Friday, December 30, 2016

2016 Year in Review

Well, 2016, thank goodness I'm not a celebrity because I might just die before I finish writing this aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrggghhhhh.... [Insert vision of a fat bald man slumped over his desk *here*]

Better now. Last night's pizza, don't you know. Gas bubble. Huge. I fainted.

Anywhooo, all jesting aside, apart from a very fugly, life-sucking presidential campaign (which went on way, waaay, waaaaay too long IMHO), 2016 was pretty darned cool!

Splits

On 28 Dec 15, I published my first novella-length work, titled Splits--it didn't really start selling until the next month, so I'm counting it as part of 2016. So there. The larger publishing houses aren't too interested in novellas (unless your name is Koontz or King), so hello Kindle Direct Publishing! Over three thousand copies of this little bugger went out the door in Oct during a five-day span, so I was pretty happy about that. Reviews have been decent, too. For those of you who asked for a sequel, well...stay tuned. ;)

The Phoenix Descent

In February, I started seeing some of the early reviews for The Phoenix Descent, and boy was I happy. When the book launched in March, I'll admit it wasn't quite as exciting as when The Gemini Effect first came out (first book and all), but I was still pumped! In the weeks that followed, I watched Phoenix rise (get it?) to #1 on the US and UK Kindle best seller lists for post-apocalyptic science fiction, and even #1 on the Australian Kindle best seller list for dystopian science fiction. G'Day, mates!

The Argus Deceit

In May, I signed the contract for my third book with 47North, titled The Argus Deceit. This book was a BLAST to write, and I hope my readers will like it as well. The first early reviews should be out in January, so keep your eyes peeled. Oh, did I mention you can pre-order a copy right now? No? Well, you can pre-order a copy right now. And one more thing about this book: You can pre-order a copy right now. ;) Official release date is 9 May 17.

Vetust Vex

I had so much fun writing Splits, I decided to drag another story that I'd been working on for a couple of years out into the light of day. I released Vetust Vex on Halloween, and I really like the response so far. It's a horror story, plain and simple, so if you haven't read it yet, be forewarned. And, like the book description says, be careful what you touch. Mwah hah hah.

So, what did I read this year? I read a lot of stuff (mostly when I should've been writing my OWN stuff), but one particular set of books really stood out. I discovered Sam Sisavath's Purge of Babylon series, and BOY was I HOOKED! I highly recommend this series if you're fan of post-apocalyptic science fiction. Start with The Purge of Babylon, and then hold on tight through the next eight books!


Sam's characters are great, his "ghouls" are terrifying, and I couldn't stop reading one book after another! Sam is also a nice guy...I wrote him to tell him how much I liked his books, and he responded immediately. Give his stories a try!

So as 2016 draws to a close, I have to say it's been a great year writing-wise. I'm looking forward to the release of The Argus Deceit in May, and then hopefully a couple of months later we'll [REDACTED-I CAN'T TALK ABOUT IT YET] and that'll be cool! Right now, I'm working on another novel, tentatively titled The Erinyes Wave, that will hopefully find a publisher in 2017. Fingers crossed!

As always, I want to thank YOU, my readers, who make all the hours I spend at my laptop worthwhile. Keep reading, and have a wonderful New Year!

- Chuck

Monday, December 12, 2016

Great Interview with Mark Gottlieb from Trident Media Group

For everyone out there who is trying to land an agent, listen to what Mark Gottlieb from Trident Media Group has to say. Great advice for writers, and great insights into the differences between self-publishing and the traditional publishing process.


Saturday, December 10, 2016

Loving the response for Vetust Vex!

So far, my novella Vetust Vex has garnered some great reviews! This little sucker has sat in my "to do" pile for a long time, and I'm glad I finally finished it.

If you haven't read it yet (and I hope you do), here's a little "heads-up" info: If you’ve read my short story Release (part of Scattered Bones), you know that story also deals with evil residing within an object. At the end of Release, I added a blurb that surely applies to this story as well: 

My wife and I sometimes like to browse through antique stores. We always end up with itchy, swollen fingers & runny noses from the dust (and God knows what else), but we enjoy it just the same. Personally, I like to look through the stacks of old pictures and wonder about the people staring back at me—surely long-dead and forgotten, but still alive in the form of a photo. What were their lives like? What did they do for a living? Were they good people? Or, maybe not so good? The stories those faces could tell.

I also appreciate the old books, not so much for the stories they contain, but more so for the people who have held them, tuned their pages, and escaped for a time within the printed words.


Pictures & books, all inanimate objects. Old, discarded, and for the most part, destined for the rubbish heap. But . . . are they really all that harmless?


A friend once told me a story about a painting she’d acquired, a somewhat creepy scene of a grizzled sailor and a lighthouse. It was a gift, so what does one do with a gift? One hangs it up, right? She did.


And that’s when the nightmares started.


Strange, upsetting dreams, unlike anything she’d ever experienced.


She got rid of the picture, and the nightmares stopped. Just like that.


Coincidence? It was, after all, just a painting. Oil on canvas, nothing more. But what if there were something more to it?


If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my fifty-plus years, it’s that we don’t know nearly as much as we think we do. Who’s to say the painting didn’t carry with it some of the less desirable qualities of its painter? Or, maybe the painter himself was trapped within the swirls of oil paint, radiating the twisted thoughts and dark intentions that guided his actions in life. Hmmm . . .
 
So again, if you haven't read it yet, I invite you to give it a go . . . but be careful what you touch.

Monday, September 12, 2016

BRODY4 has a new title...THE ARGUS DECEIT!

Well, it took over a month, and over 80 different title possibilities, but we (the 47North team and I) finally settled on a title that captures the novel perfectly. Look for THE ARGUS DECEIT this spring!

Saturday, July 23, 2016

First Draft of BRODY4 is Complete!

It was after 11:00 p.m. last night, but I finally got to type those two little words that every writer strives for . . . THE END.

The first draft for BRODY4 is complete. My delivery date to 47North is 15 September, so I'm a little early. ;) The story really flowed, and was a lot of fun to write. Now, though, the hard work begins; editing. For the next week or so, my wife and I will be going over the manuscript line by line and making any corrections we think it needs before sending it off to Jason Kirk at 47North.


Friday, July 15, 2016

Reddit Author Spotlight THIS SUNDAY, 17 July!

If you have the time this coming Sunday, 17 Jul, I invite you to join me on Reddit.  I'll be hanging out on www.reddit.com/r/books starting at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. Look for an entry of mine titled "Author Spotlight" and come on in!  Ask me anything about my novels, short stories, or writing in general.  See you there!


Saturday, June 11, 2016

Reddit Books Author Spotlight - July 17, 2016

Mark your calendars! Reddit Books has given me the opportunity to participate in one of their Author Spotlight sessions.

On July 17, 2016, starting at 11:00 a.m. EDT, I'll be hanging out here [https://www.reddit.com/r/books] answering any questions about THE PHOENIX DESCENT, my other books, my upcoming novel BRODY4, and writing in general (or whatever the heck you want to talk about).

Yeah, I know, July 17 is over a month away. SO WHAT! I'm kinda excited about this. I'll send out more reminders before the actual event . . . but I'll probably have to use another picture because as soon as my wife sees this one, she'll just shake her head, sigh, and say, "Charlie, you're weird.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Outstanding Pre-Release Reviews for The Phoenix Descent!

Every author enjoys seeing a work earn 5-star praise from a reader, but when it happens before the book is officially released, it's even more special. The Phoenix Descent, to be released on 15 March 2016, has earned two great reviews on Goodreads from early readers so far. Here's a couple of links; one to Raging Book Reviews (which also appears on Goodreads) and another to a Goodreads review.

I certainly hope other readers find The Phoenix Descent to their liking as much as these two did!

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Current WIP - "The Coin"

I'm kind of in a lull right now--I have two novel proposals with my editor at 47North, and I'm waiting to hear what he thinks. In the meantime, I've pulled an unfinished short story out of my personal slush pile and started working on it again. As of today, I figure I'm about 1/3 of the way done with the initial draft, and it looks like it'll end up being my second novella-length work.  It's titled, The Coin, and here's a little taste:

***





Last written word of J. Winstead
Provided by Nebraska State Penitentiary staff, Lincoln, NE

[8/17/96]

8:54 p.m.

I’ll be dead in a few hours.
It’s an odd feeling, counting down the final minutes of one’s life, knowing full well what’s coming & being completely powerless to prevent it. For me, there’s no more legal wrangling to endure, no useless pleas for mercy. All I have left after seven years in this hell hole is a borrowed pen, a yellow legal pad, and my thoughts.
I don’t expect a last-minute call from the Governor to spare my life. If I were in his shoes, I’d let me die at the hands of the Great State of Nebraska, too. If you happen to read this, Mr. Nelson, you’re not killing an innocent man tonight—you can rest easy knowing that—but you are killing.
I often wondered—once I resigned myself to the fact there was no hope of avoiding my sentence—how it would feel when they carried it out. I’ve viewed these things before, in person.  It’s never pretty, even when it goes off without a hitch. When it doesn’t go according to plan, it’s gruesome. I’ve seen that, too.
I’ll admit, I’m scared.
Some would say I’ve “found God” while in prison, and I suppose that’s somewhat true. It’s a common thing for those who spend their days behind bars. You’d be surprised how many long-term convicts develop a passion for reading the Bible. Crappy timing, but better late than never, right?
When the end comes, some will choose to say something about going home, God forgives, Jesus saves, whatever. There’s no final peace waiting for me, though, no matter what I say.
Have I prayed? Of course I have, but I don’t believe it’ll make a difference. There are some wrongs for which a person can ask forgiveness—and receive it—but there are also crimes that are unforgivable. Even by the Big Man. Even if you beg.

***

Thursday, January 7, 2016

First Novella - "Splits"

About a month and a half ago, I was working on a new novel when I did something stupid...I started surfing the net, and even worse, started watching random YouTube videos.  I was doomed, trapped in what a friend of mine calls the "YouTube Vortex"--once you get sucked in, it's very hard to get out.

Well, I ran across one particular video that made the vortex pick up speed, and three hours later, I had a new story idea firmly planted in my oddly-shaped noggin.  I put the novel aside, and started on what I thought was going to be a short story.  Little did I know that it was going to turn into my very first novella.

According to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America guidelines for its Nebula awards (so says Wikipedia), these are their word count guidelines for different types of stories:

Novel:  Over 40,000 words (that seems kinda short, but okay)
Novella: 17,500 to 40,000 words
Novelette: 7,500 to 17,500 words
Short Story: Under 7,500 words

Most of my short stories have ended up being 3,500 and 5,000 words, so they fit nicely into their category.  I've also written a ton of flash fiction (short stories that are between 300-1,000 words), but other than my novels, I'd never written anything longer than 5K.

This story, which I titled Splits, ended up at 19K+ words...a novella.  Aaaaaaannnnddd, I loved writing it!  Short stories are a blast to write, and this one was an absolute joy.  I think there might be some more novellas in my future!

Anywhoooo, here it is, if you're interested (and you have to read it to find out what video I was watching):

http://www.amazon.com/Splits-Chuck-Grossart-ebook/dp/B019WXPDA2


Kyle Bradford was a meat cutter in a grocery store when the sounds first thundered across the skies, and the world changed forever. The doors had opened, and something was coming through.
Once the initial shock and confusion wore off, and those in charge realized what was happening, mankind seemed to coalesce like never before. National boundaries no longer mattered. Religion, race, color and creed seemed to pass away in a flash. Old enemies put their differences aside. The only thing that did matter was survival.

As a species.

Now, Kyle is on a mission to save what’s left of our world. Or die trying.


Click on the cover to get your copy from Amazon (set at $0.99, which is the lowest they'll let me go).  Hope you enjoy it!

Friday, January 1, 2016

2015 Year in Review

You know, it's amazing how fast time slips by. I can't believe it's been 10 months since my last post on this page. The Gemini Effect came out on Kindle First in March of 2015, and it's been a steady wild ride since then!  So what's happened since then?  Well, let's see...



- The Gemini Effect has sold ~211,000 copies since March 1, 2015.  Still blows my mind.
- The Phoenix Descent, my second novel through Amazon's 47North imprint, will be released in just a few months (March of 2016).
- After years of unsuccessfully trying to land an agent, and sending out so many query letters that I lost count, an agent reached out to me. After a fifteen minute phone conversation, that was that. I'm represented by Mark Gottlieb of Trident Media Group.
- I decided to remove all my stand-alone flash fiction & short stories from circulation and keep them as part of Scattered Bones. I was able to keep them free on Smashwords, B&N and Apple, but it was an effort to keep them free on Amazon in the US (and almost impossible in the UK). So, I figured $0.99 for a 34,000-word collection was the better way to go. Re-did the cover, too, which I like much more than the original.
- Wrote my first 19,000-word novella, Splits. That was fun...I might just have to write a few more of those. ;)
- Continued work on new other novels; a new work, which I'm calling Brody4, and a much-needed re-vamp of an existing manuscript, which I've re-titled The Chosen.

The Highlights

2015 was an amazing year, and the biggest highlight was watching The Gemini Effect launch on Kindle First. It was a magical feeling waking up on March 1 and seeing the reviews start to come in, and became even more magical when it reached #1 in the US Kindle store a few days later.

Before the book came out, Jason Kirk, my editor at47North, signed me for another novel, The Phoenix Descent. Writing what turned out to be a 112,000-word initial manuscript draft in 4-5 months was one of the toughest things I've ever done (to include a 14,600-word weekend as I pushed to the finish), but I enjoyed every minute. Then, working with Jason again, we trimmed it down below 90K words and--we think--produced a better book than The Gemini Effect. I guess we'll find out in a few more months if we're right! Speaking of Jason, working with him on two novels so far has been a simply amazing experience. I truly hope there's more chances to collaborate on more books in the future.

The reviews for The Gemini Effect have been both a highlight AND a lowlight of the past year...I'll get to that next.

The Reviews

Being first offered through Kindle First, The Gemini Effect was offered to a H-U-G-E pool of readers, some who would like it, and others who wouldn't. Seeing those first few 5-star reviews come in on March 1 was great...and then the bad ones started showing up. And showing up. And showing up. Ten months later, I can honestly say the bad reviews don't bother me as badly as they did those first couple of months, but holy cow, I wanted to crawl in a hole, stop writing, and never come out again. My experience with reviews as a self-published author was different--my reader pool was much, much smaller, and the reviews were almost all good. But now, I had a book out there in the BIG WORLD, being read by thousands of people, and the digital age of "anonymous" communication being what it is, some people had no problem whatsoever telling other readers what they thought. I had to give some of those 1-star reviewers an A for effort, because they even made me laugh! Now, some of those poor reviews opened my eyes to things I could do differently in my writing, and that's awesome. To those reviewers, I say thank you. But, there are others, those who feel the need to pen personal attacks, whom I view in an entirely different light. I think that aspect of swimming in the "big reviewer pool" was the most shocking part. Again, a person behind a keyboard feels anonymous enough to say whatever they want to, and some do. It's the world we live in now, and I get it. In the last ten months, I've been called every name in the book--I'm a gun nut. A bomb lover. A Crichton/Clancy wannabe. A woman hater. On, and on, and on. Very few, however, had the guts to attach their names to the reviews, always relying on "Amazon Customer" or "Anonymous" (in B&N's case). I know I'm not alone when I say writers crave constructive criticism--it helps us improve our craft. But those who spew vitriol without the common decency to attach their name to their words, well...

I did a blog interview at the end of March 2015 where one of the questions was what advice would I give to first-time writers. Regarding reviews specifically, this is what I said:

"...learn to have a thick skin. Be willing to accept constructive criticism, and shrug-off the vitriolic criticism that every writer eventually receives. Is this an easy thing to do? No. Not. At. All. Like everything else, it’s a learning process. To paraphrase Isaac Asimov, there are two types of writers: Those who bleed copiously and visibly at any bad review, and those who bleed copiously and secretly at any bad review. The first time you receive a bad review, it may feel as if you’ve just shown your newborn baby to a stranger—that baby is the most beautiful, precious thing you’ve ever seen—and the stranger says, 'Wow, that is one ugly baby! How dare you bring such a horrid creature into my world!' Then, after the stranger vomits a few times (on your shoes), a crowd gathers, they chase you back to your castle with torches and pitchforks, and everything goes up in flames, especially your confidence as a writer.

One thing to remember is that a review is a message from a reader to other readers—it’s not directed at you. Some authors I know never look at reviews, good or bad. But, if you do, don’t take it personally. Even though someone just called your precious baby ugly, don’t ever let it kill your desire to write, and don’t ever respond. Let me say that again: No matter how badly you want to, don’t respond. Once your story is out in the big bad reviewer world, it has to stand on its own two feet. It’ll get praised, and it’ll get bullied, and you have to stand back and let it happen.

If you do get a nasty one, and it’s bugging you, keep this quote from Teddy Roosevelt nearby (it helps):

'It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Now, lets talk about the GOOD reviews! I can't tell you how any people have contacted me though my Facebook page and website to tell me how much they loved The Gemini Effect.  It's messages like this one that really make my day:

"Hello. Your book The Gemini Effect is incredible! I started it wheels up upon takeoff in Dallas and when I landed in Miami was about halfway through. I then finished it in a second sitting in the hotel room that very night. Now I've read almost every possible apocalypse/mutant book out there from Tooth and Nail to The Passage and this is by far an incredible read. Thanks for writing it and I look forward to reading your other past and future works."

It's people like this for whom I write, and will continue to do so.

As 2015 passes into history, I will personally look back on it fondly as a year where my dream of becoming a published author finally came true. And I'm not done yet.

I wish everyone all the best for 2016, and keep on turning those pages!