It’s the end of September and that means a new short story just went out to my newsletter subscribers. This blog post will be a companion to the newsletter.
This month’s story is called Words That Were Left Behind. It is a glimpse into the lives of Mick and Yvonne in the near future. Here is the blurb:
Mick and Yvonne’s difficulty with communicating to each other spell for troubled waters on their relationship front. Frustration leads to anger—anger leads to abandonment in this mild science fiction tragedy.
The story has an unforeseen conclusion that leaves you wondering if there are words that you should say now before it’s too late. The story came in around 2,300 words, and as with everything else that I write, could easily be developed into something more. But, it is a standalone story at this time. Now, if you’re a subscriber and have read it, feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
October’s short story is well underway and it has yet to be titled. It is a paranormal story about two siblings that have a much stronger connection than just their familial ties. As soon as more of the story develops, I will write the blurb and start working on a cover. If you want to be in the know, be sure to get subscribed before the last Friday of October and you’ll get to read it when it’s complete.
Now, I’d like to get some input, if you don’t mind. I have a brand-new trilogy that I’m currently in the very early stages of developing. It’s going to be a dystopian kind of story and will revolve around two or three main characters. Actually, the story begins in the current timeframe. Things are going to be normal for the characters and then possibly around a third of the way through the first book, some catastrophic event will occur. I’m still working out all the details yet and I don’t want to share too much. But, I’ve been thinking about going back to Kickstarter and opening up the development to some readers. I’ve run two other Kickstarter campaigns and they both funded successfully. Since then, I’ve been asked many times if I was going to continue using Kickstarter for the remaining parts of Linear Shift. Because of the delay between parts two and three, I didn’t feel like it was the right thing to do. I had already developed so much of that storyline, that by that point it didn’t seem like a worthwhile ordeal for either one of us.
But, for this new trilogy project, I am so early on in the planning stages that I think people might enjoy participating in its creation. My thought is this: offer up multiple levels of contribution, and in return, I will give you naming and creative license to help sculpt and mold several characters of the book. As planning has it right now, I’m looking at ten to fifteen characters that would be up for grabs, along with some fictionalized city locations. There will be a handful of other items that might be available too. This is all still in its infancy, so nothing has been determined. If this is something that you would be interested in, please let me know in the comments below.
Right now, my target publication date for book 1 of that trilogy is the first quarter of next year. This new novel will not at all interfere with my writing of Shifted Realities, the first sequel to Linear Shift. I am far enough along with that novel that it’s still going to publish in the first quarter of next year as well.
I just remember the fun the supporters of the previous campaigns had when they helped create a number of the characters. Like I said, I’ve been asked about doing this again, and here’s your chance. Let me know your thoughts below and will see if I can make things work out.
That’s about it for this month. I want to thank you all for your continued support, I truly appreciate it.
Excellent short story. Concise dialogue and well-written characters