21 Drabbles

I'm up to 21 drabbles for LESSONS II as of this moment.  I'm really trying to get to 30, although I'll be honest, I'm not sure if I'll be able to get that far.  It's always towards the end where I have the most difficulty coming up with new ones.  I know I can reach 25 with no problem, but 30?

The good thing is unlike with the first LESSONS, I don't have a deadline this time.  I would like to get the book done and out there within the next month or so, but it's not like last time where I was trying to get everything done before Halloween.  Christmas doesn't scream demented drabbles, although I suppose those who are sick of hearing about Christmas at this point may want to read something completely different!

I'm having a lot of fun, just like last time.  Will there be a third collection?  If I can come up with 25 or 30 new ones after this one, you betcha!

I hope people will like LESSONS II.  My big fear is people being let down after loving the first one so much, but that's the risk you have to take.  With the success of the first one, it'd be dumb not to give it a shot.

Stay tuned!

The Future: LESSONS II

I was trying to figure out for the longest time what to call this new collection of drabbles.  I love the titles for my stories, but none of them scream book title to me.  So, after thinking long and hard on it, I think I finally came up with a good title.

LESSONS II: ANOTHER MORBID COLLECTION

Why not?  It is a follow-up to the first collection, in a way.  The killer who taught a "lesson" in the first one comes back to teach another, and the horrible Mr. Giggles makes his most terrifying return in a drabble that one of my author friends said was "wrong on so many levels."

It's kind of neat.  It's like having my own little series.  The new collection will be in the style of the first one.  Sick, depraved, disturbing, unsettling--but with a lot of dark humor.  I think that's what people enjoyed the most out of LESSONS.  It also makes it more fun for me.

I have 17 drabbles done so far.  I'm hoping to reach a minimum of 25, but more would be welcomed if I can get there.  I hope to have this done within the next month or so, if not sooner.

2 Major Milestones

I'm happy to report that I have reached two very important milestones for me.  They both happened overnight.

1)  I sold my 50th copy of LESSONS AND OTHER MORBID DRABBLES, easily making it my bestselling book.  It's only been out a little over a month, and I can't believe how well it's been selling.  Very happy about that!  I'm working on a follow-up, and so far I have 17 drabbles done for the new one.

2)  Selling my 50th copy also lead to an even BIGGER milestone:  I sold my 100th eBook!

I can't tell you how happy that makes me.  For somebody who only has 3 works out for sale, and none of them being a full length novel, those numbers are INCREDIBLE!  I never thought I'd sell this many in so little time.  I'm truly grateful and happy... not to mention humbled.

Thank you for all of your love and support.  I really appreciate it.

Oh... AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

15 New Drabbles!

It's no secret.  I've been working on another drabble collection since LESSONS AND OTHER MORBID DRABBLES has taken off.  People seem to enjoy the book and I had a lot of fun writing it.

So... I knew I would have to come up with another one.

I didn't realize that as of this entry, I have 15 of them done.  I haven't been doing them as fast as last time, because with LESSONS I was trying to get it done before Halloween.  With this, there really isn't a deadline.

Although, not sure how well it'd do if I released it before Christmas.  Maybe I should wait until January.

Either way, progress is being made, and so far I'm very happy with the ones I have written.  You can expect follow-up drabbles to Lessons and Puppet.

That's right... Mr. Giggles will return.  I showed the drabble to one of my author friends, and he said that it was wrong on so many levels.  Which means, I did good.  *grins*

To check out LESSONS AND OTHER MORBID DRABBLES, click here or click the banner above.

Welcome to the Kindle House...er... MONKEY HOUSE, I mean

It's finally here! 

WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE has finally found its way to the Kindle.  I've been waiting for this ever since I bought mine.  I kept waiting and waiting, and was wondering when in the hell they were going to release it.  Took a while, but it's here!

There are some great stories in this collection.  I admit I haven't read all of them... yet.

A nice way to kick off a Monday morning.  Bought it as soon as I saw it was available.  Didn't even need to think about it.

Click here to go to the Amazon page.

Movie Recommendation: SHATTERED GLASS

Film rating: PG-13 (for language and some adult content)
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

If you haven't seen this brilliant film, then what are you waiting for!?!?  One of my all-time favorites.  An underrated gem of a movie.

Based on a true story, the movie revolves around a news reporter, Stephen Glass.  All of his news stories seem fantastic and too good to be true...

...Bad news is, they are.

This is a movie that'll make you feel uncomfortable, because with every lie that's told and created, a whole new set of lies are created to back up the previous one.  It's a top-notch film from minute one.  Highly recommended.

New Phone, New Toy... Oh Joy!

So, I finally got around to getting a new phone.  Got myself a Droid 2, and I'm loving it so far.  My previous phone was a Razor, and you couldn't do much on it when it came to being online.  I love that now I can check e-mail and Facebook on it.

I finally feel like I'm a part of this century.  Go me!

Now... just gotta figure out the damn Twitter on it.  Baby steps, Mikey.  Baby steps...

Only 5 to go!

Only 5 to go before I sell my 50th copy of LESSONS AND OTHER MORBID DRABBLES.  I'm still amazed by how well this little book is doing.  I can't thank everybody enough for checking it out.  Glad that people seem to be enjoying it.  To think that it all started out as me wanting to see if I could come up with 2 or 3 and putting it up on Smashwords for free.

So, if you've bought a copy, I appreciate it!  If not... what are you waiting for??!!

Click the banner above the blog to go to the Amazon page... if you dare.

Mr. Giggles is waiting.  *grin*

New blog look, updated cover and a virtual reading... oh my!

If you haven't noticed, I did a little re-tooling of the good ol' blog.  I like how this looks so far.  And I was finally able to figure out how to post some links to my books other than just in the blog entries themselves.  Fellow author Imogen Rose created the LESSONS banner for me, and I can't thank her enough!  It looks awesome.

I also touched up the cover for IN DECLINE a little bit.  It's not a big difference, but I think this looks cleaner.

Doesn't look so cluttered on the bottom anymore.  I was trying to do the right thing and include the name of the person responsible for the photo on the bottom on my first version, but now I know there's no need.  He's acknowledged on the title/copyright page.

I also did a little virtual reading at "The Spinning Wheel," a thread on Amazon where authors can read from their works.  I read a story from IN DECLINE, "The Roller Rink."  Seems like the story was a hit with everybody.

You can go to the reading by clicking here.

That's it for now.  Only other news is LESSONS continues to sell well this month.  Right now I'm up to selling a little over 20 books this month alone so far (including all 3 of my titles).  I know that may not seem like a big number, but it's huge to me.  If I could sell 20 a month, I'd be one happy author!

My little moment in the sun...

For a brief and small moment last night, LESSONS AND OTHER MORBID DRABBLES was outselling a Stephen King eBook in the short-story category.

That's epic!

I even have the screencap to prove it.  Of course I was going to capture this moment:

That was pretty awesome.  I don't care if it only lasted for an hour or so, I was so honored and humbled.  These past few days I've sold a few copies of the book, which makes me a very happy author.

Okay, I'm not using this blog entry to only brag... I'm writing about this because it's more proof that I made the right decision to go the indie route.  LESSONS would never get traditionally published.  It's too short.  Yet, I've sold over 40 copies of it within a month, making it my bestselling book as of now.

I can't thank everybody enough for their wonderful support and checking out my work.  I hope you guys enjoy it.  Writing is a fantastic feeling, but it's even better when you know there are people out there who enjoy reading it.

If you'd like to purchase LESSONS AND OTHER MORBID DRABBLES or view the Amazon product page for more info, click here.

Another drabble collection in the works?

Here's the deal.  I love the kind of slice-of-life fiction that I write.  It still remains one of my most favorite things to write.  I love to create complex characters and have them thrown into what could seem like everyday or ordinary situations and see how they deal.

But something happened to me when I wrote LESSONS AND OTHER MORBID DRABBLES.

I had so much fun writing it, and to see how many copies I sold within only a few weeks, I knew that I was doing something right.  It's my most well-received work as of now.  I've heard nothing but great comments about it.  Sure, it's not for everybody and I know there will be some who'll pass on it, but for the most part people seem to be enjoying it.

I love my other stuff... but I can't ignore the success of LESSONS.  Yes, sales have slowed a bit, but it's still outselling everything else.

I wrote a few drabbles today.  Let's just say... you knew I had to bring back Mr. Giggles.  *evil grin*

Chances are I will be coming out with a collection sometime in the near future.  I was putting the idea off for a while, for fear of not being able to live up to LESSONS.  However, that's not the way to approach it.  I should just focus on putting out a great and entertaining collection.  It doesn't have to be better than LESSONS.  So long as I believe in the stories and I think it stays true to what I want to accomplish, then that's all that matters.

So, that's what I'll be working on.  No worries, I'm still working on the novella.  It's not going as fast as I would like it to, but I have some new ideas and am working on them.

Stay tuned!

And if you haven't checked out LESSONS AND OTHER MORBID DRABBLES, click here to go to the Amazon product page!

A LAND OF ASH: New Short Story Anthology

Happy to announce that A LAND OF ASH by David Dalglish is now available.  It's a short story anthology that features myself and a whole lot of other talented authors.  It was fun to write a story that was specifically for this collection.  After writing LESSONS, it was nice to get back to my roots and write a simple human drama.

I highly encourage people to check it out.  There are some great stories here.  Lots of talent.  I'm so psyched to be a part of it.  I never thought that I'd be the part of two short story collections, but that day has come and I am humbled.

It's such an honor to be a part of this project.  I hope you all will check it out and enjoy.

The Yellowstone Caldera has erupted once every 600,000 years. We’re 40,000 years overdue.

A LAND OF ASH

Lava flows stretch for hundreds of miles. A cloud of ash billows east, burying the Midwest, destroying crops, and falling upon the Pacific Coast like a warm, dead snow. The remnants of the United States flees south as the global temperatures plummet.

Amid this total devastation are stories of families, friends, sons and fathers and wives: the survivors. Within are eleven stories focusing on the human element of such a catastrophe, from an elderly couple gathering to await their death to a father sealing his shelter in hopes of keeping the air breathable for his daughter. Contributing to this collection include many popular and up-and-coming independent authors, including David McAfee, Daniel Arenson, and more. 

A Land of Ash (short story collection by David Dalglish)

I'm excited to announce that I'm going to be included in another short story collection.  This one by David Dalglish (author of the Half-Orcs series), A LAND OF ASH.  It's also going to feature a lot of talented authors, as well.  I am beyond psyched about this.  It's been a great year for me on the writing front.  Found out how to publish my work (the correct way), and now I'll have my work included in two short story collections by two insanely talented authors.

One of the stories by Dalglish can be viewed at Smashwords for free.  This will be one of the stories that'll appear in A LAND OF ASH.

"One Last Dinner Party"

The story can also be found in the fine horror collection, THE LAKE AND 17 OTHER STORIES by David McAfee.  He is also going to be one of the authors featured in A LAND OF ASH.

It's been an exciting year for me.  Hope this keeps up!

P.S.

LESSONS AND OTHER MORBID DRABBLES has been approved by Smashwords and will be made available to online stores like B&N and the iBookstore in the very near future.  Very excited by that.  Also, I sold my 32nd copy of LESSONS this week.  :)  Thank you to everybody who checked out the book and enjoyed it!