The night is hungry

I know most horror movies tend to come out in the fall, usually planted somewhere around Halloween. Some authors also release scary short stories during that time as well. I could have waited to drop my new book until then, but summer just felt like the right time. For one, the book takes place in August. For another, summer is as much a time for horror as Halloween. So many classic horror stories take place in the summer. When we think of horror and summer, images of creepy summer camps and serial killers spring to mind. Scary stories told around a campfire or at summer sleepovers are also common tropes. That’s the vibe I was going for in my newest book, Voro. In the stifling heat of summer, monsters come out to play.

In the next few days, perhaps even tomorrow if I can make a little magic happen, I’ll be sending out a copy of Voro to all the readers subscribed to my email list. It’s a thank you of sorts for being patient as I get through some of the long term stuff I’ve been working on. I know it’s been more than a year since you’ve seen any new stories from me, and I apologize for the lack of updates. I’ve been busy writing a four part fantasy series all at once. I’ll tell you more about that later — I don’t want to steal the spotlight away from Voro. The book will be available for pre-order on Amazon shortly, and on all other retailers beginning in October. I’m entering Voro in the Kindle Storyteller contest, which requires Amazon exclusivity temporarily. I’d like to take the shot, long as it may be, on the chance that this book might catch on with Amazon readers.

Voro isn’t the first horror book I’ve written, but it will be the first I publish. It’s a standalone title in the style of other classic horror books like those by Stephen King or Clive Barker. It’s a monster tale, so not a serial killer horror or psychological horror — more IT than The Shining. I’m really excited to hear what readers think. My editor loved it, and I feel like it’s marked a new period of growth for me as an author. By now, I’ve published more than a million words. I’ve probably written closer to two million, but I’m pretty sure I’ve scrapped a million words over the course of my career as an author – either through editing or simply restarting a book I wasn’t satisfied with after I’d mostly finished it. In that time, I’ve grown immensely in terms of technical expertise. My editors continue to send me fewer and fewer comments with regard to my technique. I’m starting to feel like I’ve hit a new level when it comes to the craft. I hope you enjoy what I’ve come up with.

I’ll tell you more about Voro in a couple days, including some of the decisions I made when writing it regarding style and technique. For now, I’m going to make this promise: I will update this blog more. It might not be weekly, though that’s a tentative goal I’m working on, but it will be at least monthly. I have a lot of things to update everyone on, so there will probably be more posts in the next few weeks than usual. Just know that I have a lot of big news to share regarding upcoming books — my new fantasy series announcement and, yes, news about the next installment of Mission’s End. Thank you so much for your continued support!

SURPRISE PUG!