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Resurrectionists is Available Now!

December 19, 2016 By Lou

Is there anything else I can say? Resurrectionists is available now!

Resurrectionists

From the digital back cover.

Detective Greg Loren faces his darkest hour in this thrilling prequel to Signs of Portents.

With his career joining his personal life on a downward slide toward oblivion, Loren is running out of time and patience. Pulled into yet another in an endless series of supernatural cases, he uncovers a series of grave robberies that are more than they seem.

What is the Church of the Second Coming? And what does it have to do with Loren’s deceased wife, Beth?

With everything on the line, will Loren sacrifice his future to reclaim his past? Will his partner and confidante, Soriya Greystone, stand with him or against him in his decision?

No one walks away unscathed in this scintillating chapter of the Greystone series.

Enjoy an Exclusive Preview of Resurrectionists.

Chapter One

Kelli Andrews couldn’t sleep. It was the same routine every night: an hour or two of deep sleep…and then the nightmares started. Work, the kids, bills, the never-ending holidays. Plenty to choose from but the best were the mix and match set that spanned childhood fears with the mundane nature of her life.

Emptiness greeted her rousing, the other half of the bed vacant. Marc was missing again. Kelli sat up, rubbing the dreariness out of her eyes. The clock beamed in bright red. Barely 5:00 in the morning, the sky still black. She wondered how long he had been away, if he even came to bed.

She thought this was over, that Marc worked through this. The late nights. The disconnect from everyone and everything. Sleepless nights of channel surfing and roaming the neighborhood. Almost daily since the death of his mother three months earlier.

Kelli persevered, although she had no choice in the matter. Two kids not even in double digits and a job to keep them in their modest yet suffocating mortgage. A breakdown was not in the offering for her, though she could have used a nice stretch in a padded cell, if only for a decent night’s rest.

Death affected everyone differently. She hadn’t shed a tear over the last few months, the loss a blessing after years of suffering from debilitating illnesses and physical pain. But her husband of twelve years took the passing hard.

Things changed a month ago. A reprieve, a return to normalcy—or so Kelli thought. Seeing the empty bed, she wondered if she was trying to convince herself more than anyone. Out of need. For the kids. For herself.

Her ankles popped as her feet connected with the soft carpet. Despite the nightmares, she was surprised how long she had slept without interruption. It showed, her back struggling to straighten, her balance precarious on her trek to the hallway. She preferred the idea of another two or three hours of rest but her bladder won out.

The door squealed upon opening and she held her breath. Waking the kids was not an option, especially with the chance of a little more sleep still in the cards even after a trip to the bathroom. And the hunt for Marc. She would check the couch first. He was most likely passed out, drool running down his chin. There was the chance he was still awake, teary-eyed and lost in memory, the television a distraction from the photo albums that had become a permanent staple of the coffee table lately.

Halfway across the hall, inching slowly like a covert operative, Kelli stopped. A figure stood at the end of the hall—a small shadow centered among the darkness. Matted brown hair and wearing Spider-Man pajamas, her son startled her with his presence.

“Grandma’s here,” he said, his seven-year-old voice booming in the early morning graveyard that was their home.

Kelli shook her head. “What? Quinn, baby, it’s too early.”

Quinn walked up to her. His hand slipped into hers and he pulled her down the hall. The bathroom faded from view, like the nightmares of the last few hours.

Kelli struggled to keep up with the boy’s enthusiasm, her mind even slower to question their destination. They owned a small home, compact and single story. The hallway that led to their bedrooms and the single full bath (which would never be enough for all four of them) fed into the living room, which connected to the kitchen. The sound of movement from the latter caused her to hold back at the threshold of the former.

Quinn looked to her, puzzled, pulling harder. “Come on, Mommy.”

Her confusion didn’t subdue her senses. She recognized it: the sound of eggs frying on the stove and the smell of bacon sizzling on the griddle. It woke her up, the cloud of her deep sleep fading. Her smile returned.

Marc was back. Really back. For good this time. So ambitious, making up for lost time, he set to work making breakfast. A little early—by about two hours—but the effort behind it all bolstered her. Helping to keep her going after the burden of the last few months.

Her delusion ended quickly.

Lily, her four-year-old daughter, sat at the kitchen table. Quinn joined her, smiling and giggling, their plates full of food that would never be eaten. Next to her sat Marc, munching on a slice of bacon.

“What’s all this?” Kelli asked, confused by the sound of cooking while everyone sat around the table.

The confusion ended with her arrival. A figure rounded the corner, stepping into the light, carrying two plates of eggs—over-easy and dabbled with enough pepper to clear your sinuses. A staple of only one person Kelli Andrews knew.

Her mother-in-law stopped, pointing at the empty table chair. “Take a seat, dear. You look pale. Have you been eating enough?”

Kelli froze, unable to think. Unable to speak. Her husband grinned, digging into his freshly prepared breakfast.

“Isn’t it great, honey?”

His wife failed to agree. As she stared at the dead woman in her kitchen, she only had one response.

Kelli Andrews screamed.

Excited for more?

Click on the ad below for your FREE copy of Resurrectionists now!

Resurrectionists
Thanks for reading.

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Filed Under: Free Books, Resurrectionists Tagged With: Free Books, Greystone, Resurrectionists, Tales from Portents

Tales from Portents – Learning to Love Short Story Collections

December 15, 2016 By Lou

I can’t believe the release of Tales from Portents is only two months away. It seems like only yesterday I was sketching out a possible short story to share with my readers in between the full-length novels of the Greystone’s first cycle.

One. Uno. That was where this started.

A little confession.

I’m not a short story fan. I have trouble writing them. I have trouble reading them. Not because of quality issues. It is more of a mindset. I like something more immersive. To be lost in a world so completely for hundreds of pages that I have trouble leaving it at the end of the day.

Short stories seemed ancillary. Not as important. Less than crucial to the mythology. Sort of like the one in done episodes of The X-Files. The mythology was what brought me into the series. Answering the bigger questions kept me coming back. The one in done episodes seemed to be filler material against the grand tapestry of the series.

I was wrong.

Making each short story matter.

Going back through The X-Files a few years back I realized my error. Each episode brought with it fantastic character moments and some truly memorable roles. When I list out my top ten episodes few are mythology based. (My sister is screaming Conduit at me, right now. Quiet down over there!)

short story collectionThat was the mentality I brought to Tales from Portents. How to overcome my own misgivings with short story collections and make each one matter. To make each one vital to the overall story of the Greystone series.

Some might not seem that way at first, while other connections are very clear right from the start. That was the fun in putting it together. The challenge of understanding how smaller moments build to bigger ones. How an image, a reference, a location creates future stories.

Challenging the process

I enjoy long-form storytelling. The epic feel of series like Lord of the Rings or the great journey within The Dark Tower novels. I also prefer to write in that format. Having the room to explore, the space to breathe, rather than rush headlong from start to finish in 3.6 seconds or less.

Part of me needed an answer as to why that was, and to challenge my writing process to create within a specific framework. To build smaller stories that mattered without losing my voice or the importance of the overall picture.

I am incredibly glad to have taken the journey. Tales from Portents has many wonderful moments within, most surprised me when they came about. But all matter in the end.

The shadows in Portents are growing. A dark light fills the city.

And the circle is closing.

In two months we move one step closer to the end of the beginning.

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Filed Under: Tales from Portents Tagged With: Lord of the Rings, short story, short story collections, Tales from Portents, The Dark Tower, X-Files

Writing Update – November 10, 2016

November 10, 2016 By Lou

I like to take stock on where I am with my work and I feel it’s important to share that with you here. Every two weeks you can find out what I’m currently writing and what I’ve been reading.

Reminder Alert: Only one week left to enter the Goodreads Giveaway for a chance to win a signed copy of Signs of Portents! Plenty of time left to spread the word and get people excited for the book!

Writing

NaNoWriMo is in full swing and I am chained to my folding table in the basement to crank out the second full length novel in the Greystone series. The Medusa Coin is a story I’ve been waiting to tell for way too long. To have the opportunity to maximize my productivity during this month long sprint is incredible.

I’m looking to complete the entire first draft for the NaNoWriMo challenge this year and have been plugging away diligently to make it happen. As of this writing I am 30 chapters in at a word count of 34,042. It definitely takes some getting used to being able to write almost full time compared to my normal schedule (the ever fading nap time). Very happy I’ve taken the challenge this year to test out how things will be once my two wonderful munchkins hit their school years though I do miss daylight (Not that there’s much of it to enjoy these days.)

You can read about my NaNoWriMo experience as well as some tips to prepare and survive the grueling month over at The Write Life starting next week.

currently writingTales from Portents

The line edit just came back from my brilliantly talented editor, Kristen Hamilton and I will be digging through her notes over the next two weeks before the proofreading phase begins. February is right around the corner so I plan to make this my full priority once I survive November. I’m looking forward to sharing this project with you. Very surprised at how well it came together considering its origins.

Kristen was nice enough to entertain some questions – okay, a lot of questions – about her process. I plan to share them over the next couple of weeks. A nice primer for how much she brings to the table as an editor and how to make the most of the collaboration.

Reading

Unfortunately, with more writing time the reading portion of my day has ground to a halt. I have been lucky enough to get more reading time with my three year old so if you’re looking for some scintillating reviews of Dora the Explorer or Pete the Cat I’d be glad to share them. Just not here. (As long as my daughter enjoys them, that’s all that matters, right?)

Thanks for reading.

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Filed Under: Reading, Writing Tagged With: NaNoWriMo, reading, Tales from Portents, The Medusa Coin, writing

Resurrectionists – First Look

November 3, 2016 By Lou

These are my favorite moments. When something finally comes together enough to show it off to you, gentle reader. Welcome to Resurrectionists, A Greystone Tale.

resurrectionistsResurrectionists

When I put together Tales from Portents I knew I needed a centerpiece. There had to be a focal point to the collection, a larger work holding all of the pieces in place and making it a full work instead of disparate threads.

Resurrectionists is that centerpiece.

When Signs of Portents opens, Detective Greg Loren is being pulled back into the city. He is haunted by the mistakes of his past. This story shows his fall and the reasons behind his leaving for Chicago. It explains the role a man named Standish played in these events and also brings to light the true meaning behind the mistakes and regrets that plague his decisions throughout Signs of Portents.

 

Why a Greystone Tale?

This is part of Tales from Portents, coming in February 2017. In fact, it is the first story in the collection. So why offer it separately? It felt important to me. A true prelude to Signs while also bridging some of the themes being explored in the next full length novel following Tales.

The story also allows people a glimpse at the world of Greystone without having to invest to much of their time or hard earned cash.

Speaking of the financial expense…

How much is this gem going to run you? For subscribers to my e-mail list not a cent. Sign up for my e-mail newsletter, a charming missive sent out monthly, and receive this wonderful ebook for FREE.

It will be available on the ebook retailers websites as well. A slight price tag involved so the free alternative is the better option. To me anyway, but I listen to myself babble for hours everyday.

The details, man. Give us the details!

Resurrectionists hits the digital shelves during the latter half of December. I haven’t nailed down a precise date. It depends on a couple things coming together and a few late nights on my part, but by the end of the year it will be available.

For those already on the e-mail list it will be sent to you directly upon availability.

I can’t wait to share this with you and it should give a nice primer for what to expect in Tales from Portents. It was a lot of fun to put together.

Thanks for reading.

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Filed Under: Resurrectionists, Tales from Portents Tagged With: Resurrectionists, Tales from Portents, writing

Signs of Portents – Author Commentary Part 2

October 3, 2016 By Lou

Editing a novel is a tricky process. There’s the story you’ve come up with and put together over many months. And then there’s the story that needs to be told within that story. What sells the arc of a character? How do you drive it home for your reader? How does it impact future books in the series? All become very important questions over the course of the editing process.

To me, there was something missing in Signs of Portents for the longest time. A player that, while minor in the novel, would come to play a larger role in events as the series played out. In my mind, at least. Draft after draft went by until it finally dawned on me who I was missing in the work.

Rufus Mathers.

He shows up in a single chapter in the novel. (Chapter 23 for those playing at home.) Just one. But by including him as a physical presence in the book his impact is felt throughout the work.

editing processWhy Mathers?

I needed a foil. I needed a face to stand against Loren and the way things had been done in the past. Someone to hate Loren for the mistakes made during his previous stint at the Portents Police Department. Someone with authority and someone with power over how Loren and, by association, Soriya could operate in the city. The notion of Standish, the troubles in Loren’s past were seeded but there was no one actually willing to say these things out loud from any place of authority.

Mathers came into focus very late in the game to fill this role and in doing so also provided the perfect place to give Captain Ruiz more time on the page.

Counterpoint to Ruiz

I knew Ruiz needed more to play with during Signs of Portents. He’s the Walter Skinner of the cast (for all you X-Files fans out there) and there needed to be more room for him to strut his stuff. The inclusion of Mathers, and the sudden creation of the events in Chapter 23, the reader gets to see Ruiz take center stage.

We follow Ruiz while he defends Loren’s actions as well as his own for bringing him back into the fold. We learn the power struggle between the two men. One wanted the other’s job and one just wanted to do the job.

It also allowed me to show Ruiz’s doubts about Loren, his fears in putting it all on the line for the man barely surviving. His doubts become the readers and it becomes Loren’s job to put them at ease.

Ruiz down the line

By setting up the work dynamic with Mathers during the editing process I was able to open up some avenues down the line. The reader gets to learn more about Loren’s blow up with Robert Standish – someone you will be reading about quite a bit in the upcoming Tales from Portents collection – and added more drama to the situation. Having someone to pile on the protagonist always add more fuel to the fire of a plot. I knew Mathers would play the part well, while also keeping Ruiz in check.

More than anything, Ruiz needed to be seen and heard more in the novel. His role in the next full length novel is greatly expanded. Big stuff happens with him. Seeding his story here and watching it grow in Tales from Portents lets the reader see how important he truly is to the overall arc of the Greystone series.

Fingers crossed that it worked.

Thanks for reading.

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Filed Under: Editing, Greystone, Signs of Portents, Writing Tagged With: author commentary, editing process, Signs of Portents, Tales from Portents, writing

Writing Update – September 15, 2016

September 15, 2016 By Lou

I like to take stock on where I am with my work and I feel it’s important to share that with you here. Every two weeks you can find out what I’m currently writing, what I’ve been reading and other interesting factoids I have found on the interwebs instead of doing my work.

Writing:

Tales from Portents is in the hands of my fine circle of beta readers. I’ve been getting some great feedback already and appreciate every critique offered. Anything to make the work stronger as a whole. I’m also happy to get it off my hands for a bit. I lived the collection for the last five months so being able to move ahead with the next step of Greystone’s first “cycle” is a great relief instead of feeling like I’m spinning my wheels.

Speaking of the next novel – with a hopeful launch next summer – I am about halfway through my scripting phase. Last update I wrote about the outlining stage with my handy index cards to help me out. This time it is all dialogue, dialogue, dialogue.

Scripting

It is my absolute favorite part of the process because it becomes so engrained in everything I do. Coming up with conversations in your head. Finding the voice for each character, major or minor. It doesn’t matter if I’m cutting the lawn, playing with the kids, or sleeping, the conversations are playing in the background and as each one falls into place, the tapestry of the novel comes together.

I’m really enjoying the direction the novel is heading and it tackles some great concepts.

I plan to talk about both the outlining phase and the scripting phase of my writing next week so stay tuned for that.

Reading and the Web:

Nada. Bupkus.

“WHAT? How can you have nothing for me here? Where will I find my next favorite comic book read?!” (The answer is always Amazing Spider-Man. Enjoy.)

School is back in session and I am back on full time Dad duty. (Heh. Duty.) Every spare second (thanks be to you, Nap Gods) is being spent spreading the word on Signs of Portents and working on the new novel before Tales from Portents comes back from my beta readers for another read-through before heading off to my oh, so wonderful editor, Kristen Hamilton. So, yeah, lots and lots of writing going on this month when possible.

Thanks for reading.

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Filed Under: Outlining, Scripting, Writing Tagged With: Amazing Spider-Man, Kristen Hamilton, Signs of Portents, Tales from Portents

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Resurrectionists

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