False Memory

So I’m not quite halfway through this book and still don’t know what to make of it. Yes, I’ve been on a bit of a Dean Koontz tear lately, and have enjoyed greatly the last few novels of his I’ve caught up on. Maybe I’m Koontzed out. But I think there’s more to it.

The book itself begins slowly, but before too long you understand it has to do with hypnosis, and an evil doctor who uses his patients as playthings in some kind of gruesome game. I confess as well to being absolutely turned off by the realistic sadism revealed in parts of the book.

However, I think the major problem with the book is that it’s overwritten. Not overwritten like so many authors do, to pump up the word count, making lists of things, items, objects, substances, to enhance the situations, affairs, and concepts, that the writer is talking about . . . you know what I mean. Though there is plenty of that in this book.

But what Koontz does here (and maybe he has done it all along and I’ve just never noticed) is that he says the same thing over . . . and over . . . and over again. Honest. It was on page 298 (of 751) when I had my epiphany after reading this:

“Who would have programmed Skeet? When? How? Where? For what possible purpose? And why Skeet of all people: self-admitted feeb, druggie, sweet loser that he was?”

Fascinating he was able to get the entirety of the newspaperman’s credo (who, what, where, when, and why?) into that passage (and don’t think I didn’t notice it took three adjectives to describe Skeet.) But it was the next sentence that sealed it for me:

“The whole thing smelled-smacked-reeked of paranoia.”

Ya know, as someone who has tried his hand at fiction, who often has trouble finding enough words and plot points to flesh out an entire novel (generally thought of as 50,000 words or more) I never even thought of not selecting the most precise word for what I mean to say, but simply using all of them and letting the chips fall where they may.

As noted previously, it might just be that I’m Koontzed out. Nevertheless, I’m going to move on from this book and on to something else. I only hope I can return to both this book and to Koontz someday, and not suffer for having (perhaps) glimpsed the wizard behind the curtain.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

With Smashwords turning into a ghost town lately (no doubt due to Amazon's new Kindle Select program) I am migrating a few legacy stories from there over to Amazon. It began with "The Intersection" a few weeks ago, and thanks to everyone who downloaded it. Special thanks to whoever gave it the Facebook "like."

No, it does not take much to make me happy!

That said, I've moved over my zombie short Fortunato's Ghost and am making it available free, for three days, beginning tomorrow through Saturday. Not necessarily the sort of blood 'n guts story perhaps most zombie aficionados prefer, but I like it. So there.

Can't say I'm not disappointed that offering free stories doesn't seem to result in more sales or reviews. For example, there were more than ten-thousand downloads of "Hope Town" when that was free, however I saw no increase in sales of other books and no additional reviews. More than two-hundred downloads of "The Intersection" resulted in the single Facebook "like."

On the other hand, I do take some comfort that they're (apparently) not bad enough to bring disgruntled readers to Amazon bearing pitchforks and torches and trashing them! The very last thing I want to do is waste a reader's time.

As always, thanks for your indulgence! Enjoy "Fortunato's Ghost."

And if you did enjoy Fortunato's Ghost . . . see below:

If you liked "The Intersection"

On the off chance that someone who downloads my free story The Intersection finds their way here, welcome! And thank you.

If you liked the story, I'm pleased to say there's more where that came from. But where to start?

If you want to check out a few more short stories, try my collection Adamson's Rock and Other Stories. The title story is one I'm particularly proud of, about a close-knit New England family coming to terms with the end of the world. Adamson's Rock won an Honorable Mention in the Writers of the Future contest.

The first volume of my vampire saga, Applewood tells the tale of a group of teen outcasts, close friends who are forced to confront an ancient evil that awakens in their small Massachusetts town.



Next in the Applewood series, Fledge continues the story of protagonist Scott Dugan, on the run from those who would kill him and all his kind. My most recent book, I think too that Fledge might be my best.



If you're looking for something a little lighter and with some humor, try Swash!, my tale of eighteenth-century pirates let loose in the modern world. Something of a cross between Christopher Moore and Willy Wonka, Swash! is sure to leave you feeling good. May be my favorite of all the books I've written.



If you're looking for a sweet coming of age tale with some supernatural twists and young romance, my novel Sumner Gardens might be something you'd be interested in. My most personal and autobiographical novel.



If you're a Red Sox fan (or even just a baseball fan) you'll enjoy A Truck Story, my novella about two young brothers and their uncle who become trapped in the Red Sox equipment truck while it makes it's way to spring training. Aside from the kidnappings, the alligators, the serial killer, and the car chases, the trip is relatively uneventful.



Of course, if you're looking for some more free fiction, click the "Free Fiction" tag in the categories on the left, and a few stories I've posted right to this blog might make for some light lunchtime reading!

Anyhow, thanks to everyone who downloads The Intersection over the next few days, and special thanks to those who might be motivated to read more of my work.

200!

When I put up my previous post about two weeks ago, Blogger was kind enough to let me know it was the 200th post on this blog. Now, given how long this thing has been around, that milestone is probably not one that should be celebrated, as it averages out to about two or so posts a month.

And really, if a blog is going to be successful at all (in my case, success would be measured in book sales) you need to update the thing a few times a week, probably more.

But in all honesty, I simply don’t have that much to say. In terms of writing, I don’t have the expertise or education to give you advice on how to improve your own writing (and given some of the reviews I’ve gotten, you probably don’t want to take advice from me anyway.) I certainly don’t have any advice on how an “Indie” writer can improve their book sales.

For a while there, I thought I’d add content by writing book reviews. I posted a few reviews both here and on Goodreads, and even got contacted by Simon and Schuster to review a pre-release thriller (which was kind of cool.) But then . . . I got my own review from one of the premier book review sites in publishing, and let’s just say it wasn’t kind. After the dry heaving and the tears, I swore off writing book reviews.

I mean, who the hell am I to judge another writer’s work? But I will point out that when I did them, the worst rating I ever gave was two-stars. In one instance, as much as I thought the book detestable (and it was by a very famous writer) I simply couldn’t give it one star. I guess like the SATs, I give folks points for simply signing their names, maybe because I know how hard it is to write a book, even a bad one.

In other news, I’m writing again . . . slowly . . . painfully. About 5,000 words into a sequel to “Hope Town” and 10,000 words into the next in the “Applewood” saga.

Oh, and apparently, I’m a very big deal in Spain.

When I gave away “Hope Town” those few weeks over Christmas, more than a few folks at Amazon.Es downloaded it. Therefore, I was delighted this morning to see that my very first sale this month came from . . . Spain.

Muchas gracias, mi amigos!

And have a good day.