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.