Hazy Souls Revision

I'm in the process of revising the first seven chapters of "Jeremy Chikalto and the Hazy Souls." Most of the feedback I've received indicates that the second half of the book reads pretty fast and most people enjoy the book from the moment Jeremy leaves his parent's castle. This is good, but I'm pretty sure that the first couple of chapters are the most important, in terms of capturing a potential reader's interest. Hopefully once I release the second edition, I can hook more readers. My goal is to make it read faster and also to include an action sequence or two.

Leviathan Island Final Cover Design!

Front Cover:

front cover book design

So there's my Jeremy model, looking rather Jeremy-like in his shades and patterned silk button-down. I would have loved some blondish highlights in his hair, and some waves (he has wavy hair).

Back Cover:

back cover book design

I tried to stick to my first book's design with a silhouette of the female protagonist, Maren, on the back cover.

Jeremy Chikalto and Leviathan Island Cover Art

Okay, so I *promise that my book will be released soon. I feel like I've been saying that for a while, but no, really this time. Babies happen, deadlines come and go. Here is a draft cover design for the book as proof that it's in its final stages. It still needs a little work, and we're debating whether the galaxy is necessary. See, our Jeremy model just has too much chest. Coupled with the leather jacket, we're afraid we might scare off potential male readers. The Hazy Souls series is meant to be read and enjoyed by women and men alike. So like I said, this is a rough draft cover design. I'll publish the final version in a bit.

I'm really excited about this book. Did I mention that?

rough draft book cover

First Draft of "Jeremy Chikalto and Leviathan Island" finished

I finished the first draft of my second novel, "Jeremy Chikalto and Leviathan Island" (Book II of The Hazy Souls). I'm hoping to have the second draft finished before Christmas. January is an important month for my novel because Spring semester doesn't start until January 22nd (I teach writing at Gloucester County College). January = writing/editing/rewriting every day! Not to mention I have to design my cover... and do internal formatting... and the back cover. Ahh! There's so much to do before the second baby arrives in March.

At the moment I'm doing a quick read-through and marking the scenes that drag. The beginning of the novel needs a complete rewrite, but I've seemed to hit the "zone" by the middle of the novel.  I'll have to elaborate on my descriptions to better create a sense of place and time. The action scenes need some build-up too.

I'll write again about my novel's progress in a couple of weeks. I'm trying to keep to a pretty strict schedule.

Starting a job as an Adjunct

I'll be teaching literature and composition this fall. I'm very excited, only I wish I had a little more time to prepare. It's difficult to find the time to thoroughly read through the material since I'm running after my daughter non-stop. Luckily, I've read most of the fiction and poetry already.

My novel, aahh! I'm almost finished the first draft of Book II, am about 80% done, but class preparation and teaching and grading is sure to curb my progress. And then there's my plans for baby number 2...

To date, I've sold about 200 copies of my book and I've received my first royalty check. My marketing efforts have been put on hold because I just have too much on my plate. I participated in a Christmas in July sales thing, and that was pretty successful. I'll vamp up the marketing after the release of the second book, for sure.

But for now, the baby is napping and so must I!

The Hunger Games as Inspiration

I just finished The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Wow, that book reads fast. I wanted to read The Hunger Games for a while now, and have already purchased the second book in the trilogy. I knew I wanted to read The Hunger Games right before I really threw myself behind my second Hazy Souls novel, because I've heard such good things about it and stand by the advice that you need to read something well-written right before you write.

One drawback for me is that The Hunger Games is written in first person. My book is written in third person. I love reading first person books, it's just a little more difficult to adapt my style and pacing alongside my inspiration. I definitely respect The Hunger Games' sense of action and the immediacy of what's going to happen next. It's a real page turner. I'm hoping that my next book will be a faster read, particularly in the beginning as that is a section I've struggled with in the first book. It was also nice to read about Peeta, a good-natured boy who I didn't find the least bit boring, because I want Jeremy's character to grow to be more compassionate.

I think The Hunger Games will help me with:
1.) creating haunting locations
2.) streamlining action sequences
3.) bringing out the best in Jeremy

Random College Memories

I thought it would be fun to make a random picture / memory collage, just 'cause.

independent zombie film

At some point in college, I was in a zombie movie. Here I am running from a horde of zombies. Notice the unfortunate direction of our escape: right into the arms of two hungry zombies!

zombie attack

Yes, here we are, lifeless, after the inevitable zombie attack. These pictures were taken during the filming. How fun is it to reflect on college memories?! I was in a few college films, plus directed my own films and a play. Shoutout to SCRU (Screenwriters Community of Rutgers University), KTP (Knight Time Production), RUTV (Rutgers University Television + Hub City + Pass the Popcorn), and UBFS (University of Bristol Film Society).

decorating with boxes

Ah, my precious boxes! I love boxes. My box obsession got a little out of hand in college, and I started decorating my dorm room with boxes and bubble wrap. This is my dorm door. I also had boxes on the wall beside my bed and on the ceiling. Anyway, it all felt very important at the time.

World Trade Center and Wall Street After 9/11

And here's a historical time stamp: I did an internship at P.O.V. Documentary in New York, NY in 2006. I used to take the subway to the World Trade Center stop and I could see the charred building remains. I had to walk from the World Trade Center to my internship and go through various blockades. The blockades were set in place to prevent people from driving. There were always armed guards with rifles.

New York armed guards by the site of the World Trade Center

There was usually someone positioned on the stairs cradling a rifle.

Completely unrelated, but here goes:

girl playing the accordion

Ah, my accordion days! Here I am, serenading the masses with my amateur accordion skills. This accordion was my dad's when he was a child. My grandfather plays the accordion and he's really good. Someday, perhaps, I'll play the polka!