Six Hours of Snow Removal

Yesterday I wrote around 500 words. We spend around six hours digging out of the 90 inches of snow that fell in a few days.

Started what will be a binge-watching of Game of Thrones. My wife and I watched the first two episodes of Season One on HBO Go. I'm guessing we'll get up to speed with the series over the next few weeks.

Rattled off 1,000 words today on the Gray Men. Where the Dead Go should be up for sale in the next few weeks. Just waiting for my first reader to have a look. After that, I'll make some corrections and light edits. Will probably start designing the cover this week.

The Storm Continues

I'm sitting in our office in my writer's uniform (hoodie, sweats, and a robe) working on a scene in The Gray Men. It's day three of the storm being dubbed "Snowmageddon" and "SNowvember." Outside, a foot of the stuff has already piled up in the driveway. This is after clearing the nearly three feet that was in the driveway yesterday. Our town has been under a travel ban for days, and the street is quiet, save for the occasional wind gust.

The New York State Thruway and Route 400 (which I take to get to the Thruway) are still shut down, and this is the third day I haven't been able to get to work.

We've gotten around 4 feet of snow all together, and this is light in comparison to other towns around Buffalo. One of my friends suggested that there's a great idea for a horror novel buried somewhere in this storm, and I might have to visit that idea some time.

My wife and kids have been home the whole time, as well. For that I'm thankful. We've been able to ride out the storm by watching movies, reading, and taking the occasional dip in the hot tub. We have food, heat, and power. For that I am also grateful.

For now, I'll keep writing. The storm is supposed to die down tonight. Hoping everyone in Buffalo is keeping warm and safe.

Weekend Writing

Mandatory overtime is on hiatus at my day job, which will free up my Saturday mornings for family and writing time. Despite the extra hours at the job, I've managed to get 20,000 words done on The Gray Men over the past month.

They Gray Men has a large cast, and I expect it will be my longer than most of the books I've done since I went independent in 2010.

Last night my wife and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary with a nice steak dinner. We're planning on going away in the spring. Someone asked me if it has gone fast, and it has. Time feels like it has accelerated as I've gotten older. It makes me realize I have a lot left to do at what could be the midpoint of my life. Best write faster.

The sequence I'm writing at the moment involves a prison riot. I did some research and based part of one of the bad guy's backstory on The Ohio Penitentiary fire.  Seems my fictional badass may have been present at the 1930 fire and has a history of inciting violence. More to come. Maybe I'll post an excerpt soon.

Research and How to Write Faster

Doing research for a sequence in The Gray Men involving a prison riot. One of the characters has a back story involving a prison fire. I researched prison fires and came up with an article about the 1930 fire at the Ohio Penitentiary. It was quite gruesome, as 322 people died. Many of the inmates burned or died of smoke inhalation while locked in their cells. There were also stories of selflessness and heroism, as guards and convicts saved each other from the flames.

The new draft stands at 15,000 words. I've been averaging about 5,000 words of fiction per week. This is while working 6 days a week at my full-time job. If I had to give advice on how to write more, I'd say:

1. Know what you are going to write. Have a rough idea of the scene or chapter. For this novel, I'm writing some general "signposts" where the story needs to go, as opposed to an outline. Signposts are scenes or events that are key to the novel.  My previous two books were written without any outline.

2. Keep writing materials handy. Grab 15 minutes and write if you have it. Lunch breaks and waiting rooms are perfect for this.

3. Don't obsess about perfection in your first draft. Write hot and get the story down.

4. Plan multiple writing sessions per day. Maybe a half hour before work, twenty minutes on lunch, and another half hour in the evening. You'll be surprised how fast the words pile up.

Led Zeppelin, Aging, and Acceptance

I'm a huge Led Zeppelin fan. I discovered them in high school and was hooked. This was around 1989. The Fay's drug store near my house used to sell cassette tapes. I'm dating myself by admitting this. I also used to have to avoid getting eaten by a saber-toothed tiger on the way to school as a kid. I think the first Zeppelin album I bought was Houses of the Holy. They were the reason I talked my parents into buying me a crappy, sixty-dollar Les Paul copy from a pawn shop. I wanted to rock like Jimmy Page.

I saw Page/Plant in 1995 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. They put on a great show. Robert Plant sounded amazing. The crowd went ballistic when Jimmy Page played the unaccompanied "Heartbreaker" solo. Best concert I ever went to.

I wasn't really surprised or disappointed when Robert Plant turned down a boatload of money to reunite the band. He's balked at reuniting Zep in the past, and I don't think it's a bad thing that he turned it down. Maybe Plant is content, and he mentioned in the article above that he didn't want to go back to the past. Or maybe he realizes it just wouldn't be the same given the years that have gone by. The voice is not the same at age 66 as it was at 25, or even 45, as it was when they played Buffalo in '95. Whatever his reasoning, it took a ton of guts to turn down the money Sir Richard Branson was offering him. Some will think him crazy, while others will applaud his integrity.

We all age. Time steals abilities we had when we were young. Maybe we can't go back and it's foolish to try. Regardless, I'll remain content to remember that night in 1995 when Page/Plant lit up the Aud and be thankful I got to see them live.

Friday Stuff

Got 1,000 words done on the new novel today. Just passed the 50 page mark.

My current stack of books (Kindle and paper) that I'm reading is growing. Right now I'm reading:

11/22/63 - Stephen King

The Drop - Dennis Lehane

The Chill - Jason Starr

Also finishing up Under the Dome, which I've been reading off and on for a while. 20th wedding anniversary is coming up, and I'll likely ask for an Amazon gift card. Always more books to be had.

The Gray Men/Sunday Wrtiting

Added 2,100 words to the new novel. This one's a thriller with a slight supernatural element. Working title is The Gray Men but that might change, as it brings to mind visions of little gray guys in flying saucers. And it has nothing to do with aliens.

Sunday mornings are a great time to write. The house is quiet until the rest of the family stirs around ten a.m. I've always been an early riser, so it works out good for getting some words down. 

Took the boys yesterday to a comics/pop culture convention in my town. It was a small event, but the artists and dealers were very warm and friendly. I had a chance to meet Graham Nolan, the creator of Bane and artist for the Batman comics. Turns out he lives right around the corner from us. He was very gracious to fans, taking the time to chat and sign prints. I also picked up a great print from Matt "Monster Matt" Patterson of a mummy painting he did. My sons got some comics and graphic novels, as well. 

Writing and Momentum

I spent about 20 minutes last night working on the latest novel. Our family worked our final game at the concession stand at my son's school. Football is officially over. I got a couple of pages churned out in that 20 minutes, and it wasn't a long session, but at least I got some writing in. It's important to  keep momentum going on a novel. My usual goal is 3-5 pages per day. Most days I hit it. Other days life keeps me from that exact number. Getting some writing in every day keeps the story fresh in my head and gets me one step closer to finishing.

Horror Movies, The Walking Dead, and Such

Watched Book of Eli, which I liked a lot. Also checked out You're Next. I'm about 3/4 quarters of the way through. It builds tension nicely but it's plagued by SHMCD (Stupid Horror Movie Character Decisions). Everyone knows you don't go check out the spooky noises by yourself. And never split up, for Chrissakes. The Walking Dead is off to a strong start with two solid episodes. Let's hope they keep it up. It's a much better show when the situation is fluid and the characters don't get bogged down in one location for an entire season. Also, my twelve-year-old said, "Rick looks bad ass with that beard. Just like you, Dad." I hardly qualify as a badass, but I'll take it.

Just finished reading: Kill Whitey by Brian Keene

Just started reading: 11/22/63 by Stephen King

Killer on the Road Finished

The draft for Killer on the Road is done and off to the proof reader. The title will likely change to Where the Dead Go. I'll have to give it some thought. Fall foliage is in full swing here in the Buffalo area and I have roughly eight million leaves to rake this weekend. Even so, I plan on getting some pages done on the new novel. I write pretty much every day, even if it's just a page or two. Those pages grow into novels rather quickly.

Setting the Stories

My wife asked my the other day about the settings of my books and what has served as inspiration for the places in my stories. Off the top of my head, here's a list by book:

Cruel Winter (Knox Estate, East Aurora, NY)
Evil Harvest (Kenmore, NY, Machias, NY)
The Dark Ones (Downtown Buffalo, Bethlehem Steel Plant)
No Escape (Robert Moses State Park, Thousand Islands)
The Hollow (Letchworth State Park, Erie, PA)
Forgotten (Montana)
The Dead Land Trilogy (Downtown Buffalo, NY, Naval Yard, Amherst, NY)
Beat The Devil (Chaffee, NY, South Wales, NY, Grand Island, NY)
Where the Dead Go/KIller on the Road (forthcoming - South Wales, Delaware/Chippewa area of Downtown)
Getaway (Buffalo's West Side)
One Crazy Night (East Aurora,NY - our first apartment there)
Strike Force Z (post-apocalypse Downtown Buffalo)

Killer on the Road and Outlining

The latest novel I'm working on, tentatively titled Killer on the Road, is nearly done. Once I finish up my edits over the next two days, it's off to the proofreader. I wrote this book - and the third Dead Land book - with no outline and minimal notes. I've come to enjoy writing this way. I have an idea of where the story is headed and who the characters are, but no outline leaves room for the story to grow. It also leaves room to surprise my self, and that's the best way to surprise the reader. And as my wife would probably tell you, I'm terrible at planning surprises.

One of the dangers in writing with an outline is the tendency to think up a cool scene that has to occur in the book. You can wind up cramming this scene into the book even if it's something implausible or out-of-character for one of your story people. And sometimes outlining can leave a writer feeling like they've already told the story.

I've also settled in on what the next book will be. I've written the first few scenes and once edits are done on Killer, I'll start the other book in earnest.

Sundays

I worked mandatory overtime yesterday morning, so that cut into the writing time. I'm not much of a night owl (I get up at 3:45 a.m. for work), so the weekends are a good time to catch up on writing. Being the first one up on the weekends has its advantages. I usually do 2-3 pages per day during the week and 5-6 on Saturdays. Working in small bursts adds up to a lot of writing. This morning I did a quick sketch of an Uruk-hai. Onto some work on the new book. Just crossed the 50K mark, and I'm thinking there's another 10K to go.

Killer on the Road

I thought I'd post the first paragraph of the WIP. It's tentatively titled Killer on the Road. 

Mia saw the blood again. She saw it every night in her dreams. The walls had been painted with it. The cops had walked her out, an officer the size of a linebacker shielding her eyes so she didn't see it all, but she'd peeked, as kids were apt to do, taking in the great splash of it across the yellow linoleum floor.

Look for it Fall 2014. More sneak peeks to come.

Editing the Novel

I'm one or two editing sessions away from completing the third Dead Land book. Although it's necessary, I don't particularly enjoy editing. I've read writing books where writers claim that this is the most fun part of the process, but I have to disagree. For me, the fun is in writing the first draft, where anything goes.

After I give the manuscript a pass, I'll send it to the proofreader for a final check. I'm looking at a release date in the next two weeks. I'm toying with the idea of putting all three books in the trilogy on sale.

Ex-Navy Seal Goes After Serial Killer in Beat the Devil

I recently tweaked the cover for my latest novel, Beat the Devil. If you like over-the-top action, you might want to check it out.

John Childress is an ex-Navy SEAL who gets recruited by a newly-formed government agency to track down and kill an escaped serial killer.

I have plans for additional Childress books down the line.

Beat the Devil is available here:

Amazon 

Kobo 

Barnes and Noble

Spilling Blood on the Page

Every once in a while I gear up to write a scene that I know is going to be unsettling. I tend to stall for time, checking Facebook or my Amazon sales page before writing such a scene. It's typically something that might be painful or disturbing. Or it could be hitting a nerve on something in my past. What's the saying about writing? Just sit down and open a vein?

The scene in question involves the disappearance of two middle school kids. It's for my latest novel, Killer on the Road. It wasn't easy to write. I hope the reader will find it as unsettling as I did. Our main job as fiction writers is to tell a story, but it's also to evoke an emotion in the reader. Stephen King once said that you need to hurt the reader a little. Not much. But just a little.

I think good writing is unflinching. King never flinches. Certainly not when it comes to gore, but more importantly, not when it comes to his characters. He shows us every wart, every raw emotion, every thought and action they wouldn't necessarily want the world to see.

My advice? When you come to something uncomfortable in your writing, get it on the page. Expose it, even if it hurts a little. If you think you shouldn't "go there," go anyway. Spill some blood on the page. Your story will be richer for it.

The Passage of Time

When the third Dead Land book is complete, this will mark my tenth novel. I'm also working on the draft of an eleventh. It's been almost ten years since I got the call from an editor at Kensington telling me they wanted to buy Cruel Winter. The years have flown. My youngest son is twelve. My oldest just attended his junior prom (and nearly brought his mom to tears by asking for a dance - we were chaperones).  This year my wife and I will celebrate our twentieth wedding anniversary.

I'm not where I want to be in terms of a writing career, but I'll get there. Might not be this book or the next. Or the one after that. But I'll keep writing them because I can't stop. At 41, the knees aren't what they used to be, I have gray in my beard, and some nights making it to ten o'clock without dozing in my chair is a Herculean task. But I'm okay with that. I like to think as time has gone by I've become slightly wiser, and a better writer, as well.

Works In Progress

Edits continue on the third Dead Land Book. I still don't have a title for it, but that will come. I typically edit by printing out 50-page sections and making corrections/notes in the margins. After I go through it on paper, I put the corrections in the computer. I recommend editing on paper, as it's too easy to miss things on the computer screen. After I do an edit, my proofreader reads it and gives me feedback.

I've also started a new novel. It's about a woman who survives a massacre in her home as a teen and has a psychic connection to one of the killers. That's all I'll say for now, but it's moving along nicely.

Strike Force Z Now Available

My latest novella, Strike Force Z, is available for Kindle. Nook and Kobo versions to follow soon.

You can pick up a copy here






The world died years ago. The infection took hold, leaving vast wastelands populated by the dead. 

Three prisoners locked up in an old county jail are about to be made an offer: recover a supply truck that went missing in the wasteland and earn their freedom. 

With the help of three ex-Marines, they will take on the infected and the gangs that prowl the wastelands. 

An action-packed, bloody ride through the apocalypse. 

Strike Force Z is the latest novella from thriller writer Anthony Izzo. His next scheduled release is the third book in the Dead Land series. Look for it in the spring of 2014.