Visible Monsters Cover
The remastered edition of The Ghouls is now called Visible Monsters. Got the cover back last week.
Weekly Update: Friday 13th
This week has been a bit of a struggle with some changes to my routine. But these things are going to happen and the most important thing is that I am still here and work is still getting done. This blog is one of the things that has suffered a bit, but planning to get back on it next week. Anyway, on with the updates.
The Ladies Adventure Society: Book One
Progress is continuing. It currently stands at 54,055 words. That is 10,823 words written this week. At the moment, I am thinking this will be released in June 2024.
Horror Shorts Remastered
Two more short stories to go and the remastering edit will be finished. Not sure what I am going to do with these stories, other than update the files for download in the EBook stores. A horror short story collection seems like the logical thing to do.
Unhallowed Ground
The promotion for this remaster is winding down now, and I have been pleased with the response it has received. Hopefully it will continue to sell once the price goes back up and the reviews will start coming in.
Visible Monsters
This is the new title for the remaster of The Ghouls. I have the cover back now and am very pleased with that. It’s quite different to the Unhallowed Ground cover, but I think they will look good next to each other on the shelf. My current plan for this is to upload the new files next week, and start promoting it in November.
On Hold
- City in the Fire: Remastered
- The Vampire Next Door: Remastered
- The Shadow Walker
- Discordia
That’s all from me this week. I will check in on social media this evening, so if you’ve got anything you want me to know about send a message. Enjoy your weekend.
Unhallowed Ground: Paperback Proof
When darkness descends, who will survive the unthinkable?
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Kobo | Apple | B&N | Scribd | Elsewhere
Weekly Update: Moving Right Along
Making steady progress on everything. There are a ton of plates spinning at the moment, but I think it’s all under control. Time will tell, I guess.
The Ladies Adventure Society Book 1
Status: First Draft WIP
The first draft is going well. Current draft stands at 43,000 words and not quite half-way through.
Unhallowed Ground: Remastered
Status: On Sale
The remastered edition is now on sale. At the time of writing, it is on sale for $0.99
It’s available as an EBook, a paperback and as of yesterday, it’s a an audiobook on Apple Books.
Horror Shorts: Remastered
Status: Editing
This week I started work on the remastered editions. They were some of the first things I wrote for publication, so there is a lot of work to do on them.
On Hold
- The Ghouls: Remastered
- City in the Fire: Remastered
- The Vampire Next Door: Remastered
- The Shadow Walker
Making Movies
It seems like a long time ago now, and, in fact, it is twenty-years or so, but once upon a time, I wanted to be a filmmaker. Or, to be more precise, I wanted to be a screenwriter.
The ambition was a logical extension from my early years of writing stories in notebooks. Back then, there was no independent publishing the way we have it now. If you wanted to be a novelist, you either had to work with a traditional publisher, or vanity publishing. Neither of which were things that I particularly wanted to do.
My first alternative was writing plays. I was in year eleven of secondary school, when I wrote my first (and so far, only) play. It was called Walking in Shadows and maybe I will tell you about it some other time. Although my career as a playwright was short-lived, the script was enough to get me onto a new course called Moving Image at the local college.
I stayed at the college for four years, getting a National Diploma, followed by a Higher National Diploma. During that time, I wrote a lot of short screenplays, several of which were filmed, and there may have been one or two feature length scripts as well.
The course was not specifically in screenwriting, however. As well as writing scripts, I had to film things, both fiction and non-fiction, and edit them. Editing was my least favorite part of the course. Perhaps it was because the computers were slow and it took ages to do everything, but I think it is something more fundamental than that. Even today, editing is my least favorite part of making books. I much prefer having the ideas in the first place.
Fast forward to today, and I am an independent author trying to get the word out about my books and I thought one way I could do that was by making a short video trailer. Imagine my surprise when I discover how much I enjoy cutting images together with music.
It was not what I’d expected at all. I’d expected the work to be dull but worthwhile. Now here I am thinking of all the cool things I could do with a thirty-second teaser trailer for a book.
The trailer is basic. I am cutting it together using iMovie (at college we used Final Cut) but this might just be the start. The hours spent huddled with friends in the editing suites are coming back to me and I’m enjoying it immensely.
I should finish the trailer this week, and I should have it on YouTube next week. Who knows what I am going to make next?