Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Broodings and Ruminations

So maybe it wasn’t the best idea I ever had bringing Velarde back to the city.

Trying to snap out of my doldrums, wondering if I’ll ever write anything again. Went onto Duotrope this morning for the first time in ages and saw nothing enticing to contribute to, with the exception of an Apex Book Company zombie anthology whose deadline is Halloween.

I’ve never had any luck writing for a specific anthology, though stories I’ve written for specific anthologies have gone on to appear in other volumes. And so, having left an opening at the end of my previous zombie short “Nearly Dead” to continue the action into New York City, I’ve started writing that.

Of course it’s in the first person, a kiss of death for horror these days. And I fully expect it won’t be accepted by Apex, a market I’ve never cracked. I wrote a short called “Absentee Ballots” for their Halloween contest a few years back. It’s available on Microhorror.Com and is a story I like a lot for its winsomeness, though one Amazon reviewer called it “ridiculous.” But they did give the collection it appears in (“Adamson’s Rock and Other Stories”) five-stars, so you never know.

Having fun with Smashwords, watching the stories I’ve made available for free get downloaded, seeing how many people preview the other stuff. Also seeing a few sales trickle in here and there from Barnes and Noble and Kobo which is heartening.

Waiting for the next round of edits on “Applewood,” the first in what might be a vampire series if anyone cares enough. The second volume in the series is already written (as noted ad nauseum here, for you loyal readers) so we’ll see how it goes.

Can’t wait for election season to be over, recalling a young woman in England who was on the dole for a while, behavior that would be excoriated here. Why, she was just lazy, taking taxpayer money while lounging in a cafĂ© and working on her silly “book.”

Wonder just how much in taxes J.K. Rowling has actually paid over the years. Bet she’s paid back her “welfare” and then some.

2 comments:

Aaron Polson said...

It takes time to build the torrent, doesn't it? I think the readers will come, with time.

Little tipping points are everywhere.

Brendan said...

Funny, we've both blogged about the changing world of publishing, and how difficult it seems to get "published." But it's heartening to know that there might never have been a better time in history to get readers.

If only 1/3 of the folks downloading my stuff are actually reading it, I've got little to complain about.

Thanks for the kind words, my friend.