Updates, updates, updates!

A few exciting things have happened.  First, I'm happy to say that I was just recently interviewed by a fellow author, Jason G. Anderson, who just put out his debut book, THE VAMPIRE DRABBLES.  He said his book came to be after reading LESSONS AND OTHER MORBID DRABBLES, which I take as a huge compliment.  I've always said that if it wasn't for David McAfee and his excellent collection, the LESSONS books would've never existed.

Feels nice to be able to return the favor for somebody else!

You can check out the interview by clicking here.

Also, be sure to check out THE VAMPIRE DRABBLES by Jason G. Anderson.  I've had the chance to read a couple of them and he's done a great job.

Onto other news, I've finished the rewrite of A GNOME PROBLEM (a novelette), and so far I'm very happy with it.  It's still going to be a little time before I release it to the public.  I've gone through it a few times already, but as any writer knows, it takes a helluva lot more than "a few times" before you can even think about releasing it to the general public.  Still have some work to do, but it's getting closer and closer every day.  I'm excited.  It was a fun story to write, and I really hope you all enjoy it when I do publish it.

IN DECLINE is going to get a new cover sometime soon.  It's time.  I think I have an idea that'll represent the stories a lot better.  Stay tuned!

I'm still hearing wonderful things from readers who have read my LESSONS books, which makes me happy.  I'm glad that people have been enjoying them.  They were fun to write.  I know not everybody will like them, as with anything else, but so far I have to say the general reaction to both books have been extremely positive.

That's all for now.  Will keep you posted!

Progress on A GNOME PROBLEM (a novelette)

Well, even though I've been slacking with my blog, I haven't been slacking with my writing.  I went over a short story that I had written last year called, "A Gnome Problem."  Re-reading it, I forgot how much fun I had writing it.  It was even more fun to read it.  By the time I finished it, I decided that it was time to go back and do a re-write.

I also realized that this was one of my longest short stories.  If you've read any of my stories from IN DECLINE, you'll notice that for the most part, I keep my stories pretty short.  I don't do that on purpose.  I just make a story as long as it has to be in order to tell the story.  This one, however, was quite long.  Over 6K in words.

That's when I realized that maybe I can turn this into a novelette.

A novelette, from what I've read, begins at 7,500 words and the max limit is somewhere around 14,000 (as that would be a novella).

On the rewrite, I'm not even close to finish, and I'm already over 5,100 words.  I'm pretty sure I can reach 7,500 without any problems.

Why am I doing this?  Well, I think it'd be neat to have something other than a short story.  Short stories are fine and well, but maybe if this ends up being a novelette, more people might give it a try.  Plus, the story is an odd one.  I don't think I could ever include it in an actual short story collection, unless I came up with several other stories with the same theme.

So, I've been making a lot of progress on A GNOME PROBLEM.  This time I might use some beta readers to get a feel of how people will react to it.  It's an odd, odd tale.

Lots of cursing, too.  Hope that won't bother people.  Well... I'm sure it will, but nothing I can do about that.  My characters have potty-mouths at times, and I'll be damned if I'm going to censor them!

Nothing new to report... so that's what I'm reporting!

Sheesh... I've been slacking with this blog again.  Sorry, sorry, sorry!

I wished I had a lot of exciting updates for you, but I really don't at the moment.  There are a few cool things going on.  I'm 9 away from selling 500 books since July, which is amazing, being that I don't even have a novel out yet!  Not too shabby for a short story writer.

The LESSONS books are still doing very well.  I've been hearing a lot of good things about them from people, so that makes me very happy.  IN DECLINE, while it may not be seeing LESSONS numbers, is still doing well by itself and even got a wonderful review on BigAl's Books and Pals.  You can read the review by clicking here.

My favorite part of the review:

Crane has a talent very few writers have. He can find the humor in a dire situation or find a way to sympathize with the most dismal characters. Some say that to read fiction requires the reader to “suspend disbelief.” That’s not the case here. These stories ooze truth.

So, how can one not be happy when they get an excellent review like that?  :)

That's about it for now.  I guess I did have a few things that were worth reporting after all.  Imagine that!

(Just don't expect me to make a habit out of it!)

A new look for IN DECLINE

It had to be done.  It was time that I gave IN DECLINE a serious makeover.

No, no.  Don't worry!  I didn't delete or alter any of the stories.  I did, however, change the order of the stories around, as well as grouped them into three parts.  So now, it looks like this:

PART I: LITTLE ONES
THE ROLLER RINK
MY PAL RODNEY
FIRST DATE

PART II: IN DECLINE
A PRAYER FROM PENELOPE
MARVIN AND DOLLY
IN DECLINE

PART III: FAMILY MATTERS
ROAD TRIP
SMACKED
UNCLE LENNY

I just think it's really cool that I can group the stories together like that.  I hope it'll lead to more people checking it out.  I really am proud of the book, and now with a much stronger story to start things off, when folks go to sample, they may end up buying it a lot more than before.  That's the thought process, anyway.

Either way, it was really exciting to reconstruct IN DECLINE, even if it was just a matter of switching the order around some.  It's amazing what a little change like that can do it for you.  Will it work in the long run?  Hard to say.  Either way, the book is better for it.

(NOTE:  If you have already bought a copy of IN DECLINE and would like the updated version, I think you can e-mail Kindle Support and let them know that a new version is out and you would like it.  If you're fine with the version you have, then you don't have to worry about it.)

Updates and interviews, ahoy!

Well, it's been a few weeks since LESSONS II was released, and I'm happy to say that its debut month has been very impressive.  In fact, LESSONS II has even done better than LESSONS I did when it was first released.

And here I was worried that the sequel would be a failure.  I had no reason to think that... it's just I knew how well the first one was doing, I was afraid it was only a fluke or something.  Once again, it's a very happy day to be wrong.

I want to thank everybody who has bought a copy.  You don't know how much that means to me.  It was a fun book to write--and I'll even go as far to say that it was even more fun than the first one.  With LESSONS II, it didn't feel like it was a crunch.  I had more time to play around with it, to tweak and re-tweak.  I think it shows--or at least, I hope it does, anyway.

Also, a big thanks to author Imogen Rose for doing two different giveaways for LESSONS II, both on the day it went live and on my birthday.  That definitely got me some new readers and fans.  If you want to know more about Imogen Rose and her work, check out her website.

I also need to thank Elizabeth who runs the Frugal eReader.  She featured LESSONS II on my birthday which was a very nice surprise.  Not only that, but she's a huge supporter when it comes to indies like myself.  Visit the Frugal eReader here.

I am thinking about doing a LESSONS III at some point, but that's far, far away.  Months away, at least.  The idea and concept is still in the early stages.  Plus, as flattered as I am that people are already asking me for a third one, I really don't want anybody to burn out on the books.  No matter what, I need to give it some time.  Just know that I am thinking about it.

Also, happy to say that I was featured on a couple of blogs the past week.  On Friday, I was featured on author Karen Cantwell's fantastic blog, Fiction For Desert.  I was looking forward to that for a long time.  When she contacted me a few months back saying that she was a big fan, I was floored.  I knew who Karen was.  Her books are on my TBR list.  I was shocked as all hell that she knew who I was!  And that she liked my work!

You can check out the interview by clicking here.

LESSONS II was also featured on Indie Books Blog yesterday, which was also a true honor.  You can check that out by clicking here.  If you're an indie author, I recommend checking the site out and finding out how you can promote your work. 

So, those are my updates for now.  Again, thanks to everybody for their overwhelming support of my writing.  Writing itself is a huge reward, but it's even better when you find out that others are enjoying your work so much.


To check out the LESSONS books on Amazon, click here

More wonderful comments from a reader

A little while ago, author Imogen Rose was kind enough to run a contest where she would gift copies of LESSONS II to a number of winners.  She did this again on my birthday.  When I went to her FB page yesterday, I saw that one of the winners left this wonderful comment:

I have enjoyed this book so much, thanks for having this contest. I especially enjoyed the fact these stories were so short, pick up and read one as I went about my day. I also enjoyed the warped sense of humor intermixed with the dark images. It took me out of my winter doldrums and into a "fun" place where nothing is as it seems and the innocent are to be feared the most. Thanks again, Imogen for the contest, and kudos to Michael Crane for his wonderful book. I'm off to find Lessons I!

Seeing that made my day.  I responded and thanked her.  I told her that I hoped she enjoyed LESSONS I.  She later responded:

Mike, I did find it and enjoyed it as much as the Lessons II. I'm ready for III and IV!!! You have a dark, wonderful imagination, and I'm hoping there are more drabbles just waiting to surface!

So, as you can imagine, this really made my Monday special.  It's so awesome to hear back from people who really enjoy your work.  I still can't get my head around the fact that people are digging these two little collections so much.  It really makes it worth doing in the end.  Don't get me wrong, I have an absolute ball when I write the LESSONS books.  I wouldn't write them if I didn't.  It's just a wonderful, wonderful feeling when you hear back from people who enjoyed your work so much.

I never thought I'd be well known for writing stuff like LESSONS.  But hey, if it's getting people to read and enjoy my work, then I'm all for it!

A post from a fan

This happened a few days ago, but it's something that I would love to share.  An Amazon poster posted this message to me on one of the forums.  Here's what it said:

"Michael Crane,
I've been peeking in here hoping to spot you. I have to say THANK-YOU!
While my 20yo nephew was visiting over the holidays, i was devastated to learn he no longer reads for enjoyment.
(he LOVED books through out childhood) But when he picked up my Kindle, i opened up Lessons (and other morbid drabbles) and he loved it! He read a DTB (no, he cannot have my kindle) while here, and i think he has the bug again.
Anyways...THANKS!"

This could be the nicest thing that anybody has ever said about my writing.  I was speechless when I saw this.  I've heard people say good things about my work... but nothing ever like this.  I think this is one of the best compliments that a reader can get.

And I'm glad I was able to make somebody enjoy reading again... even with a goofy and f*cked up book like LESSONS!  :)