Now What?

I just finished up a short story that turned into a novella. I'm not sure how that happened, but it did. Actually, it is just short of a novella, but I'm not counting. It was a monster to me. I reckon the best thing to do is let this simmer on the back burner for a few days and then approach the second draft. I hope it isn't like my other short stories where a near complete re-write seems eminent.

What else is going on? Well, I have one short story in at BCS (Beneath Ceaseless Skies) and I'm trying to figure out what to write next. I envision self-publishing a couple of projects which I would make available for free on Kindle and Nook. I'd also like to produce trade paperback versions for both projects available at a very small cost to cover printing, etc.

The first project would be a set of fantasy short stories introducing folks to my fiction. Just need one more good story to complete that set. Next would be this quasi-novella I just finished.

This past year has been a major wake-up call regarding book marketing. Writing is hard enough, but marketing is even harder. There's no real formula except for the the one you create based on your style and experience. It can be frustrating and time-consuming, but if you are passionate about your product then you will have fun doing it. If you aren't having fun marketing your product, then you may have lost your passion about that product.

Now to place my chin in my hand and contemplate what to write next.

Black Characters in Horror Movies: Do They Survive?

Last night at a Halloween party, I made many new friends, two of which were a couple of African American gentlemen. One was dressed as an undead Tupac and the other as the leader of a white power movement. Strangely, that made me a little uncomfortable but in a fun way...I think. I, on the other hand, went as a hillbilly, which wasn't too far of a stretch for me.

Our obvious affinity for Halloween was just the icebreaker we needed, and so we all started to share Halloween stories. Eventually, we ended up discussing black characters in horror movies and how they never survived the movie. A couple of us disagreed, and so they challenged us to name five horror movies where the black actor makes it to the end.

Talk about fun! As a fanatical horror movie buff, this is just the thing I love to talk about.

I rattled off three pretty quickly.

(1) The Thing (original) : Childs (Keith David) survives.
(2) Dawn of the Dead (original) : Peter (Ken Foree) indeed escapes. Note, they wouldn't let us use the remake where Kenneth (Ving Rhames) makes it.
(3) 28 Days Later : Selena (the stunning Naomie Harris) not only makes it but kicks serious ass.

We tried Candyman, played by Tony Todd, but were not allowed that one because he was a villain. We got a good chuckle when Vampire in Brooklyn with Eddie Murphy was brought up, but we couldn't really count that one either.

BAM, (4) Blade with Wesley Snipes. And then, sadly, we got stuck for awhile. Keep in mind, the actor needed to survive the movie. I pulled out my trusty iPhone and discovered the website www.blackhorrormovies.com which gave us some ideas.

We chose (5) Gothika with Halle Berry.

Notable mentions should include Queen of the Damned where actress Aaliyah played Akasha. Although she dies at the end, it was a great role. Danny Glover in Predator II, Scatman Crothers in The Shining (although he didn't survive the movie, he does survive in the book) and Charles S. Dutton in Cat's Eye.

While still not as represented as they should be, it does appear that black actors are getting an increasing number of great roles in horror movies. I hope this is a sign that we can continue to embrace the horror genre as a way to bring people together.

My car is a sword.

It occurred to me that writing in the traditional fantasy genre is the best vehicle for expressing my thoughts and feelings about the world. Or, at least it should be. After all, I am well-read in the genre, and I enjoy taking the simple idea of swords and sorcery and broadening it, filling it up with robust characters and new takes on magic and action sequences. It seems comfortable to me.

I imagine a lot of writers come to this realization about their genre sooner or later, but it actually dawned on me just a few days ago.

The reason I thought about this (I suspect) was because a friend recently told me they missed my "goth" stuff, which usually reflected my dry, pretentious sense of humor. When I was in "goth" mode, my characters could afford to hate the world for no apparent reason. I could develop cute, nerdy, pretentious goth girl characters. Not that I didn't write with feeling, but my writing supported the genre's stereotypes a little too much. In a sense, it was a bit like mental masturbation. Like the drum solo that never ends or the guitar player who overplays.

I've written more in the traditional fantasy genre this past year than in all the previous years put together, and I wasn't sure what drove me to it until now. When I write traditional fantasy, I worry less about the technologies involved, less about how to get my characters from here to there. Life is simpler.

Ironically, this leaves the door open for me to make things as complicated as I'd like. To me, fantasy is a more comfortable place to develop atmosphere and motivation, plot and pace. In fantasy, I seem to be able to create characters that pop and stories with layers. It all goes back to writing what you know and being comfortable expressing a full range of emotions and feelings within that realm.

Are you in the right genre?

Swords and sorcery. I'm happy to be back.

Somewhere Between Life and Death

I started a short story last Sunday evening, and I finished it two days later. The story is 4k words, inspired by the art of Storn Cook for the RogueBlade Entertainment's Stealth Challenge. The story is called The Little God.

Wish me luck!

I've never completed a short story so fast (that was so polished) in my life. I'm not sure what inspired me to knock this out other than a conversation I had with my brother just a few weeks ago. It was a heart-to-heart, just hanging out during a family gathering, talking about how we had inspired one another throughout our childhoods. Truly a relationship of great respect and love even though we are both very busy people and have little time to hang out.

Anyway, he told me I could do anything if I could just stay focused on the task at hand. Sure, that's what everyone says, but there were other things said during that conversation that bolstered his main point quite a bit. So, for me--this time--the message hit home hard.

So, I wrote and I wrote.

Now, back to the monster I'm finishing for Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

Aside from the fiction, my marketing campaign for The Budget of Your Life: Breaking the Chains of Debt has begun, and I'm eagerly working with my marketing agent, Jen Shak, to get some sales rolling in.

I'll keep you posted if I discover anything worth mentioning.

A good week, and inspiration.

After suffering from a slump the past few weeks, I seem to have pulled out of it. It is always difficult to say what causes these things, other than life happens. There has been a lot of extra curricular swimming going on, as well as a good deal of quality time spent with my better half. That can certainly keep your productivity low...but in the best possible way, of course. It is always good to live.

I'll just blame the greater part of my listlessness on some particularly stressful work days and worrying about getting my yard together, the latter of which will never be truly together. What is "together" for a yard anyway? Is your yard together when the city doesn't put a notice on your door begging you to cut your grass and pull those long-ago-dead plants? If so, I seem to be safe for the moment.

As I fought through days of un-creativity, I went to the Rasputina show in Kentucky at the legendary Southgate House. Daniel DeJesus is her latest cello player, and I purchased one of his solo CDs called "From the Subconcious." His work has lit a fire under my ass. He is an unbelievable "riffer" on the cello and has an angelic, impossibly strong voice.

It took me a minute to get used to him, but like any fine wine or rich coffee, it was well worth it. 

My Special Place

Wow, it has really been a few weeks since I posted. I'll be real honest here. When a story has me completely engaged--or otherwise kicking my ass--I have a hard time being "social." That means I may not have a FaceBook or Twitter update in a few days, or even a week. It is a bummer because then it might seem like I'm not working, but I am.

Sometimes I just have to go to my special place to make it all happen.

"Kenny, tell us, where is your special place?" OMG, I thought you'd never ask.

My special place often times is just a quiet piece of land in my own mind, a period of reflection that lasts a few days. Nothing special happens, other than I wait and try not to talk Michele's ear off. It is a very strange time, because (as a lot of writers will tell you) I feel like I should be doing something, but I'm not. It's all just stewing around in my brain. Usually, I engage in a variety of house chores or try to watch a few movies.

Eventually, something causes it to click. It could be a particularly aggravating day at work, or just being bored.

Yesterday, it was a drive to Louisville to pick up the lil' woman from the airport after her return from Florida to visit her sisters. As the bluegrass rolled by, pieces started falling into place, bad ideas were tossed aside and my confidence kicked back in. So, maybe a long drive is worth the price of gas after all.

Anyway, I have a new article up at Rogue Blades Entertainment called "Big Heroes Make Big Decisions." Check it out.

Let the world do its own spinning.

The third story I'm working this year has some dialogue that is extremely challenging. But that is a good thing. I do not particularly struggle with dialogue, but to give this story a third dimension, this part needs to be spot on.

The wild child inside me is saying to just let it flow...and it did for the most part. But it wasn't quite right until just yesterday, a testament that sometimes dialogue does take some work. Sometimes my characters are lazy, and they don't want to do the song and dance for me.

This particular character is partly E.B. Farnum (played by the great William Sanderson) from Deadwood and partly a stubborn grandfather (perhaps my own) who has watched generations of his people succumb to lawless madmen.

Here is the best of E.B. Farnum, which I think is some of the best dialogue ever written, just mesmerizing. Note, this is R-rated.

The Best of E.B. Farnum.

Do I have my work cut out for me or what?

Approaching this character, this particular piece of dialogue, I put myself into E.B.'s head and fired him up a little, just a small injection of dignity and indignation. Now, if I can just ensure it translates to the page...E.B. might say to me, "I'd hate to cripple your progress, Mr. Soward. But for a favorable recompense, perhaps I could tender a song or two."