Coming soon

11/15/17 Update - NANOWRIMO 2017

I blogged daily about my progress in The Bastard's Refuge. I haven't been doing that with Wyetgerd's Ax, mainly because I don't have many new things to say about the process. I'm plugging along at a good clip. As of last night when I stopped working, Wyetgerd's Ax was up to 49,581 words. The manuscript has reached the halfway point, and I know what the 3 or 4 major turns left in the story are. That book will be done before the end of the month, then I'll switch gears to another psy thriller.

I started NANOWRIMO late this month and will end up taking 3 days off during it to finish editing The Prodigal Girl. After 8 days, I've written almost 50k words. I'm very happy with that considering I'm also trying to edit another book in a very different genre at the same time.

The universe within Wyetgerd's Ax keeps getting bigger and bigger. I have an idea for a prequel now, which will be a shorter work that I (maybe) give away for free as part of my mailing list. That one is tentatively titled Skodan's Blade and I'm chomping at the bit to write that book. But first things first - you always have to finish the thing you're working on. If you stop before it's done and go onto something else, the odds of you completing the first project drop drastically.

I call it the artistic cliff.

I'll keep updating, just not on a daily basis. And hey, if you haven't signed up yet, you can still get the free preview of The Bastard's Refuge over on Instafreebie.

Greg Owen #3 - The Prodigal Girl

This morning I begin work on the third mystery in the Greg Owen series, this one’s called The Prodigal Girl.

I’m keeping all plot details to myself, because I consider just about everything that happens in the book to be a spoiler.

The Greg Owen novels tend to run 60K and this one will be no different. I’ve got a high-level outline prepared and am feeling good about the story and character arcs.

I think I can write the first draft in 7 days.

Now that goal comes with a caveat. I have jury duty on Thursday. Because of my legal background, one or both attorneys on the case will want me nowhere near the jury box, so it's unlikely I'll get selected. But still, I will probably spend a chunk of the day Thursday at the courthouse, during the time I would otherwise be working. In the unlikely event I am selected for jury duty, then my goal of writing this book in 7 days goes completely out the window.

Either way, I’m off to the races again. It took me 3 weeks to write (not edit) a fantasy novel, so you might be wondering why I think I can write a Greg Owen book in 1 week. Here are some reasons why it’s do-able:

1. I don’t have to create a whole new universe. Greg Owen’s stories take place in a world that’s exactly like ours. No magic, no strange creatures, no people/clans/lands/religions, nothing like that I have to give serious thought to and invent myself. He owns a pool hall, has a daughter, and is trying to make a living in a real-world setting. All things I can relate to.
2. This book will be half as long as The Bastard’s Refuge (TBR).
3. I’ve written a ton of mysteries already, so I understand the formula on a more intuitive level. TBR was my first heroic fantasy novel.
4. I know who Greg is. I know who the supporting characters are. With TBR, I had a general sense of the characters before I sat down to write but the first draft was as much about discovering who they were and what they would do as it was telling the story.
5. The Prodigal Girl is already up for pre-order! Now if that’s not reason enough …

Time to get cracking.

HF Novel Update 10/1/17 (Day 15)

No time carved out to write yesterday, so didn't get started till 9pm last night. Worked till I fell asleep.

Drafting: 2.5 hours
Daily Word Count: 3,365
Total Word Count: 90,679

Of course I wish I got more done this weekend but with a lot of life happening and no specific time carved out to work, I did manage almost 5k in two days. That's nothing to scoff at.

I think I've got another ~10k to go, which would bring the book in at a good length for this genre. So it's once more into the breach, dear friends. With a big push I think I can finish the first draft tonight.

In terms of next steps, a few scenes have to come out, but a few scenes have to be added, which will include a nice new conflict, so it will all likely even out. After those cuts and additions, copy editing might bring me down another 3k - 5k words. I enjoy this part of the process because I know the story forwards and backwards and can whittle away unnecessary plot points and characters.

If I do a find on the word "just" and cut that out wherever possible, I'll probably trim 1k words.

I just can't stop using the word just. It's just so difficult.

The book will run short compared to Game of Thrones and other similar stories, but it's not significantly shorter. Plus, as I'm new to this genre, I think readers will be more likely to give Evan Ronan a try if the first book isn't a door stopper.

Working Title: The Bastard's Refuge

***

While writing this book, I got an idea for a psychological thriller. (I know, right? Why can't I just stick to one thing?)

The psy thriller combines a lot of popular elements today: do you really know the people living next door? past trauma, strong female lead overcoming fears, danger to children, etc. I might blog about that one too as I write it. Not sure right now if that's the next book I write. I should probably get to work on Greg Owen #3. The first in that series is doing really well on Amazon (knock on wood) and the second is up for pre-order. I'd love to build that funnel of books out, so readers can read one, pre-order the next, read that one, pre-order the next, etc.

It would be nice to get both of the psy thriller and Greg Owen #3 done in October.

The Insane 2017 Publishing Experiment Has Already Begun

Hey readers - Been a while since my last post, but I have a good excuse: I've spent a good chunk of my time actually writing. And you know what happened when I did that? I actually wrote some books.

Many, in fact.

As anybody who has tried to indie publish knows, it's getting more and more difficult to gain visibility on Amazon. To put that in laymen's terms, I simply mean it's getting harder to be noticed by readers.

Big name authors, i.e. those hard-working and fortunate enough to have gained a significant following already, are somewhat immune to this increasing difficulty as they have large readerships who are willing to purchase or borrow just about anything they put out. Think Stephen King and Lee Child. They can release a book per year and be just fine. Other big-time indie authors can do the same thing and still see significant sales.

As for the rest (most) of us ... well that just doesn't work. If you're lucky enough to score a breakout, record-smashing bestseller, then you can join the ranks of the elite on Mount Olympus and publish fairly infrequently. The chances of this happening to any author are about the same as winning the lottery.

It seems that Amazon's latest version of algorithms (how it directs readers to books, and how the website influences a reader's purchasing decisions) strongly favors new releases. This incentivizes writers, especially those looking to break through to the next level, to put out quality books as quickly as possible.

So that's my game plan for the rest of 2017. Write, edit, release, repeat. As quickly as possible. So that's why:

The latest Eddie McCloskey novel launched August 29th.

And one week later, the final comedic mystery, Not Safe for Work, in my Close of Business series was available too!

And in the next day or two, the first in my new amateur sleuth series will drop. Here's the cover:

The plan is to release several more novels this year and sprinkle short stories in between book launches. The goal is to utilize Amazon's algorithms to my advantage and increase my visibility. Fingers crossed this works, and I'll strive to send out periodic updates about my progress.

Release Day and More Updates

OtherWorld is available for purchase or borrow now on Amazon!

I've blogged about this book a couple times now so I won't belabor any previous points. But I will take this opportunity to reiterate how excited I am!

Thrillers are my favorite genre so The Unearthed books are in my wheelhouse. I also love historical fiction, so again, the Tomahawk & Saber series is a genre I have a pretty good grasp of. (As a reader, and hopefully as a writer...)

But YA is a different animal. I didn't read much YA growing up, making the leap pretty early on to adult mysteries and thrillers when I began reading in earnest. Looking back now, I've read more YA books as an adult in the last few years than I did as a kid.

I love the genre and the "challenges" of writing in it. I'm looking forward to reader feedback on this book.

UPDATES

Hard at work on (too many) several projects, as always. Nate Green and I are wrapping up the edits on Through the Narrows, book 2 in the Tomahawk & Saber series.

Aside from that, also working on my crime fiction collaboration (The Board) with Jann Gott as well as an unplanned novel that pushed, elbowed, jostled all the other works in progress out of the way to cut in line in my subconscious. Love how that's going, more to come soon.

And last but not least, the Kwahlah series has snuck up on me again. For those of you that don't know about it, check out the prequel short story, E, I put out last year. It gives a good sense of what the serial will be like. I've been putting that off for awhile but for whatever reason (some would call it The Muse), it's back on my mind and now I'm chomping at the bit to get going there.

We shall see....

LIMITED TIME OFFER - GET THE UNEARTHED FOR $0.99

The Unearthed, the first book in my paranormal thriller series, will be available for
$0.99 later today on Amazon. This is a limited time offer (might be over as early as tonight, we shall see) so grab your copy early.

2015 Production Schedule

They say it's good to have goals. So here are mine. I hope to release these books in 2015:

Solo Projects:

• OtherWorld
• MG Fantasy (have an idea but no title)
• The Skim (noir)
• The Dream Machine (Unearthed #6)
• The Missing (Unearthed #7)
• The 8th Man (new sci-fi, mystery series)

Tomahawk & Saber series with Nate Green:

• Language of the Bear
• Through the Narrows
• #3

Looking this over, I realize this production schedule is totally unrealistic. But I'd rather try to do too much instead of not enough. Better to always be pushing.

It's going to be an interesting 2015...

COVER REVEAL - The Dream Machine (#6 in The Unearthed series)

No idea when this book will be out.

But I'm considering an experiment on this one. If I focused solely on this project, could I publish in three months? In two? I have no idea, but it would be interesting to find out...

Anyway, here's the kick-ass cover. It really sets an eerie mood and has a dreamlike quality about it. Which is perfect for the book.

Ladies and Gentlemen

The Traveler is available now on Amazon!

To paraphrase Peter O'Toole...

...the f***ing book is done!

The Hysteria Is Now Available!!!!

GET IT HERE

It's Coming....

The Hysteria will be out this month. Get ready for the strangest, deadliest case of Eddie's paranormal career!

Almost Effective Immediately: You Can Purchase Effective Immediately

Effective Immediately

This is the second short story in (what will hopefully be) my Close of Business trilogy. If you enjoyed Morale Was Down, there is a 35% to 80% likelihood you’ll also like this one.

The Vice President needs your help with not one, but two mysteries. Neither of which you are qualified in any way to solve. You think this is going to be another hurry-the-hell-up-clock Friday, but you’re wrong.

Today you actually have your work cut out for you.

Effective Immediately is a ~17,000 word short story that further, redundantly, and repetitively, explores the utter absurdity of office life.

RATED VERY R

Amazon link will be available tomorrow

Thanks to Sandy at SweetMysteryBooks!

A big thanks to Sandy for the great review and plug at SweetMysteryBooks. If you enjoyed The Unearthed or any of its sequels, I encourage you to check out Sandy's website, which is geared specifically toward paranormal and supernatural mysteries and thrillers. You can be sure to find some great books in this genre there.

WANT TO GRAB A FREE COPY OF THE ACCUSED AND THE DAMNED (#3 in The Unearthed series)?

THEN HERE'S A SPECIAL, LIMITED-TIME OFFER RIGHT NOW: Leave an honest review of The Lost on Amazon, email me at ronaniswriting@gmail.com with the link to your review, and I'll send you a complimentary copy of The Accused and the Damned.

The Unearthed Trending on Amazon!

The Unearthed is trending right now among free ebooks on Amazon. Currently sits at #1 for Suspense - Occult titles, #3 for Ghosts & Haunted Houses, and #12 for all Suspense - Paranormal titles.

FREE Paranormal Thriller - The Unearthed

The first in my paranormal thriller series, The Unearthed, will be available for FREE ON AMAZON for three days beginning tomorrow, 9/28/14. This coincides with the release of the sequel, THE LOST.

It was sheer joy writing these books as they feature my favorite character, Eddie McCloskey. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did writing them.

After you read them, I'd humbly request an honest review--be it good, scathing, or even indifferent--on Amazon. Reviews are what drives Amazon's algorithms and puts books in front of potential readers.

For those folks already reading, I wanted to say thanks. Thank you for letting me share Eddie McCloskey's personal journey with you.