New slice-of-life short story collection coming soon!

I originally announced this on my author FB page, but I'll also post it here.

November 2011 was my very first attempt at NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). My project was a short story collection with slice-of-life stories all based around a certain event. They all took place in a small and quiet town shaken to its core when a little girl is found murdered and abused. The stories involve adults and kids, dealing with the tragedy. I ended up writing a second draft las...t year, but because real life got involved (and got too real at times), I ended up putting it off for a while and worked on Giggles instead.

After reading Alice Munro these past few months, I decided it was time to revisit the collection and finally finish the second draft. I've sent a very rough version of it to some readers I trust (and who loved my collection In Decline) to see if it was worth going forward. So far, I've heard really good things and it looks like it's going to be a reality sooner rather than later.

Sorry for the long post. But that's what I've been up to with my writing! I'm really excited about this. It feels great to work on slice-of-life stories again. I loved writing horror, but this will always be my true love when it comes to writing.

 

I'm not sure when this will all be completed, but as I've said I don't expect it to take too long. My goal is to have this done within the next few months. Before the end of the year for sure, but I really think it'll be sooner than that.

Reading and writing... and more reading

Even though I haven't had time to do a lot of writing, I've been reading a lot. I think one of the best things you can do when you're not writing is to read. You never know what's going to inspire you. Or give you that creative bug you thought was long, long gone.

After reading a bunch of Alice Munro stories lately (she has become my new favorite short story writer), I'm going back to a short story collection I started a few years back. I've finally finished a second draft. Now, I'm just editing and tightening it before I send it some readers for overall opinions. It's a slice-of-life collection where all of the stories are in a way connected--yet they work on their own.

I know I don't blog here on much, but you can follow me on BookLikes. I post there. A ton. Mostly about books, and sometimes other things. I hope you'll follow me at http://michaelcrane.booklikes.com/.

Sorry I don't post here often. I'll try to do that more, but as you know I'm not very good when it comes to talking about myself, or what I've been up to. But I love to talk about what I'm reading, so that's why I'm so active over there.

BookLikes: My new home away from home

I think I've mentioned in a post somewhere that I've been blogging on BookLikes. It's a blogging site where you mostly talk about books--or anything else you'd like to talk about. I've been blogging there for the past few months, and I have to say it looks like I'm doing a pretty decent job of keeping the blog updated.

I know. Odd, ain't it?

So, if you'd like to visit my new home away from home, click here. I mostly babble about books, but I also talk about other things.

I'm not sure why I'm able to keep up with that blog more than I do over here. Or on my Tumblr. Is there a chance I'll burn out on this new blogging site? Maybe.

Feel free to follow me there!

http://michaelcrane.booklikes.com/

Scary how accurate this is.

BookLikes

I'm terrible at keeping up with blogging. I think we all know this by now. I have a hard time writing about what's going on in my life. I never find myself that interesting. I wished I could be more personable on here, but the truth is I'm not very good at it.

Soo.... I found a new website about a few months ago, and truth be told I've been doing a pretty decent job of keeping it current (at least for now). If you visit my page on Booklikes you'll see that I talk a lot about what I'm currently reading. I even do mini-reviews from time to time. It's kinda like Tumblr... but for books. And I may or may not talk about other stuff as well.

That's it for now. Already have a few followers on there. Feel free to come and visit!

GIGGLES in paperback... soon!

I'm currently in the proccess of transforming my novella Giggles into a paperback. I'm really psyched for this. My cover artist also does interior work for books, and she did an amazing job on it. I should be getting a proof within the next few days or so.

I can't wait to see it in my hands. It's about time I did something that was worthy enough to call for a print version. One of these days, I'll do a Lessons collection. One of these days...

Sorry I haven't been keeping this blog up to date. My wedding is in 18 days, so as you can imagine things have been super busy and hectic (but a good kind of hectic!).

I'm on Tumblr now, and I keep that pretty updated. I reblog a bunch. It's mostly about writing, books, and other stuff. Feel free to follow me!

You can also find me on Twitter. I'm pretty active on it.

That's all for now. I'll be sure to let you all know when the paperback is available. Hopefully in time for Halloween if all goes well!

Bukowski

I’ve been really digging poems by Charles Bukowski lately. I’ve been a fan of his short stories for a few years now, but I’m finally reading his poetry. I’m not big on poems, although I admire the skill it takes to write them. Not an easy thing.

What I love about Bukowski’s poems is they’re deep, and yet they’re not overly complicated. You don’t find yourself having to google to poem later to figure out what the hell he meant. I like that. They read like little short stories, too. Another plus.

He’s written so much. I wished I could be on break right now so I could read more.

Currently reading:

Hey! I'm on Tumblr! (again)

You might recall me blogging about how I was on Tumblr and I wasn't sure what role it'd play when it came to my writing. Well, that one has turned into nothing but me posting and reblogging Doctor Who and Breaking Bad.

Way to be a winner, Mike.

Well, now I've made one that'll mostly focus on writing for the most part. You can check it out here. It'll probably be me doing mini-blogs and reblogging writerly things. I might talk about books here and there. Not quite sure.

I have no plans to abandon this blog right now. I know I lack at posting, but I still plan to keep it running. You might see more activity from me on the Tumblr page, because I'm on it a lot. So no worries if you don't want to follow the Tumblr account and just want to stick to here. And of course, you can always find me on Twitter. That is always your best bet to see new stuff from me, as I tend to blab a lot on there.

(oh... and if you're curious to see the disaster that has become my mdrabbles Tumblr, clickie here. Warning: it ain't pretty and I reblog on there tons. And if you're not caught up on Breaking Bad, then avoid it at all costs. Seriously. If you check it out and you're still catching up on the show... you're gonna have a bad day!)

GIGGLES (a novella) - New Release!!

Well, the novella I thought would never happen is finally here! One of these days I'll get into more detail as to how this finally came about. Truth is, it's been a few years in the making, going back to 2011. Finally got around to writing it this year. If you've wanted a longer story featuring our favorite homicidal sock monkey, well here it is! Hopefully I've done right by him.

It's available as an ebook on Amazon, Bn.com, and Smashwords. I hope to put out a print version in the very near future. Happy Reading!

P.S.

The release date was supposed to be on the 2nd... but someone got very impatient. In case you missed any of the fun on my FB author page.

The joy of writing

"I probably won't quit until I just quit everything -- quit my life -- because it's all I know how to do," he told the AP at the time. "And it's fun. I do have fun writing, and a long time ago, I told myself, 'You got to have fun at this, or it'll drive you nuts.'" - Elmore Leonard

Sad to hear we've lost a great author today. He was always one of my favorites. Elmore Leonard knew how to write dialogue like no other, and he always created the most interesting characters. What stood out about his characters was most of the time they weren't even good people, yet they were always interesting and you always wanted to follow along. He'll be missed.

But I'm not writing a post to bum people out, or at least, I'll try not to! I saw the above quote, and I think Leonard said it best. Writing is fun. It's a lot of work, and it can stress you out at times... but at the end of the day, you have to be having fun.

Even writing something as brutal and disturbing as GIGGLES, I had a lot of fun. And even when I wrote really depressing stories in my short story collection, IN DECLINE, I always had fun. Sounds hard to believe, but it's true.

Creating something, no matter how depressing or dark, can bring such joy. On the days where I feel like I've accomplished the most, those are the days where I ended up doing a lot of writing. I feel bummed when I've written nothing. Even the simple act of editing or tightening up a current project still brings me joy, because I'm still creating.

So when you read something I've written, no matter how dark and gut wrenching it can be, please know that I had FUN. (and hopefully, you'll have fun reading!)

Summer (audio)Reading

I'm really digging audiobooks lately. They really make the commute to work and back a lot quicker. I never thought I'd really like them, so it was a nice surprise. If you're thinking of trying any out, these are the ones I highly recommend:

 

JOYLAND by Stephen King (read by Michael Kelly):

This is the one that got me started with audiobooks. While I was saddened to see that King had no intentions of releasing it as an ebook, I saw I could get the audiobook. So I figured, why not? Glad I did. A great story overall, and the reader does a really good job. After that, I was hooked, and determined to find some more audio gems.

 

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman (read by Neil Gaiman):

My first introduction to Gaiman in the world of literature. I’ve always heard of his name, and I loved his work on Doctor Who. I really enjoyed it. Think The Jungle Book… in a graveyard. Gaiman is one of the few who can do his own audiobooks. And this led me to try…

 

THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE by Neil Gaiman (read by Neil Gaiman):

Easily one of the best books of the year, and a new all-time favorite of mine. A bit of life mixed with fantasy (but not heavy fantasy). I cannot say enough good things about both the book, and the audiobook. Personally, I think Gaiman should just do every audiobook. I’d love it if he’d do mine. It won’t happen… but it’d still be cool. One can dream, dammit!

 

1984 by George Orwell (read by Simon Prebble):

A classic that I’ve always been meaning to read. I will admit it took me a little while to really get into it, but I ended up really enjoying it. There’s a reason why this book is famous. It’s chilling and tragic. Prebble does an excellent job reading.

 

IN COLD BLOOD by Truman Capote (read by Scott Brick):

It’s a bit slow going at first, but it doesn’t take long for you to immerse yourself into this chilling true account of a horrible murder of a family. The descriptions of what the police find the next day when they arrive at the family’s house is absolutely terrifying. And as despicable as killers are, you get a full picture of them and you see them as real human beings—which makes it even more horrifying. Scott Brick is an excellent reader. I look forward to his reading of The Devil in the White City—another book I’ve been meaning to read. (BTW, if you haven’t seen it, the movie adaptation does a very good job of staying true to the material, even though it was impossible for it to be as detailed.)

 

THE CAINE MUTINY by Herman Wouk (read by Kevin Pariseau):

I didn’t even know this was a book. I haven’t seen the movie, although I’ve been meaning to. Full disclosure: I’ve just begun this one, so I’m not very far into it, but I’m already loving it. In fact, I even went out and bought both the ebooks and audiobooks of his Winds of War series. So far, a very entertaining read. Pariseau is great as the reader.

 

Those are just a few to get you started. I only started listening to audiobooks about two months ago or so. You can get these at Audible.com or iTunes. My personal recommendation is Audible, because a lot of times if you already have the Kindle version of some of these books, you can get a great deal and won’t have to pay full price. The Audible app is also excellent. You can add and delete books whenever you please, so you won’t have to worry about memory space on your phone.

Apologies for slacking... AGAIN

I know, I'm sounding like a broken record at this point. Apologies all around for not keeping this thing updated. Real life has been making it harder for me to do so. But don't feel bad. Even my writing in general is feeling the wrath of real life!

I always think I'm going to be better at updating this thing, and then I end up failing in fantastic fashion. As far as my writing goes, nothing new to really report. I am working on a short story collection, but again real life has kind of gotten in the way of my fictional world.

You can follow me on Twitter, as I'm usually always posting on there. Be warned, I post a lot of inane nonsense. Most of it has nothing to do with my writing or books. Then again, you might like that!

So, in brief:

• I'm still here
• I'm writing, even if real life is making it a tad difficult
• Mr. Giggles is NOT holding me hostage, despite what the reports have been
• I'm still a blabbing fool on Twitter
• I am, and always will be a slacker
• When in doubt, blame Steven Moffat. MOFFAT!!!

That's all for now, until next time!

BINGO! We have a winner...

We did it! We won! Lessons IV: The Dead Carnival and Other Morbid Drabbles won the 2013 BigAl's Books and Pals Readers' Choice Award for Best Short Story Collection/Anthology. This was exciting news to wake up to! I was thrilled to be nominated, and I honestly had no idea if I'd win or not.

Thanks for your support! You guys are awesome! :)

For more info on the winners, click here!

Getting past the first draft...

One of my biggest struggles when it comes to writing has always been the first draft. The main problem is I start a story and then halfway through I say, "Ugh. This is crap! I need to start something new. This isn't working." It's a terrible habit that I thought I'd be over by now, but alas it still haunts me. Just now I started something and not even five hundred words in, I said, "This is crap. This isn't going to work."

I need to stop that. Seriously.

The first draft is not supposed to be perfect. When you write the first draft, your only concern is telling the story. From beginning to end, just tell the fucking story. Who cares if it isn't working? How do you know for sure? If you're on the first draft, then of course it's going to look like utter crap. That's why it's a first draft.

First drafts aren't meant to be pretty and neat. You can be as sloppy as you want. Time-jump if you have to. Hell, do some head-hopping if that gets the story told. Switch to the POV of a frying pan. I don't care! You need to finish the story.

When you start the re-write and then realize that it isn't working, that's different. Then there is a very good chance that it isn't going to work. But that's something I shouldn't worry about until I get there.

So, I need to remind myself; when it comes to the first draft, just see it all the way through. Even if it isn't working. Just do my best to tell the story. When I'm done, then I can decide if it's worth re-writing or if I should just give up on it and try something new.

LESSONS IV nominated for an award!

I know, it's been a long time since I've blogged here. A lot has been going on in my life lately--all of them good! I usually hate Mondays, but today I really can't gripe about that. That's because I've just found out that Lessons IV: The Dead Carnival and Other Morbid Drabbles has been nominated for a BigAl's Books and Pals Readers' Choice Award in the short story/anthology category.

Holy... crap!

I really didn't expect this. It's a huge surprise and I'm flattered as hell. I'm not sure if I actually have a shot at winning, but it's just a thrill to be nominated.

If you've read Lessons IV and enjoyed it, please feel free to vote for me! You can vote here!

Please check out the other categories and see if there's a book by an author you've enjoyed! And vote!

And please, this is important: DO NOT FEEL OBLIGATED TO VOTE FOR ME JUST BECAUSE YOU KNOW ME. Only vote if you've read the book and enjoyed it. And if you haven't read the book, you can pick up a copy here (also available on BN.com and other sites). If you enjoyed the read, then by all means feel free to vote (but only if you enjoyed it and feel it's worthy of a vote)!

If you want to learn more about BigAl's Books and Pals, please visit their page!

That's all for now. I'll try not to be a stranger here. It's hard with all that's going on, but I'll do my best!

(Note: People who use IE as their web browser have experienced issues with trying to vote. If you can, try another browser and see if that helps. I've heard Chrome works fine.)

Happy 2013

Holy CRAP! I haven't written anything on here since October??? Many apologies, although I think I remember warning you guys it might happen again!

I've been extremely busy lately. I didn't even get to really focus on my writing during the past few months. I'm hoping that's something I can correct this year. Speaking of which... HAPPY 2013!

I proposed to my girlfriend of 4 years on Christmas Eve and she said yes! So now we're engaged and we couldn't be happier. Still not sure about the exact date, but we're thinking November.

So, that's the big news with me. Probably deserves a longer post, but this will have to do for now. :)

Here's a post... because I'm slacking on the ol' blog again!

I know. You're all shocked. I really need to do a better job of keeping this thing updated.

My apologies. It's been pretty busy around here. Mainly, my girlfriend and I finally moved into an apartment a few weeks ago. After living all of this time at home with my family, it feels good to finally get out there and have a place I can call my own--well for seven months, at least. We're hoping to find an actual home by the time our lease is up (although we're so in love with our apartment, I don't think it'd be overly devastating if we ended up having to stay for a little bit longer).

I know, this is something I should've done a long, long time ago. But it really worked out for the best. I was able to save a lot of money while living at home. I worked, so it wasn't like I was mooching off my parents. It's hard to turn down a free roof over your head. And when you're not in a relationship, then you feel like there's no rush to leave.

But once I finally got into a wonderful relationship, I knew it was time to get out and finally find a place.

We're loving the new place. I should post some more pics. If you're on Instagram, you can follow me on there. I'm "mdrabbles" (yes, I'm sooooo original it's scary. I suck at coming up with user names, so lay off!) I've taken a bunch of pictures of our cats taking advantage of our new home--and constantly stealing my chair.

In fact, here's one of them. While both cats love the chair, Bubbles (or Bubbs) seems to be the repeat offender:

So overall, we couldn't be happier. And that's one of the main reasons why you haven't heard from me for a while... other than... you know... me just being terrible at keeping a regular blogging schedule.

I've done very little writing, but I'm doing my best to correct that. Working on something right now. Another problem was I had a pretty nasty fight with writer's block--well, I don't know if I can call it that. I had ideas, but none of them worked when I tried to execute them. All writers hit a rough patch or a dry spell every now and then. I've still written little prompts for myself, so at the very least I'm still writing something.

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll remember to do another post before 2015.

Milestone!

I just wanted to thank you all. Yesterday I hit a pretty big milestone. I ended up selling my 5,000th book. I still can't believe it. When I started this, I really thought I'd sell a couple here and there. I had no idea these books would reach so many.

You guys are the best! Thanks for all of your wonderful support. It really means the world to me. Have a great day!

Tumblr: My new home

Don't panic. I'm still going to post here, but I think this blog is going to be more about my writing, projects, etc.

I joined Tumblr a few weeks ago (you can follow me at http://mdrabbles.tumblr.com/). I'm still tweaking it here and there, and I'm still trying to figure out how I want to use it.

But I will say this... it is very random. Hence the title, "Random Shenanigans."

Kind of like my Twitter account, this is going to be me posting about a bunch of random things. The vibe I'm getting over there, I feel a bit more free to do whatever I want. Of course, I can do whatever I want here as well, but for some reason I feel like I have to stick to a certain structure.

On my Tumblr, I'll be re-blogging a bunch of pics that catch my attention; I'll post some random thoughts/entries; oh--and I'll be posting a BUNCH about Breaking Bad, so let that be a warning to you!

I'll still post here, but again, I might keep this more as a writing blog. Who knows? I might not even be able to keep up with my Tumblr page. But I figure what the hell? Might as well give it a shot.

Hope to see you all there!

I'm writing, NOT slacking! (I think...)

I started work on a potential haunted house story a few weeks ago. I think it shows some promise, but I haven’t been able to do any work on it this week.

Slacker.

Yes, I’m slacking. No, actually it’s been pretty busy at work… so it’s been a bit tougher to sneak in some quality writing time. Hope to get some done over the weekend. I always feel better when I get a little bit of writing done.

A little bit is always better than none.

Oh, and I'm also on Tumblr now. Just joined maybe a few days ago.