

You heard it here (or on twitter) first. The first draft of Bedlam is done! It clocks in at 21.5k words, but I expect it to grow in edits. One of my characters refused to be evil, and I didn’t force the issue. There’s enough evil inherent in man during a zombie apocalypse to spread around. The end result was much more disturbing.

Hopefully, I’ll be editing it sometime in August. There’s a few Easter Eggs I want to scatter about. Fun stuff.

Now that I’ve cured my multiple-WIP-itis, I’m back to writing The Pandora Machine. Yes, it’s a real condition, stop laughing at me.

Zombie Bedtime Stories, a one year anniversary perspective

It’s been a year since I unleashed the first Zombie Bedtime Story, Locked In. Two pseudo-sequels and a few hundred sales later, I find myself reflecting on my first foray into the world of fiction. Hindsight is 20/20, and I must say it looks damn good from where I’m sitting.

What’s upcoming for the next year? Part four, Bedlam, will herald the end of the initial series setup, and part five, Succor, will be the first true sequel. I hope to further my examination of the feelings of loss, hopelessness and the indomitable human will to survive. Themes taken from my own life, topics that resonate very close to home for me.

Did I mention I have twelve to fourteen installations planned? It’s not for the faint of heart.

Would I do anything differently? I’d probably read fewer writing blogs, and ignore most of the “how to be the best spam bot ever” social media advice that plagues the writing community. If there’s one thing I’ve learned through all this, it’s all about the real connection to your friends (readers). You can’t get that through Tweetdeck. You get that one smilie face and exchange at a time. There are real, wonderful people out there in the world, and looking at them as potential marks is the wrong way to go about it. Take the longer road, say nice things to strangers and just write. Then, write some more, and for the sake of all of us, edit.

Year two… engage.

 

A New Project Beckons

I’m back after an extended disappearance! I didn’t forget about you guys, but, no news is no news. Now, I have news, am making news and am ready to rock some socks.

Sanity Vacuum is done for the moment and awaiting edits, which leaves me with a void in my life. As we know, nature abhors a vacuum (haha) and thus, there is only one or two logical things to do, especially since day job style work is slow.

1. Fill it with zombies

Bedlam is getting moved off the back burner, and finding itself thrust back into the angry, violent recesses of my mind. The fourth part of the Zombie Bedtime Stories introduces new characters, new places, and new atrocities. There will be some familiar places, and names, because the whole series is interconnected and will lead up to the terrifying and ultimate series conclusion. I love the Zombie Bedtime Stories, and it will get its 12-15 story run.

2. Write a sequel

That’s right, I started the sequel to Sanity Vacuum today. The working title for the series is The ABACUS Protocol, and the title I’ve picked for the sequel is The Pandora Machine. There’s not a lot to tell here yet, but it’s going to be one hell of a ride.

Things are changing, but staying the same

In short, I’m finally well enough to return to work, and I started a temp job today. It’s for a few months, and I expect that my social media activities will be highly curtailed as I’m not allowed to have my phone while I’m on the floor. My video reviews will slow down, but not stop. In order to meet my other obligations, I can only read while on public transit for about 30 minutes per day.

I’m managing to keep up with #wip500, and even get in some extra as I can manage it. Right now, Bedlam is about 11000 words long, and I’m only about half-way through the story. It’s going to be the longest Zombie Bedtime Story yet! I’m hoping to have the first draft ready late this month, as I anticipate that its final length will be between 20 and 25k words.

I have some very exciting news coming up, but I’m keeping a lid on that for the moment. Let’s just say that I am very, very happy, which means you should be happy, too!

The Zombie Bedtime Stories blog tour marches on!

We’re about halfway through the month. There are plenty more interviews and guest blog posts coming up. I’m very excited about them all, of course. I have to be! Here’s the quick run-down of my latest guest blog adventures:

Last weekend, I outlined my Quest for a Crochet Zombie on SM. Robertson’s blog. She and I talk about crochet, rescuing birds, writing and all other good things on Twitter, so I was so happy when she offered to host me.

Today, a post called Zombies In Disguise came out on Mercurial Musings. It’s kind of funny, I expand on the “ha ha, mall patrons are zombies” logic. To make us all zombies.

This weekend, I have a packed itinerary. It’s going to be great.

 

Guest Post: Nobody Expects The Zombie Inquisition

I’d like to introduce you to a new writer friend I’ve made. His name is John, and he’s a lawyer, but he’s a nice lawyer! (Stop being prejudiced!) I’m presently in the middle of reading his legal thriller, Atticus for the Undead, and while it’s the first legal thriller I’ve ever read, it’s opened my eyes to the genre. It also has zombies in it, which helps. Stay tuned for my video review.

Now, I’ll turn you over to John. Hi hi to John, audience!

 

Hi. I’m John Abramowitz.

If you haven’t heard of me, I’m not surprised. I’m a relatively new indie author, and I’m
trying to build On The Bird Publishing from the ground up. Thea kindly offered me this space on
her blog to help spread the word about my brand. (Don’t worry, I promise not to track too much
mud on your carpets!)

When I sat down to write this, I struggled with the question of what I could say. I could
tell you that I’m a long, tall Texan (over six-and-a-half feet, in fact), that I’m a lawyer in the day
job, or that I use way too many parentheses (as you’re already discovering), but none of those
really tell you what I’m about as a writer.

So let me start by telling you what I’m not about — or rather, what I don’t want to do. I
don’t want to write great literature. I have absolutely no interest in that. Mark Twain once said
that “A classic is a book which people praise and don’t read.” He understood that, too
often, “classic” is a synonym for “boring”. And if there’s one thing I never want to be, it’s boring.

Sure, don’t get me wrong — there are issues I have strong feelings about. I have things to
say. But I think you should always make your social commentary in the context of telling a good
story. I would rather read an entertaining, emotionally engaging story that had nothing
whatsoever to say about the human condition than read a book chock full of social commentary
which had no blood going through it.

(Actually, “no blood going through it” may be the wrong phrase to use for a guy who
currently writes paranormal and urban fantasy thrillers, come to think of it. I guess you’ll have to
read Weaver and Atticus for the Undead and find out for yourself if there’s blood in them. I can’t
spoil — that would be mean!)

If you like books that are enjoyable first and meaningful second, then welcome to On The Bird.

The Zombie Bedtime Stories blog tour has begun! Today’s host: @onthebird

That’s right, I just did my first guest blog post!

I discussed the Anatomy of a Zombie Story at onthebird, the home of John Abramowitz, author of the zombie legal thriller Atticus for the Undead. Are you intrigued? I know I sure am!

Drop by, see what goes into my super-scientific zombie story formula before I patent it, and tell John that Thea sent you.

2012: Year of the Zombie

Welcome to 2012, my fellow time-traveling friends. Yes, we’re all traveling in the mundane direction of our collective proper time, but it’s still time travel in a sense.

2012 means all kinds of great things over at Zombie Bedtime Stories and Sanity Vacuum central. Late 2011 was a difficult period in my life, and I expect early 2012 to follow suit. For those not in the know, I fell ill with pneumonia in late October. This caused my to tear a ligament in my chest, a painful and surprisingly debilitating injury. I have been in a state of near-bedrest and very low mobility ever since. It did, however, propel me into the realm of writing full-time, as there was precious little else I could do, and I’m not the type to feel sorry for myself in bed. In November, through the haze of painkillers and pneumonia-induced confusion, I wrote Sanity Vacuum, my first novel.

In December, I released Deadlocked, and I experienced a pleasing (and startling) spike in sales. As I am still not strong enough to return to work (a 15 minute walk outside laid me up for two days earlier this week), I am going to focus my energies in early 2012 to the following:

1. I am going to do a lot more guest posts, and many more book reviews to increase my visibility.
2. I am going to write at least 500 words/day towards new Zombie Bedtime Stories, as part of #WIP500. Conceivably, I could complete the entire series rough drafts during this year, assuming average length as under 15k.
3. Complete my first draft edits of Sanity Vacuum. There’s a lot to do here (see: written on painkillers, kind of disjointed), and it’s vastly different from editing a Zombie Bedtime Story for reasons related to length and continuity. I absolutely love the story and concept of it, which is why I’m putting so much effort into saving it. Tough love style.

In essence, these goals closely mirror my plan for the rest of the year. Eventually, I won’t have a novel to edit and hopefully by that time I’ll be able to look at getting employment that’s more gainful than my Kindle sales. 500 words per day is easily attainable, I’ve had days where I can finely craft that much prose in 15 minutes.

I’m thinking of goals for Sanity Vacuum. I’m going by chapters/day for edits–I try to get 2/3 chapters per day inked up and inputted. After this draft, print-off editing is going away because of budget issues. Then, I see other people managing 15k/day in edits, and feel inadequate.

What do your editing goals look like?