Monday, November 20, 2017

NEEDING ME SOME RAINA!

It's fair to say that I'm kind of obsessed with the Raina Kirkland series. Besides my children, I've never made anything so grand as this five book adventure. I want to stay in Raina's world.




I started writing the adventures of secondary characters. What happened when Raina, the narrator, wasn't around. When Nick was sent away after murdering two people, before coming back in book 3. And how Katie changed from meek child to bad ass between books 3 and 4. Books 2.5 and 3.5 respectively. But, I never finished them...

I wrote a screenplay for a television series pilot episode, and I submitted it to exactly one production company. They got back to me after 4 months and said, "If I changed some things I should resubmit it" but never said what those things were...I haven't submitted it to another company or changed anything yet...

Because I possess some artistic talent in the area of drawing and graphic design, I thought I could convert my novels into graphic novels, but...I don't know...

I've entertained the idea of writing a 6th book, but I'm sure Raina's story has been told pretty thoroughly. All the bad guys have been dealt with and all the surviving good guys have their happily ever afters. 

I have the fullest of plates at the moment. I'm currently looking for a new day job, while also trying to start a small business (Kickstarter) and write The Librarian, The Zombie Book 2 and hopefully an erotic novel. Maybe a time-traveling piece...You could say I'm kind of busy, but I really want Raina in my life. I'm just not sure which direction to go in. 

  • Novels 2.5 and 3.5
  • Television Series
  • Graphic Novel
  • 6th Book
What do you think?

Sunday, November 19, 2017

IT'S BUSINESS TIME

After years of planning and research and all that jazz, I'm going for it. I want to be a small business owner. I have so many ideas for a business, but I believe the most profitable is the kid's cafe. Ever since my daughter was born I've had this idea in my mind. When a kid's cafe opened in Lynnwood, Washington I really hated myself for not pursuing it before. But Lynnwood is so far away now. I need a play cafe in the Tacoma, Washington area and there just isn't anything like that around, so why not open one? I wanted to name it Rainy Day Cafe, but as a compromise with the husband, I named it Stay N' Play Cafe. 



My first plan of action is to do a Kickstarter




It took some time, but I made a video to promote the venture






After months of working the budget side, I've come up with the barest of bones financial goal to open the business ($18,000)


The cost includes rewards given to those who back us on Kickstarter.  



Most projects don't get by only on large backers, but mostly $15 to $30 backers. Well, in any case, the Kickstarter ends near the end of December. We will see. 




Tuesday, November 14, 2017

MANAGING THE MUSE

J.K. Rowlings said that she was inspired to write Harry Potter while she was riding a train. She imagined children on their way to a magical school and the plot developed from there.

Stephany Myers said she was inspired to write the first Twilight book one night as she laid awake in bed. She had an image of a man and woman together. The man wanted to devour the woman but he wouldn't let that happen because he also loved her. The rest of the plot developed from that point out.

Steven King said he wrote Dreamcatcher out of the idea that horrible things happen in the bathrooms all the time; diarrhea, heart attach, slips, vomiting...aliens tearing their way out of your ass while you're on the toilet. The rest evolved from that idea. 

Stories don't usually come to writers in their completion. They come bit by bit, flowing in the path of least resistance, like a river. It starts with an idea or picture you can't get out of your mind. For the Raina Kirkland Series, it started with the idea of a normal girl becoming a killer. For The Artist, it was the idea of a killer who used the human body as his clay. For The Zombie Book, it was about nerdy dorks surviving the Zombie Apocalypse.  

The idea is like an algebra equation. 


Idea + X = A story             Solve for X

Once the idea is solved there is no real rest until it's all written out, perfected and published.   

It's helpful and natural that once you start thinking about your idea, complimenting ideas come to the surface. For The Zombie Book,  it was the idea of a mom and young child surviving alone. Another idea that came up while researching human activity during war times was the ramped depravities humans are capable of; mass murder, raping, torture, cannibalism... This expands the equation.


Nerds & Zombies + Mom & Child + Depraved Humans = Story

How do these things connect? Find a starting point and follow the natural flow of events. 

So now I have the story's major components. Next, I compile goals to meet. Staying with The Zombie Book, I went into the story with some specific goals in mind. 

Goals:
  • Bad Ass Mom (who else could keep their baby alive?)
  • I love me some Cannibalism (been obsessed since I was a child)
  • A Realistic Concept of Zombism (which meant a scientist who understood it)
  • A Realistic Survival method (the nerd's bunker)
The equation is coming into focus.

Nerds in bunker + Scientist + Bad Ass with Baby + Evil Cannibales + Zombies = Story

You want to start a story strong and pick your voice. If I were a man I might have started the story from one of the nerd's perspectives, but I'm a lady and a mom. The first part of the equation is in place.

Bad Ass Mom with Baby, fighting Zombies...+ Bring in the Nerds! + Set up for Evil Men & Science.

The story has begun. At this point, I had a rough outline from beginning to end, but everything was flexible and fluid and from point A to Z things changed depending on feelings and new ideas and information coming late in the game. Like in Dungeons and Dragons, the board is set, the players are in place and the rest is an adventure that surprises even the dungeon master at times. Roll the dice! 





Sunday, November 5, 2017

ZOMBIES VS SERIAL KILLERS

After finishing the Raina Kirkland Series in 2016, I quickly started plotting out two short story series. The first one was about serial killers in Seattle and the second book was about Zombies in the Olympic forest.

The serial killer series was published on New Year's Eve 2016.
The Artists is the beginning of a new serial killer series.

SERIAL KILLER STATS:
There are 35 active serial killers at any given time in the U.S.
There are 271 serial killer suspects currently on the FBI list.
Nearly 50% of serial killers kill for Enjoyment (thrill, lust, power)
The Average IQ of serial killers is 94.7 
90.8% of serial killers are Men, while only 9.2% are women

Carmen is a studious woman with a peculiar manner and odd interest in the criminal mind so you might imagine her delight when she finds herself in the middle of an FBI investigation into a serial killer, known as The Artist; a killer who literally turns his victims into works of art. It really is a dream come true...until it becomes a nightmare too real.

“The artist must bow to the monster of his own imagination.” 

~ Richard Wright

The book has had 4 cover changes in the 11 months since it's release.


The first cover lasted less than 30 days. In that short time, I sold just 1 copy of the book...to myself!






The second cover was a drawing I made for an adult coloring book I put together called Dark Whimsy. From the end of January 2017 until the end of June 2017. I sold only 6 more copies, 2 in February, 3 in March and 1 more in April. 

The third cover sold 0 copies between June and October!

Since this cover's release in October, I've sold just 1 copy. 








The second book in this series, The Librarian, is about 2 months away from being published.  

Published October 20th, 2017.
The Zombie Book

Erin is a single mom facing the Zombie Apocalypse alone until she stumbles...is chased by a horde of rotting corpses, into an adorkable group of bad ass zombie hunting, video gaming playing man-children and their sweet doting Gran Gran/ mad genius... 

But if Erin has learned anything from the end of the world, it's that humans are far scarier than any flesh-eating zombie. Deadlier too.



In the 16 days since The Zombie Book's release, I've sold 13 copies...













Because of these numbers, I'm actually considering putting off finishing The Librarian in favor of writing the sequel to The Zombie Book. Meanwhile, I'm trying to plot out an erotic fantasy novel to come out this coming Spring 2018. Thoughts?