Tag: Carrier

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Announcing the #CarryingCarrier Giveaway

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At long last, the novel that found a home on cold, metal e-retail warehouse racks in 2014 has moved onto the cozy, wooden shelves of your local book store. Yes, it’s exciting, gratifying, satisfying, terrifying, but the one thing that’s undeniable is my little book is all grown up.

So, let’s party.

Over the next week, I’m going to hold a giveaway contest on Facebook and Twitter. Like, share/retweet, and use the hashtag #CarryingCarrier for an opportunity to win signed print copies of the new edition, a $20 Amazon gift card, and an Amazon Kindle Fire.

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One Week Away From Carrier Hitting Stores

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I just wanted to drop by here for a few moments to observe the fact that Carrier will be in brick-and-mortar stores in a week. I could tell you about the new interior design and the higher printing quality. I could tell you how being in stores will hopefully expose the novel to a whole new audience. Instead, I think I’d rather reflect on the book itself.

I know. Blogs can be self-indulgent, and I’ve striven to not have one of those. But hey, it’s an occasion to observe, and you’re in my house right now. Pop a squat, or get out.

More than six years ago, when I was 27, I was in what some would call a rut. I imagine it’s a phase that affects many twenty-somethings. It is a part of our lives in which we accept adulthood and that we can never go back to the time when we can more often do as we choose not as we need. To a large extent, we have to cope with the fact that responsibility dictates our actions.

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Summer 2016 Update

At the beginning of this year, I teased some big things. I learned a lesson in teasers: It’s not a good idea unless the things you’re teasing are definite. Many of my hopes for 2016 haven’t quite panned out. I finished my second novel, but I’ve struggled to find a home for it. I’ve also finished some solid short stories, but it’s been a mix of rejection and taking a long time to hear back.

I get it. I’m shooting for the stars, and it takes a long time for even light to travel through interstellar space.

However, in the face of a disappointing 2016 (seriously, has anyone had a good 2016?), one of those things I teased (something big regarding Carrier) is definitely happening.

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That’s an interior proof. But wait, wasn’t Carrier already published? Yes.

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The ‘Holy-Crap-We’re-A-Month-Into-2016-Already’ Update

Commodus reads my stuff.
Commodus reads my stuff. And he is impatient.

It’s a bit ironic, but I don’t think it’s atypical that a writer falls off of his blog writing activity, so I don’t feel too bad about neglecting you. Still, I do feel bad. Like, pretty bad. On a scale of 1 to bad, I give myself a C – in feelings.

Just so we’re clear about that.

So how have you been? I’ve been well. Unfortunately, the reason I’ve been so silent is I’m in between projects right now. That doesn’t mean 2016 will be as uneventful as 2015. On the contrary.

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Scared for Life: Texas Frightmare Weekend

Frightmare
Dallas, Texas
May 2015

I’ve never been so afraid to feel at home.

As I walked among the cosplayers dressed as slasher idols and evil deadites, the people wearing death metal or obscure B-horror t-shirts, one thought kept going through my mind: These are my people.

For all of the fascination with murder and the macabre and the gore make-up, I don’t know if I’ve ever been to a place where there was more kinship and acceptance, where it didn’t matter who or what you were, just that you shared similar passions. Everyone had come for a single, unified purpose: to have a great time.

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Kensington’s Day of the Book Festival

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This weekend, I was at the International Day of the Book Festival in Kensington, Maryland, a small town just outside of Washington, D.C.

Kensington is on one of D.C.’s major commuter routes, Connecticut Avenue, but most people who have ever driven through it have probably never turned onto Howard Avenue through Kensington’s historic district. It’s relatively small, but its finely aged buildings set across from landmark train tracks make for an interesting stroll into one of the D.C. area’s time-locked places. Many of them have been swept away in the name of progress.

Leading up to the festival, the weather forecast was rain. Since the festival was to be hosted outside, that would have been a problem. Fortunately, the rain hurried along and came through the night before, and the weather couldn’t have been better.

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The Best Thing About My Newfound Authorship

I’m a guy who lives on the little things. I have a brief conversation with someone, and it sparks an idea. From there, it marinates in my brain until it becomes a thought. Most times, when someone gives me even a minute of their time to have a discussion, it’s an interaction that divides and multiplies until it’s something much bigger than it actually was, for better or for worse.

By this, I mean to say, if you’ve played even a small part in my life, you mean more to me than you know. (Unless you were a jerk.)

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Paul Semel Interview on Carrier, My Influences, and My Dog

Over at paulsemel.com, Media Journalist Paul Semel interviewed me about Carrier and some other stuff. Paul asked some really good questions, and some of them were pretty tough. This whole interview thing is new to me, but it’s interesting how curious people asking questions gets me to think about things I never thought about (at least consciously) or even thought about needing to answer. Anyway, check it out if you haven’t already.

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The Journey Begins

I would be remiss if I failed to post here on the day that I evolved from normal human into radiating beacon of literary authority and genius, but seeing as how all that happened today was my first novel hit Amazon, I wasn’t sure if anything needed to be said.

The spirit of jest and humility aside, I’m very excited a piece of my work that I legitimately poured my love into is finally out there and ready for you to read. Be gentle. Don’t stare. Don’t say things like, “I just want to talk,” when it’s clear you want more. Be honest with her, and she will take control. It’s what she does. Just open your mind and let her slip inside. The sharp pains are her hooks. She’s going to be in there a while. Continue reading “The Journey Begins”