I didn’t know what to title this. With so many recent losses – George Michael, Carrie Fisher, and Debbie Reynolds just in the past week – what I have to post about seems rather unimportant, though it marks a passing in its own way.

My first publisher is closing its doors at the end of the year, which is only three days away. I received my reversion letter today, releasing Misfit Prophets Beneath a Bankrupt Sky, 1KRV5, and “Persephone Is Bleeding” back into my hands.

I’d mentioned that this publisher was closing before in passing. I can’t say it came as a surprise, though now that it’s here, I’m left wondering what to do. I haven’t received any royalty announcements since January, so I don’t know how well my sales have been doing. Not that they were ever impressive, mind you, but I was curious how the audiobook of 1KRV5 was selling and have no knowledge other than a few good reviews on the Audible site.  But, as any writer knows, reviews don’t always translate to sales.

It’s not so much about the money as it is the sense of so much time…I don’t know – wasted isn’t right. It was definitely a learning experience. They got me started on the professional writer’s path. I’ve got books I can hold in my hands and ebooks I never can, all because they accepted that first novella I sent on a whim. I found that I make more from selling short stories than I do novellas, which was a turning point all on its own. I know more of what I want and what I should look for in a publisher. I’m thankful to Gabriel who, with one flattering phone call, buoyed my confidence enough to make me think that, yeah, one day I could be a “real” writer. I still think of it when I need a boost to keep going.

My first babies – my first books – aren’t even three years old, and their first go-around already has come to an end. I won’t rate their first outing as a success or failure, but I will do what any first time parent does – hope like hell that I can can do better with the next one.

 

 

 

I started drafting this blog post while at Comic Con a couple of weeks ago – or, more accurately, while standing in line at Comic Con since that is what one does approximately 95% of the time while there. That leaves a person with a lot of time on their hands, aside from the occasional need to shuffle forward, rehydrate, and reapply sunblock.

Forget about going to the bathroom. No one would dare risk losing their place in line.

What is Comic Con? Those familiar with it tend to call it SDCC, an event that is held every year in San Diego, California. It covers far more than mere comics these days, serving as a popculture mecca for anyone with interest in television, video games, anime, literature, horror, and movies. According to a semi-reliable source (Kevin Smith), nearly 200,000 people attended Comic Con this year.

Now you understand my intimate familiarity with lines.

Since I had this abundance of free time, one would assume I got a lot of writing done, right? Think again. There’s too much to see, even while standing in line, to keep my eyes glued to a page. However, it did offer multiple tidbits to tuck away for future use, perhaps to pull out at some later date when writing my future epic.

I saw a skinny, young man, probably in his early 20s, dressed as Pikachu, proudly wearing nothing more than a yellow speedo, a tail, and ears. Now that takes confidence! I saw an entire family dressed as Captain Hook, Tinkerbell, Peter Pan, and Peter’s Shadow, and was amazed at the cleverness of it. I saw a woman in a steampunk wheelchair, with a bookshelf on the back filled with assorted necessities such as books and tea things, while phials and beakers decorated the front. I noted costuming trends, such as all Kylo Rens were under the age of ten, with Deadpool closely following. Harley Quinn multiplied exponentially amongst the female population of Comic Con, with Suicide Squad coming out in August, whereas Captain America seemed the top male choice. Genderbending cosplay superheroes were very popular this year, with not only the feminized versions of the usual male heroes, but also women wearing the more muscled, masculine versions generally left to the menfolk.

Why does any of this matter? Because these are all seeds of potential stories. They may never grow into anything useful, but they are now stuffed in my brain satchel, available for use on some rainy day when I’m stuck for something new. These story seeds can be found anywhere – in line at Starbucks, or at the bank, or maybe when shopping at the grocery store. Sure, one usually won’t find those cosplay heavy characters at the local grocer’s, but maybe there just might be someone in the produce section with that yellow speedo hidden beneath his jeans, pointed ears tucked beneath his beanie, and a jagged tail stuck in his back pocket.

Now that might be an interesting story.

There was a third piece to the story of Devin and James. It may never be connected officially to The Devil’s Hand series, at this point, but its original intention was to serve as a prequel to explain how Devin wound up in Hell.

It has been decades since [Devin] has seen the sky. He has spent all that time as Lucifer’s pampered Pet, the latest in a long line of Persephones to infatuate the King of Hell. Then, one day, something comes to his bleeding tables that turns his world upside down, and helps Devin to remember that wondrous shade that just might save his sanity…or destroy it.

This story was published nearly two years ago, though it’s unrecognizable in its current incarnation. In my avaricious youth when getting published seemed an impossibility, I saw a chance to submit to an anthology and thought, “Why not?” However, I had heard things, even as a newbie writer, and knowing that there was a sequel and an half already written, I didn’t want to lock myself into having to submit all similar works to the same untested publisher. That right of first refusal can be a bitch sometimes.

So I took that first part of the story and I changed it – I changed it a lot. It’s not a bad story for the changes; in fact, it got even better in most ways, but the thread of Devin and James that tied the whole thing together had been twisted into something new. Names and situations were different, motivations were warped, but at its heart, it was the story of Devin in Hell, serving as Lucifer’s Persephone and struggling to remember what had brought him there.

We know now that it was the love of James that brought Devin to Hell, and love is still a theme. Looking back at it, with all of the changes that both “Drawing Dead” and “Ace in the Hole” have undergone pre-submission and post-editing, I can see how I could shape that original story to better suit what The Devil’s Hand has become. Heck, even the title The Devil’s Hand takes on a deeper meaning, with the altered Devin serving as Lucifer’s right hand and lover during his stint in Hell in that first missing piece.

I do mourn the might have been. It’s like Schrodinger’s series, both complete and incomplete at the same time. My brain has been working on weaving these stories back together into a more comprehensive whole since I tore them apart. I have to keep telling myself no, I had my chance – the cat remains both alive and dead no matter whatever else I might do. Besides, I need to focus some of that energy onto my next project!

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The Devil’s Hand series is now available!

DRAWING DEAD
Devin endured Hell for a long, long time and has come out literally a changed man. Now a demon, he hunts for the one thing that can make him remember something of what it was to be human—however unfortunate that might be for his prey.

He stumbles upon James Goodman, who tugs at the nearly extinguished memories. The pair enter into a relationship that evolves into something more as Devin grooms James for his pleasure.

Though Devin is a demon and James merely human, who holds the power in their relationship is in question, and, in the end, who holds the winning hand may surprise them both.

ACE IN THE HOLE
Months later, Devin is imprisoned and James remains reluctant to face him. Torn and conflicted, he’s still reeling from the experience of living at the side and in the bed of the man his family has spent several lifetimes hunting.

James tries to find solace in the bosom of his family, but it leaves him dissatisfied and wanting, unable to fulfill the newly born cravings even he’s not sure he understands. Finally forced to serve his stint as Devin’s jailer, James returns to the place of Devin’s imprisonment, only to find his confusion grow with every day he spends with Devin.

And Devin may not be entirely out of cards.

Unbeknownst to the Goodman family, Devin’s influence extends far beyond the ten- by twelve-foot room in which he’s confined.

James comes to the realization that perhaps his great-grandfather’s plan hadn’t been for the family to save Devin after all, but instead to repay a debt owed—a soul for a soul.

ORDER LINKS
WIP (Wayward Ink Publishing)
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon AU
Amazon DE

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            Upcoming Events:

My short story “Sainted Sinner” will be included in Let Us In, a horror anthology from Time Alone Press

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