Check in with the editor
in which I bore you with my happenings
It seems like high time that I check back in with you, my esteemed readers. No, no, don’t deny it. I wish to persist with this particular fantasy. I imagine you all sitting primly in your stiff high-backed chairs, a tobacco pipe or glass of wine in one hand, and Underside Stories in the other. In my mind’s eye, Underside Stories is not simply a website on a newsletter site, but a richly bound hardback. But that is not the point.
But what is the point? Excellent question, esteemed reader. I don’t know. Maybe this. You have questions. I may have imagined these questions. Again, not the point. In the following, I will answer these questions you undoubtedly have, imagined or not. And if I missed a question? Tell me in the comments!
Handy button, that one, and shows up just in the nick of time. So where were we? Oh yes. The questions.
What am I writing?
Soooo…. I’m primarily working on two projects at the moment. A few months ago, I posted a poll to my Facebook page. It’s not too late to vote!
1- A Rift in the Castle —a YA fantasy novel set in the world of Roda
Aven and Envur live in a city that is a castle, roaming where they wish. But when Aven watches a young boy vanish after an encounter with an apparent shade, he undertakes a mission to find out what happened and get him back. Enlisting Envur and other children, their quest leads them to the tallest towers and rooftops, to the crowded streets of the city, to the very depths of an excavation beneath the city. When they discover a rift into another plane of existence, the shades come after them as well. They must band together if they have any hope of getting the boy back and banishing the shades back to their world.
2- untitled mystery/crime novel —set loosely in my hometown in central Maryland
Detective Sozier and his partner investigate a grisly murder discovered after a massive blizzard. Fighting deep drifts and the impossibility of a the killer's escape, they must piece the events together and track down the real killer. More and more, it points toward one of their own. But can they be sure, or will the killer claim a new victim first?
What am I trying to get published?
This is a loaded question. The answer is: pretty much everything. Poetry. Novel. Short stories and novellas. So here’s a sampling!
“Once Upon a July”—a slipstream coming-of-age novella set in July, 1994
July has brought a fresh start for young Brett, a newly minted teenager. But then the strangeness starts piling up. First, the car in the river and the unsettling reappearance of a sticker. Then, the boy in the hospital who seems somehow familiar. Whether hanging with his best friend Dale at the mall or down by the river, or with his little sister watching tv, or with his big sister at the grocery store, Brett can’t shake the feeling that something is off. But what?
“Far Down Trodden Paths”—a Roda novella, part fantasy, part horror
Lortun has traveled across the world to warn the senseen—people with senses beyond natural abilities—of the terrible spirit known as The Thin One who comes to destroy them. But this time, he is too late. The Thin One’s mark is present, and the senseen in this place are dead. Lortun is also a senseen who is able to access the spirit land, putting him at a terrible impasse with The Thin One. Neither can touch the other for fear of killing themselves. It is up to Lortun to figure out what drives The Thin One, and how to beat him at his own game, before he wipes out all senseen for good.
What am I reading?
1- Let me start with my bedside book, which I pick at here and there, but which often just sits there: The Murder of the Century by Paul Collins.
This is a nonfiction true crime story that nonetheless manages to grip the reader and sweep them along. Set in turn of the century New York, during the height of Sherlock Holmes when everyone fancies themselves an amateur detective, body parts begin showing up all over the city. Police are initially baffled, but journalists, led by a newspaper battle between major players Pulitzer and Hearst, lead their own investigations in a battle for readers that leaves behind many suspects, theories, and clues.
2- Audiobook on my daily commute: Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits (Zooey Ashe #1) by David Wong aka Jason Pargin.
This one is what it says: a futuristic story starring a young trailer park woman who becomes entangled with super-augmented villains out to capture her, a live-feed video social network that drives public opinion, and a ridiculous inheritance that she has no desire to inherit from a father she never really knew. Using the author’s trademark humor but with the splatterpunk from his other offerings, John Dies at the End series, toned down, this one is a quick and enjoyable read.
What am I watching?
Another loaded question, as my wife and I tend to spread the wealth quite a bit. Lately, it’s been Rings of Power or (me only, since she couldn’t take it anymore) The Boys. There is also Lisey’s Story, His Dark Materials, Severance, Locke and Key, Only Murders in the Building… well, I won’t go into everything. You get the idea. I will highlight a couple that have influenced me the most in recent years, even though they aren’t exactly current.
The Magicians—loaded with fantasy, time travel, other worlds, unexpected humor, startling horror, and enough chaos for a lifetime, this one never ceased to amaze me. I admit, upon reading the first book, I felt it was meta-derivative to a fault, too caught up in its own cleverness to make interesting characters or plotlines. The TV show changed my mind, and I went back and enjoyed the entire book series as well.
The Leftovers—this one surprised me, and on looking back, I find it difficult to pinpoint exactly what is so compelling. The premise—that a percentage of the population up and disappeared—is not the most promising to me. It’s one of those so-called high-concept shows that tends to get bogged down in its own ideas and forgets to tell a good story with real characters. The Leftovers doesn’t do that. In fact, it could almost tell its story without that background, despite the fact it seeps into everything. Come to this story not for the concept but for the acting, for the writing. It’s well worth it.
AND FINALLY
Call for submissions
Here’s the nitty-gritty. How about this—I need more stories and poems. Flood my inbox. Empty out your trunks. Tell your writer friends, and your non-writer friends, too, because maybe they’ll want to subscribe? I would like to post double while running a serial, since interest tends to wane on those, but I just don’t get enough material. So keep sending! Don’t be disheartened by a no answer. It’s not a reflection of you, or even your creation. Just send me the next one! Maybe next week, it will be posted here.
Hit me up in the comments and tell me what you like and what you want more of! Until next time…
Funny, I had the same experience with The Magicians when I read the first book. But then the show came out and it was way different and cool so now I've enjoyed the books more too. As for what ot write, I think the Roda ones looks good but then again I'm not really into murder mysteries.