Friday, May 15, 2015

Flash Fiction Featured in Issue#78 of Red Fez

My short short story, "Invasion," is in the current issue of Red Fez. Please check it out, as well as the rest of the issue. This is a great magazine, and I feel honored to be included in it. Thank you to the editors!

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Update on Escapes/Out in the Garage

Just thought I'd give an update on Escapes, the third and final edition of my first novel. In case you hadn't noticed, I (just slightly) altered the description of it:

Some people escape from life’s track to avoid confronting the hurdles. For Lance Adamson, anyway, that is the case—although, he comes by it naturally. Born poor in the Republican stronghold of Nodtown, Ohio, he quickly realizes that life for some people is more difficult than it is for others. For some, there are problems you cannot escape, no matter how hard you try. In fact, most catch up with you sooner or later, and when they do, your life really gets turned upside down. For Lance, that’s when his main escape becomes his greatest passion.

I did this for clarity and brevity. I wanted to say just enough but not too much--lead the reader on just the right amount and entice him or her to read the sample or even  purchase the book outright.

For this edition, I am going to seek out criticism and see how it goes. It couldn't go any worse than it already has. Bad reviews happen, but so do good ones. People have varied tastes, and I believe I have something to offer. I believe I can get good reviews if I seek the reviewers that cater to my specific audience. I have taken the criticism I have gotten over the years, considered it all very carefully, compared it to my intentions and my goals, determined the necessary changes, and incorporated them into the text.

Personally, I also believe that this is the best version of the story, and the one that I will be satisfied with to come. I have come full circle with it: I have worked to clarify the story and achieve the effect I was intending from the beginning. It has taken many twists and turns, but I feel confident about what I have learned, and how it has affected my writing and editing skills, and how those skills have in turn affected my ability to produce this text.

Additionally, I have learned a lot through my experimentation with publishing, and I am always looking to improve the quality of the paperbacks and eBooks themselves. Also, for the best ways to market them.

While I still might have much to learn, I believe I have gotten what I can get out of this current project, or, rather, that I am going to get out of it what I am going to get with this latest edition. I, of course, still have much else in the works, so all further experimentation will be with those projects.

I do believe that the third time is the charm, or at least it is in this circumstance. While it might be superstitious to believe so, if I am careful, I can prove it to be true.