Library Presentation

I gave a talk last night at the Aurora Town Library about publishing and writing. I discussed my experiences with traditional publishing, agents, and my journey into indie publishing. We had around 15-20 people come out, and had some excellent questions.  Also had some good discussions about writing with the audience.

My son's former baseball coach was there, and I'd never realized he was a writer and an artist. He's working on a children's book he initially wrote for his grandson and is trying to decide where to go with it.

All in all a fun night with a good crowd.

Vanished is Now Available

Starting off 2020 with a new release, a horror-western novella entitled Vanished. I uploaded it to the major e-book platforms a few days ago. The print version should be available shortly.

I'm continuing work on The Veil. I had taken a break from writing The Veil to complete Vanished. As it is right now, I'm at 45,000 words on The Veil, about 2/3 of the way finished.

Just finished reading Zero Saints by Gabino Iglesias, which was very good.

Currently reading Dark Matter by Blake Crouch.

Here's the cover and sales copy for Vanished. You can purchase it on the fine e-book platforms.


Sheriff Will Barnaby is summoned when a member of the missing Hanson party stumbles into the mining town of Wilton, Colorado. Tommy Hanson is dazed and muttering about terrors in the valley near Wilton. The Hanson family disappeared six months prior while setting out in wagons for a new life. Will realizes he'll have to round up a posse and investigate the Hanson boy's story. With the help of his deputy and two hired guns, Will sets out to discover what lurks out in the valley near Wilton.

He will find death and terror waiting for him outside Wilton. And an investigation into missing persons turns into a fight for survival.

An action-filled novella from the author of Murderland and The Last Ride.

Book Copy for Vanished

I finished up my edits on Vanished this morning. It clocked in at just over 31,000 words (about 125 pages). Here's the blurb for it:


Sheriff Will Barnaby is summoned when a member of the missing Hanson party stumbles into the mining town of Wilton, Colorado. Tommy Hanson is dazed and muttering about terrors in the valley near Wilton. The Hanson family disappeared six months prior while setting out in wagons for a new life. Will realizes he'll have to round up a posse and investigate the Hanson boy's story. With the help of his deputy and two hired guns, Will sets out to discover what lurks out in the valley near Wilton.

He will find death and terror waiting for him outside Wilton. And an investigation into missing persons turns into a fight for survival.

An action-filled horror-western from the author of Murderland and the Last Ride.

Up Early and Writing

I took the day off from work for the Thanksgiving holiday. Got up at 5:45, and after puttering around on social media, I got about three-and-half pages done on Vanished. It's almost complete. I hit my target word count of 25,000 words for this one. It's probably going to finish up around 30,000 words when finished. 

Started watching The Mandalorian the other night and I'm loving it so far. They got the feel of Star Wars right (if Star Wars has a feel, I guess). A Facebook friend of mine suggested that Star Wars might be better suited to episodic television than movies, and I tend to agree. I'd like to see more shows in the SW Universe. Anyway, looking forward to episode three of The Mandalorian. 

Currently reading King's The Institute. Just checked Blake Crouch's Recursion out of the library. 

Work on Vanished Continues

Vanished, my horror-western novella, is coming along. Just crossed the 20K word mark. I'm anticipating it will end up around 25K. This is one of those stories where I can't seem to get the words down fast enough. It pours out. Some stories are like that. Others are like squeezing the proverbial crimson fluid from stone, or at least they progress a little slower.

Jenn, my lovely wife of almost 25 years (anniversary is next week) got me a 72-pc set of Copic markers, which was an amazing surprise. Looking forward to doing a lot more drawing/sketching. We're also revamping our art/craft room in our basement with the intent of us both working down there. Looking forward to that, as well.

It's damned cold and dark in Buffalo. Fifteen degrees for a high today. We got around 8-10 inches of snow where I live (about 20 miles south of the city). As a lifelong Buffalonian, I should be used to this, but that first snowfall is always a little tough to take.  Every year, that snow gets a little heavier on the shovel.

Progress Continues on the Books

The Veil is holding at around 40,000 words. I've put it on hold temporarily to finish up Vanished, my horror-western novella. Vanished is clocking in at around 12,000 words and I anticipate it'll finish between 20-25K, which I think is a good length for a novella.

I've been drawing lately and will post some stuff here when I get a chance. I recently saw Joker and thought Phoenix was incredible. Currently reading King's The Institute. That's all for now.

A Good Saturday Morning

Started today off with a dumbell/kettlebell workout. Hanging out with my oldest son. I'm writing and he's watching Food Network.

Might head up to the farmer's market today. My wife and I were joking last night about our wild night we had planned (a trip to Target and Lowe's). I think a routine/calm life is key if you want to be a writer. Having constant drama and being pulled in all directions only diminishes your writing. I've always been a fan of a quiet evening at home, and I've gotten a ton of writing done from my living room chair (where I'm sitting right now). I'm also at the point in my life where I just want to spend time at home with my wife and sons. That's my definition of a good life. Don't really need to go out to bars, etc. And getting more writing done is a nice by-product of those quiet evenings at home.