Da Works

Well, it’s winding down to the end of the year and I could not let the new year pass without saying a few things about my journey of writing and what I’ve learned.

I meant what I said about writing novels now instead of novellas. And, like I always do, I am drifting between three separate novels. So here are my works in progress and my thinking behind them.

THE BIG SCI-FI BOOK – God, feels like this one has been going on forever and yet every time I come back to it, I am encouraged to time travel back to the 1940’s again and again. I’ve always wanted to write an immersive, exciting, mind-bender of a novel and I feel that this one is leaps and bounds better than what I’ve written in the past. I know its more ambitious because I’ve done a lot of research on it. But the main thread is to make the story enjoyable and not bogged down with facts. I’m trying to write it in such a way that once you’re done with the journey, you’ll want to read it again. (25,000 words in.)

WORKING WOES – This book is a memoir of my working life. The one I’ve always kept in the back of my mind and just now am I willing to brave the storm and write it. I say brave the storm because I’ve found that this is not just revisiting my work life from 2003-2014 but it has also become a poignant discovery of some extremely difficult times. I’m not very public with my feelings because I tend to be self-deprecating. I’m more willing to deal with depression or outright numbness through writing than to ask for help. Writing about my work life has become more therapeutic and cathartic than I ever imagined. It’s made me laugh at the fun times I had at jobs I liked and groan whenever I encountered an awkward situation or one of the many setbacks that were put in my way.  I find myself barreling through and breaking new ground and happy to say that this process has really given me closure. And if that inspires a person to tread carefully when entering the workforce, then I am grateful. (14,000 words in)

THE HOUSE – With each novel, I try to do something different. But I also like to set some of my stories in the past for nostalgic purposes. This one is set in the seventies. It’s kind of my take on the classic movie The Old Dark House. But it goes much deeper. There are twists and turns galore. I wanted to tap into a horror that was both psychological and suspenseful. I have no idea when this title will see the light of day. But I’m encouraged to write more because this is one of the few novels that I have fully mapped out in my head. And that’s really saying something. (4,000 words in.)

2018 was a heavy workload kind of year. I've narrated some wonderful works from Shirleen Davies, Mark Cisper, Jamie Davis, Morgan Cole, Washington Irving, Lao Tzu, Leslie North and Brian Knight. My daughter is growing up and she really loves reading! My business is growing and I'm learning new things every day. The house is still be fixed up but its almost finished. I'm excited to see who I will be narrating for next and what new stories I'll be able to conjure up.

New year means new goals.

So, for 2019, my new year's resolution will be to write a chapter a day.

Thanks for reading.

Here it Goes: Novel or Nothing!

For the past few months, I’ve been really busy. It feels like two sides of me are organizing the year ahead when it comes to new projects. Writing has always been my go-to when finding inner peace or to unravel the concepts involved in life. While I am an avid consumer of entertainment, I strive to be a content creator. I’m here to entertain the masses.

But, as it turned out, I’ve really branched out when deciding to become a narrator. It gave me another outlet to express myself.

So that, understandably, has taken up a lot of my time. And I don’t mind. I love immersing myself in being a storyteller.

I now work for three companies: Acx, Bee Audio and Findaway Voices.

If all goes well, I should be quite busy this year when it comes to my full time job. But, my productivity has slowed significantly with writing.

So, for the new year, I’ve given myself a new goal. From this date forward, I am done working on Novellas and Short Stories.

There’s a couple of reasons why:

1.     Short stories and Novellas are quick to produce and I want to challenge myself more and not just take a quick dip in and out of worlds.

2.     For the rest of the year I want to work on ONLY Novels. So that’s anything over 50,000 words in length.

3.     I have a backlog of novels that are screaming to be written.

4.     And I want to get at least 3 full novels done this year.

Currently, I’ve been taking my written works and have put them up on Audible. Three of the titles (Right Outta My Mouth, Village Americana, Pickpocket Frankie) are narrated by me. But the majority are narrated by other very talented people. The reason for this is two-fold.

First, I know I don’t have time to narrate everything I have written. Besides, there are some stories I’ve written where I have convinced myself that I am just not the right voice for it. Second, since I started narrating in 2014, Audible Acx has had a swell of new narrators. Thousands more people have gotten into this field. A lot of them are looking for their first book to narrate. I remember when I was looking for that chance to become the voice of somebody’s story, so now I’m offering that to people who are trying to break into the industry.

Also, I’ll be moving to a different house. Which will be a big change for me and my family. And since this seems like the year for big change I figured why not have big goals.

But, dear reader, there are more titles to come in the future.

I’m putting the final touches on two novellas.

One is called The Digital Novelist and the other is called The Loop. They’re both what I’ve come to know as Sci-Fi Horror.

And they are the final two stories I’m going to include in my newest collection titled Night of Novellas. (6 novellas in all with introductions, extras and behind the story segments)

The last novella I’ll be working on before I jump headfirst into novels will be a title I call The Transcriptionists. It’s a crime thriller that came to me one day.

But, after all that, it’s Novel or Nothing, folks.

I still have a list of titles that have been percolating long enough.

THE BIG SCI- FI BOOK is the one I’m most anxious to return to, as it also ties into another title I’ve written called Thief of The Gods: An Area 51 Confession.

I’d also like to return to Mr. Dead Eyes 2. Because the audio book for the first book is in production now and it sounds great. It’s giving me new ideas of what I can put in the second installment.

I also have two spinoff sequels to Pickpocket Frankie. These two books don’t have the titular character Frankie in them. These are more focused on two big characters mentioned in the book. And those are both crime thrillers.

I also have another novel planned for the private investigator Thomas Wilker. But this will be set way before the events of Mr. Dead Eyes.

Add to that a behemoth novel I have planned that is in the genre of literary fiction. I don’t know how long it will be, but it will definitely have a large cast of characters.

So, yeah, it’s clear to me that the novels in my head are screaming for attention. And all I have to do is open the door. Why wait, right?

Remember, always set new goals for yourself every year.

And, as always, keep writing.

;)