The word on, as well as the distribution of, Dawn's End is spreading!
It's received its first review on Amazon, which gave it four out of five stars. (All who've read it, please rate it or write something. However brief, liked it or hated it, it's all good to me.)
In addition to iUniverse, Amazon, Borders, and Waldenbooks, Dawn's End is also available at:
Tower Books
Barnes and Noble.com
Even in Australia at Booktopia!
And, views on my MySpace page have gone up tenfold since before publication. I love this Internet thing.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Launch Party & Signing on Wed. June 4th!
Friends,
I will be having a Launch Party and Signing for Dawn's End very soon. To those of you in Austin or anyone else who might be in the area, I hope to see you there!
Date and Time: Wednesday, June 4th; 5 PM to 7 PM
Place: Austin Books & Comics
5002 North Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78751
512-454-4197
http://www.austinbooks.com/
Buy the book, and even a comic or two!
Light refreshments will be provided.
I will be having a Launch Party and Signing for Dawn's End very soon. To those of you in Austin or anyone else who might be in the area, I hope to see you there!
Date and Time: Wednesday, June 4th; 5 PM to 7 PM
Place: Austin Books & Comics
5002 North Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78751
512-454-4197
http://www.austinbooks.com/
Buy the book, and even a comic or two!
Light refreshments will be provided.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
A Horror Writer Is Spawned
In an effort to make this blog about more than just me schilling my book, I'm also planning to post more generally about the craft of writing and my experience with such a difficult process. I'll start off with the beginning of the process, and work my way through all the stages of trying to become an author. Let's start with, well, how I got started.
Writing Dawn's End was the hardest task I've ever taken on. This isn't to say it wasn't fun and one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, it was, but it's also a process full of hair-pulling frustration, crippling self-doubt, and long, exhausting nights.
I started Dawn's End in late 2002 (or as it was called then, Untitled) at the ripe old age of 28, not long after I got married. Years earlier, I made one of those foolish promises to myself that only young people make and set a deadline that I would complete my first novel before I turned 30. I'd kicked around many stories over the years, but none of them ever stuck. (My drawer in the bedroom has at least two abandoned, hand written novels that ran out steam.) I was full of delusional dreams of writing like Hemingway or Fitzgerald, convinced I could write a "serious literary" book about love and loss, maybe even a little bullfighting.
The problem was that deep down, none of that "literary" stuff truly interested me (I've never been to a bullfight, and really don't wanna go), and let's be honest, the only thing I have in common with Hemingway and Fitzgerald is a love of the sauce. Well, and a girlfriend or two that fall just shy of Zelda in the crazy department. When it comes to fiction, what I really loved was scary stories. I grew up on horror movies, thrillers, and action flicks. Stephen King was my hero. (He still is, although I'll freely admit he's lost a step in the last decade or so. But after about 1,000 books I'll cut the guy some slack.) There's a lot of garbage in those genres to be sure, but there's also a lot of pulse-pounding greatness. If it's done right. And that became my mission. To do the horror genre proud.
So, one day, after my latest failed "literary" short story (short stories are a bitch - anyone who can write a decent one has my utmost respect and admiration) I sat down and started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I always thought it looked stupid, but my friend Anna convinced me to give it a try and waddaya know, I got hooked like a fish. I can say with total conviction that it's the best television series ever made. (Singing it's praises will be fodder for a later blog.)
Shortly after that, an idea for a vampire tale lit up in my head, and I accepted my place as someone who could be a great "genre" writer.
I sat down at the computer and Dawn's End was born. Or sired, if you will.
Writing Dawn's End was the hardest task I've ever taken on. This isn't to say it wasn't fun and one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, it was, but it's also a process full of hair-pulling frustration, crippling self-doubt, and long, exhausting nights.
I started Dawn's End in late 2002 (or as it was called then, Untitled) at the ripe old age of 28, not long after I got married. Years earlier, I made one of those foolish promises to myself that only young people make and set a deadline that I would complete my first novel before I turned 30. I'd kicked around many stories over the years, but none of them ever stuck. (My drawer in the bedroom has at least two abandoned, hand written novels that ran out steam.) I was full of delusional dreams of writing like Hemingway or Fitzgerald, convinced I could write a "serious literary" book about love and loss, maybe even a little bullfighting.
The problem was that deep down, none of that "literary" stuff truly interested me (I've never been to a bullfight, and really don't wanna go), and let's be honest, the only thing I have in common with Hemingway and Fitzgerald is a love of the sauce. Well, and a girlfriend or two that fall just shy of Zelda in the crazy department. When it comes to fiction, what I really loved was scary stories. I grew up on horror movies, thrillers, and action flicks. Stephen King was my hero. (He still is, although I'll freely admit he's lost a step in the last decade or so. But after about 1,000 books I'll cut the guy some slack.) There's a lot of garbage in those genres to be sure, but there's also a lot of pulse-pounding greatness. If it's done right. And that became my mission. To do the horror genre proud.
So, one day, after my latest failed "literary" short story (short stories are a bitch - anyone who can write a decent one has my utmost respect and admiration) I sat down and started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I always thought it looked stupid, but my friend Anna convinced me to give it a try and waddaya know, I got hooked like a fish. I can say with total conviction that it's the best television series ever made. (Singing it's praises will be fodder for a later blog.)
Shortly after that, an idea for a vampire tale lit up in my head, and I accepted my place as someone who could be a great "genre" writer.
I sat down at the computer and Dawn's End was born. Or sired, if you will.
Dawn's End now on Amazon.com and Borders.com!
The distribution channels for Dawn's End are expanding. It is now available at Amazon.com and Borders.com, in addition to the iUniverse book store. It will be rolling out to more Web retailers very soon.
If you have already purchased the book at iUniverse, or plan to buy it through the other, more well-known retailers, please do me a favor and rate it or write a review/comment on the big boy sites. I welcome all comments whether you liked the book or not (but hopefully the former). Let future readers know what you think. People really do love to read reviews.
Stay tuned for more on Dawn's End, including a launch party in June!
If you have already purchased the book at iUniverse, or plan to buy it through the other, more well-known retailers, please do me a favor and rate it or write a review/comment on the big boy sites. I welcome all comments whether you liked the book or not (but hopefully the former). Let future readers know what you think. People really do love to read reviews.
Stay tuned for more on Dawn's End, including a launch party in June!
Friday, May 9, 2008
Now Available: Dawn's End!
The day has arrived. Dawn's End is now available for purchase on my first distribution channel, iUniverse.com. Click here to buy a copy!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The End of the Beginning of an Author's Journey
Hello, and welcome to my little corner of the world.
It is with great excitement that I start this blog to spread the word about Dawn's End, my debut full-length novel, which will be published this month by iUniverse. This book, about a pair of vampires who descend on the small town of Glory, Texas, and wreak havoc on the lives of the locals, is a unique and thrilling novel that is a tremendous source of pride for me.
I grew up practically inhaling every scary story, be it in print or on film, that I could get my hands on, and dreaming of the day when I would make my mark on such a wonderful genre. My plan for Dawn's End was to not just make my readers lock the doors and look over their shoulders in terror for a bloodsucker ready to strike, but to give them something that's usually lacking in the world of horror fiction: characters you care about who feel like real people. Characters who feel like your neighbors and friends. Characters whose struggles and very survival you're invested in. I've written a book that I hope you'll enjoy not only for the thrills and chills, but for the exploration of the deep emotions and pain that we've all experienced at one time or another.
I'll be posting often about my progress in marketing the book and invite you to share your thoughts and feelings with me about the story. Love it, hate it, debate it. It's all good to me. As for the synopsis, read on. Thank you, and talk to you soon!
"Perched high in a tree like a vulture, Devon looks down on Glory, Texas, sparkling in the darkness. People below will soon feel the full force of this vampire’s rage.
Evil converges in Glory as three couples struggle with lives full of abuse and infidelity. Alex can’t come to grips with his girlfriend, Laura, leaving him. Jenny, a victim of domestic violence, must escape her husband, Ray. Syl and Dave’s downfall is becoming embroiled in their friends’ dramatic lives. Into this mix comes Rena, a beautiful and benevolent woman. Decades before, with a savage bite, Devon had turned her into his tormented companion. Distraught by how she must survive, Rena had fled his influence. And now Devon wants Rena to pay for betraying him and refusing to share eternal life with him.
When Alex meets Rena in the local roadhouse, a spiral of depravity begins to uncoil. Alex and Rena join forces in an attempt to kill Devon and save the lives of their friends. But Devon is bent on destroying whomever he can to get what he wants, and unfortunately for Alex, everyone he cares about is standing in the way."
It is with great excitement that I start this blog to spread the word about Dawn's End, my debut full-length novel, which will be published this month by iUniverse. This book, about a pair of vampires who descend on the small town of Glory, Texas, and wreak havoc on the lives of the locals, is a unique and thrilling novel that is a tremendous source of pride for me.
I grew up practically inhaling every scary story, be it in print or on film, that I could get my hands on, and dreaming of the day when I would make my mark on such a wonderful genre. My plan for Dawn's End was to not just make my readers lock the doors and look over their shoulders in terror for a bloodsucker ready to strike, but to give them something that's usually lacking in the world of horror fiction: characters you care about who feel like real people. Characters who feel like your neighbors and friends. Characters whose struggles and very survival you're invested in. I've written a book that I hope you'll enjoy not only for the thrills and chills, but for the exploration of the deep emotions and pain that we've all experienced at one time or another.
I'll be posting often about my progress in marketing the book and invite you to share your thoughts and feelings with me about the story. Love it, hate it, debate it. It's all good to me. As for the synopsis, read on. Thank you, and talk to you soon!
"Perched high in a tree like a vulture, Devon looks down on Glory, Texas, sparkling in the darkness. People below will soon feel the full force of this vampire’s rage.
Evil converges in Glory as three couples struggle with lives full of abuse and infidelity. Alex can’t come to grips with his girlfriend, Laura, leaving him. Jenny, a victim of domestic violence, must escape her husband, Ray. Syl and Dave’s downfall is becoming embroiled in their friends’ dramatic lives. Into this mix comes Rena, a beautiful and benevolent woman. Decades before, with a savage bite, Devon had turned her into his tormented companion. Distraught by how she must survive, Rena had fled his influence. And now Devon wants Rena to pay for betraying him and refusing to share eternal life with him.
When Alex meets Rena in the local roadhouse, a spiral of depravity begins to uncoil. Alex and Rena join forces in an attempt to kill Devon and save the lives of their friends. But Devon is bent on destroying whomever he can to get what he wants, and unfortunately for Alex, everyone he cares about is standing in the way."
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