Latest Novel

Long time since my last update. My latest novel is done, after a round of revisions. Sending it to my agent today. If all goes well, hopefully I'll have a book out next year.

Goodbye, Old Friend

Nobody died.  I was thinking about one of my favorite authors and how much I used to love his work. When I first discovered this writer, I went out and picked up all of his titles and pretty much devoured them. 

Last week I checked his most recent book out of the library. I read ten pages and had to put the book down. The description felt forced. The author was trying too hard. The relationship between the male and female leads consisted of little more than cutesy dialog.  I wondered what had happened to one of my favorite writers.

I'll give his next book a try.  But somewhere along the line things seem to have changed. This author's creepy, keep-you-up-all-night thrillers are a thing of the past. The latest book wasn't the same.  It was like seeing an old friend after a number of years and finding you've drifted apart. Anyone else experience this with an author?

On the flip side, are there any new authors you've read and are excited about? Someone whose work you just have to read?

The Ending

Finished writing the ending of my latest project (which is actually a rewrite). Now I just have to go back and type in the parts I wrote in my notebook. The notebook has its ups and downs. It's portable and allows me to sneak in writing time. Waiting rooms are a perfect place. I don't really need to know what bitchy things Jennifer Aniston has to say about Angelina Jolie. So the latest copy of People can gather dust while I get a few pages written.

After typing in the material from the notebook, I'll give it a once over, tying in old and new material. Then it's off to my agent for a look.

I keep telling people I hope to sell it. They ask me why this book would be any different. I hope they're right, but with publishers scaling back and the economy in the tank, you never know. I'll just keep writing and think positive. Sometimes that's all you can control.

Recent Reads

I haven't read much horror fiction lately.  I've been reading more crime novels and thrillers as of late. Two that really kept me coming back were Good People by Marcus Sakey and Severance Package by Duane Swierczynski.  I found myself thinking about both books in between reading sessions and couldn't wait to get back into them. Good stuff. I also got Swierczynski's The Wheelman for Christmas, and it's on my TBR pile.  Check them out.

The weather here isn't doing much to help Buffalo's reputation as the snow capital of the world. It's damned cold. I pumped gas today and took my glove off for about ten seconds. My skin actually hurt. Right now it's a balmy six degrees. I'm afraid to check the windchill.

New Year

It's been a crazy 2009. Dealt with some troublesome relatives.  Watched my oldest son struggle with school to the point where we decided to home school him.  Today was the first day of me working with him and it went great. 

On the writing front, working on revising my latest novel. I had sent it to my agent and he gave me a thorough editorial letter.  His comments were dead on, so I'm in the process of tearing the guts out of the novel, keeping the good stuff, and tossing the junk.  Hoping to make a sale with it. 

Write a Novel In One Month

I've seen a few books floating around the web that promise to help people write a book in a month.

I thought I'd share my own version.

For a 90,000 word novel:
1. Sit ass in chair
2. Write 3,000 words per day

That'll be $19.95, please.

If there's some other magic formula, please let me know.

Review

Review for Evil Harvest here:

http://www.dondammassa.com/r3.htm#Evil_Harvest

The Dark Ones

Coming down the home stretch on the next book. I've got about another week of writing to finish the draft, then it's on to editing and revisions. I'm calling it The Dark Ones right now, but I'm also considering Dark Siege. Kensington will have their own suggestions as well. If time permits, I'll post a snippet.

Evil Harvest, Chapter One

For your reading pleasure:

Chapter One

Matthew Crowe was stopped at a red light when he heard the woman scream.

The scream came from his left, and he glanced out the open driver’s-side window at the Folsom Furniture plant. The main warehouse looked the same as it did in his youth, a pile of rust and bricks that resembled a long-dead industrial relic. He would have thought it abandoned. A spotlight shining on an open door at the front of the building and a tractor trailer with FOLSOM in blue letters parked at a loading door told him they were still in business.

He checked the light again; it was still red. He looked back at the open warehouse door. That was bad news. Business owners didn’t make a habit of leaving doors open, especially with thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise sitting behind them. Did something break in, or out? That was the question.

The woman cried out again, this time a hoarse groan. No mistaking it, someone in trouble. He checked—no oncoming cars—and turned left against the light.

As he turned, he heard a second shriek, a low growl that rose in pitch to a keening wail. He felt the shriek reverberate through his guts, felt his stomach and bowels get liquidy. The last time he had heard that sound, there had been blood and pain and cries for mercy. Leaving now was not an option. One of the bastards was after someone.

He gunned the Cavalier’s engine and rolled up the driveway, gravel crunching and popping under the tires. He swung the car into a diagonal parking spot in front of the warehouse. Hope nothing happens to the car. Rental company will be pissed.

When he boarded his plane, he never counted on something like this happening so soon. Ten years out of Lincoln and I run into Them the first night back.

Ten years away, first in the Army Rangers and then in cramped apartments and Motel 6s around the country. Hell of a way to live, collecting newspaper clippings, Internet printouts and interviews about creatures that shouldn’t exist.

But they did exist, and from the sound of it, one of them was on the hunt.

Throwing the car in park, he got out, unlocked the trunk and pulled out the tire iron. If he had an automatic weapon handy, it might be a fair fight, but the tire iron would have to suffice.

The warehouse was separated from a four-story factory building by an alley. At the end of the alley, another spotlight shone like sunlight at the end of a train tunnel. Matt watched for any sign of movement, any shift in the shadows. When nothing rushed from the alley, he moved ahead, tire iron in hand.

The woman cried out again and he heard footsteps flop on the concrete floor of the warehouse. Had she managed to slip away? It sounded that way.

Creeping up on the door, he peered inside the ware house, half expecting the thing inside to pop out and grab him. Here goes, he thought.

He ducked inside and looked up at the three-tiered steel racks, the highest of which ran twenty feet in the air. Crates, pallets and rows of shrink-wrapped furniture went on for what seemed like a mile. It also created hundreds of hiding spots. Moonlight filtered in through the high windows, but instead of providing welcome illumination, it seemed to create more shadows.

He glanced at the door. The bolt was a mangled lump of metal. Likewise for the rings that held the door’s security bar in place. Something wanted to open the doors, and had done so from inside the warehouse.

He ventured a soft, “Hello?”

The woman darted out from under the storage bays and into the center of the aisle. She ducked and scrambled underneath one of the lower racks. The darkness swallowed her up. Dammit, he thought.

He started down the aisle, aware that he could be ambushed from any angle.

A thundering crash behind him. Matt spun around to see a pallet of kitchen chairs piled on the floor. The plastic shrink-wrap had busted, and the chairs’ legs had snapped like kindling.

A second pallet of chairs tumbled down from the third tier and landed on the first pile. Matt realized the assailant was attempting to block the exit. It would not be impossible to leave through the door, but anyone who tried moving the chairs would be an easy target as they attempted to clear the exit.

Now he heard it move, thudding along the top racks, its breath coming in heavy, wet grunts.

Matt searched the racks, trying to get a glimpse of the woman. He crouched down, scanning the crates under the racks. “You in there?”

No answer came, so he continued to the end of the aisle. As he turned left, he heard footsteps, someone in a hurry. He turned quickly, but before he could square his shoulders, something hard and metal smacked his ankle.

Shit, that hurts! he thought, hopping in pain.

The attacker followed up with a shove; already off- balance, Matt toppled over and smacked the concrete. The tire iron clanged to the floor beside him. Being a Good Samaritan hurt like hell.

“You son of a bitch!” the woman said, and pounced on top of him. She raised the crowbar over her head and brought it down like a lumberjack. He blocked the blow, his arm smacking her forearms. The crowbar flew out of her hands and tumbled under a pallet.

Her primary weapon gone, the woman dug her nails into his cheek. He winced but managed to grab her wrists and hold them. “I’m trying to help you, dammit!”

She tried to pull away, but then it dawned on her she couldn’t get loose her shoulders slumped in defeat.

I’m not what dragged you in here, he thought.

“My God,” she said. “I’m sorry.” A tear dribbled down her cheek. He wanted to wipe it away for her but thought better of it.

She was straddling him, and he glanced at her Nike T-shirt. It had been torn across the belly; blood stained the white fabric and had dribbled onto her running shorts. Something had clawed her before she slipped away.

“Thank you,” she said. “For coming in after me.”

In the dim warehouse, her eyes stood out. Pale green, they looked like they could be sniper’s eyes under the right (or wrong) circumstances. She was compact and had the lean, smooth legs of a runner. Her curly black hair was pulled into a ponytail. He took her for about twenty-eight or twenty-nine.

Matt said, “We need to get out of here fast. We’re in here with someone very dangerous.”

Random Thoughts

Some things you probably shouldn't say to a horror writer:

Your monster/vampire/demon/zombie was just adorable.

That gut-wrenching death scene in chapter ten? I laughed my ass off.

So what screwed you up as a kid?

You're making - like - Stephen King money, now, right?

I keep telling my wife/husband/friend/brother they should elevate their reading tastes. They love your stuff, by the way.

You should let me edit your work before you send it out.

I've got a great story idea for you. It's about possessed objects. Three words: Toaster of Death.

MySpace

This is a test. It is only a test. Just checking out the new blog on My Space. I finally broke down and created a MySpace page. We'll see how it works out. If nothing else, it's another tool to get my name out there.

My URL is http://myspace.com/anthonyizzo if anyone wants to check it out.

Signings

Working on some marketing and publicity for Evil Harvest. I should have some book signing dates posted soon. Reading Bryan Smith's House of Blood and liking it. Lots of mayhem. Good stuff. Also reading Dan Simmons' Hard Freeze. I especially like the Simmons book because it's set in Buffalo.

Finally saw 300 last night. I was really looking forward to it, but I have to say I found myself kind of bored. One can only watch so many Persian soldiers being impaled before it gets a little stale. I love a good bloody battle scene (Braveheart, LOTR Trilogy), but something about this movie left me cold. Stunning visuals, though.

New Look

Anthonyizzo.com has a new look. I'll be posting an excerpt of Evil Harvest in the near future. Let me know what you think of the site design.

Out the Door

Copyedited manuscript for Evil Harvest patched, spot welded, and shipped out the door. Much rejoicing will now take place.

Almost There

I just have a few more corrections to make on the Evil Harvest manuscript. The main thing is clearing up little inconsistencies. A description you write on page 200 is liable to change by page 400. It's amazing the things you overlook in the heat of writing, and even in an edit. I suppose it's never possible to distance yourself 100% from the work. That's where editors and copyeditors come in. For the most part, I think they help make an author's work stronger.

For aspiring writers (turn back, you fools!), I recommend making maps, time lines, even a rough calendar of events in your story. This is especially helpful when dealing with multiple characters and plot lines. Stephen King may be able to wing it and produce brilliant work, but let's face it, none of us are him. Preparation will make for an easier time down the line. Embrace it.

Blog Name

With 2007 still fresh out of the wrapper, I decided to rename the blog. New year, new start. Besides, the old title was about as exciting as watching mold grow. The new title isn't anything great, but it's better than the old.

Copy Edit Time

Received the copyedited manuscript from Kensington yesterday. Have a week to look it over and return it. Also received the cover for Evil Harvest, which I will post in the next few days on the web site. As usual, Kensington did a fantastic job on the cover. Let's hope it attracts lots of book buyers.

Passed the 40,000 word mark on the next book and am pleased with the progress.

Changing Titles

The next book is available for pre-order at www.amazon.com, where it's listed as Unforgiven (the original title). As I mentioned in a previous post, the title is changing to Evil Harvest, but for some reason it made it to Amazon as Unforgiven. To clear up any confusion, they are the same book.

Also, it looks like Cruel Winter is available for order again at www.kensingtonbooks.com.

That's all for now.

The New Book

Just got word from Kensington that the next book, due out in June 2007, will be titled EVIL HARVEST. My original title was The Unforgiven, but this title apparently brought to mind the Clint Eastwood western of the same name.

To give you a little teaser, EVIL HARVEST is the story of Matt Crowe, a drifter now returning to his hometown of Lincoln after a ten year absence. It won't be a warm welcome for Matt. He's coming home to seek revenge on Rafferty, the chief of police and leader of a clan of murderous shapeshifters. When Matt was a teenager, Rafferty and his followers murdered Matt's family. Matt finds out Rafferty's planning a wholesale slaughter of the townspeople, and with a new-found love interest and a tough ex-marine at his side, Matt will try to stop Rafferty and his band of demons. The odds are overwhelming. The enemy is cunning and vicious. Can Matt survive and put the past to rest once and for all?

Should have cover art soon. I'll post it as soon as I get it.

Been Away Too Long

Okay, the blog has been gathering dust. I admit it. I've been busy working on the second book of the contract with Kensington. It's starting to take off and I'm liking the characters so far. I've been averaging 12-1500 words a day on it. Have a working title, but I'm not crazy about it. As I stated in a previous post, title seem to come on their own, and when you find the right one, you'll know.

Have to go. Kid is due on the school bus any minute.