InsaneJournal

Current mood:

accomplished

Berserker is finito! ^_^
Tonight, I've finished the epilogue on Berserker, and I cannot stop blabbering about this one to hubby. Every single character has got me excited, both the old returning favorites, and the new faces that come from moving to a new city. (Boerne, Texas, FTW) It's not just that this story is exciting, but that the next stories based off of this are going to be...my gosh, you really just have no idea how wonderfully complex these people are.

I think one of the main reasons why I love the story is that the antagonist is such a great guy. He's a slacker, but he earns money, and he doesn't take from other people. He's a hunter, but he believes in eating what he kills. In fact, until the curse begins affecting his judgment, he's a pretty decent redneck who most people would like. And this guy is a stark contrast to the antagonist in the other book I completed last month, A Perfectly Empty Vessel. Where Phillip Cassidy is an evil sadist who feeds off of pain, Dave Carson is a nice guy who you really wish didn't get cursed to turn into a monster.

And oh, what a monster! Everyone of the protagonists goes solo against this guy at some point in the story, and they ALL get their cans handed to them. It isn't just that he's big and tough. He's smart and self-sufficient. He's resourceful, and yes, he's the bad guy.

And in this book there's a whole new slew of problems for the protagonists besides Dave. Jobe and Gavin have to learn how to work together in spite of their problems. But Jobe is also being entrusted to watch over other cursed people, and in the process, he's getting caught up in their personal problems. There's Rosa Delgado, a victim of urban violence who had her eyes and most of her humanity taken from her long before she became a werekin. Jobe suspects that Rosa may also be a berserker like him, and a budding friendship begins to develop. Meanwhile, weredog George Brahn is discovering that his ex-wife isn't quite ready to give up on him yet, now that he's become something other than human. But what is Lucy Martinez supposed to be? Is she a vampire? A kitsune? Or is she some other blood-drinking race that has kept itself hidden among the humans?

There's a few other characters, and that includes the return of Damien, who's also going through some changes because of his imprint from Stephen Collins. There also Erick the black elf, and Url the orc/werebear.

Just....gasp! It's really exciting stuff, and while it isn't a horror book, it is without a doubt a very creepy dark fantasy that I can't wait to put out on the web site.

YES! It's going to the web. This being a book about the bit characters in their own right, I felt like it was a great way to tell the story without resorting to a huge series of novels that nobody has the money to afford. I'll still have the cor stories published properly, running them through my editor first. But these tangential stories can hopefully help to build a name for me. (Especially if I release them as free e-books)

Okay, so, what's next? Well, after I take a break, I'm going to finish up the last little bit of Erick's Journey, a short story that connects Blood Relations, Berserker, and Shadow Walker into the same general time line. Then it's time to write a couple of shorter stories about the third level bit characters, the people who cannot carry a full novel or a novella on their own. So this is where Marcus/Jenny will get their own standalone story to explain more about who they are, and who their people are. And finally, I have to write a story about one group of halflings who got out of Austin at the conclusion of the Collins family trilogy.

So, here's the basic idea. By the end of 2009, I hope to have given people enough stories for free and as paid work, that they know me, and they can have confidence that I will not be making every book about sex or ultimate evils. So then, I can release the Collins family Trilogy without worrying about the first book sinking my career before it ever takes off.

I'll be honest. I still worry about this, because it's a slow book, and its a creepy story. But after the first book, a lot of the creepy sex stuff goes away, and the story moves on as the characters evolve.

Little Monsters was the first book I'd ever written, but I knew for a long time that it wasn't "first book" material. I didn't have anything else to show people to prove that where the story starts is not where it will end up. So, I pulled a "George Lucas," and I skipped ahead to episode 4. After I get Blood Relations out, I need to seriously consider stopping and going back to episode one. Because before we can move ahead, readers should be given the chance to get to know Cora and her family.

Well anyway, that's the plan. And like I said, I'm going to be resting for at least one day before I get back to hitting the keyboard again.

On a final note for tonight, my progress for this year is four novels, three novellas, and two short stories written. If I can keep up this pace to the end of the year, I may be able to match my output from last year. And that's not too shabby, for a sickie.

Hokay, I R tired. Gab at you more tomorrow.

Later...