Come Fly with Death: Release Date (and ebook Cover Reveal)

Do you have a date with Death? Well, you do now. On 10/12/14, my chapbook, Come Fly with Death: Poems Inspired by the Artwork of Zdzislaw Beksinski, will be unleashed upon the unsuspecting public.

The ebook is now available for pre-order HERE for $0.99. While this pre-order is exclusively for the ebook, the print version will be available to order on the same date, provided there are no set backs with the proofing.

The ebook cover image is revealed above, and I will post the full-wrap cover for the physical book soon.

And now I will leave you with the book’s newly updated description:

Book Description:

Come Fly with Death is a chapbook of 20 poems inspired by the artwork of the late Polish painter, Zdzislaw Beksinski. Up until the time of his murder in 2005, Beksinski created a fantastic collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photographs, specializing in the field of utopian art.

Like Beksinski’s works, the poems contained here are surrealistic and graphic. They are at times horrific, Gothic, even erotic, and apocalyptic. Above all, they attempt to serve as a rare glimpse into the heart of our most beautiful nightmares.

Contains reprints from: The Horror Zine, Twisted Dreams Magazine, Dark Gothic Resurrected Magazine, Indigo Rising Magazine, Gothic Poems and Fiction, Death Head Grin Anthology Vol. 2, and Fossil Lake: An Anthology of the Aberrant. Also includes several poems never before published.

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Title Change and Other Stuff

I’ve given this quite a bit of thought, and after a few years of living with my WIP poetry chapbook as Nightmare Dreamer, I have decided to completely change the title prior to publication. Better to change it prior to, than after the fact, I suppose. So the new title, as given away by the little graphic above, is…dun dun dun… Come Fly with Death: Poems Inspired by the Artwork of Zdzislaw Beksinski.

 

There are several reasons I’ve decided to make this change. Both titles come from poems included in the book, but the poem, Come Fly with Death is one of my personal favorites, and honestly I just think it proves to be a more original title. Nightmare Dreamer has always had a slight generic taste to it, at least to me. And although that title and its poem are direct references to Beksinski himself, the genius artist whose work the entire book is inspired from, I feel that the title, Come Fly with Death and its corresponding poem both speak much more closely to the overall spirit of the book as a whole. So, there. It is done.

 

Along with a new title there will be an all new cover design. While my attempts at creating original digital artwork for this title have taught me much in the ways of Photoshop, sadly I must admit that I am not a graphic designer. I will still be creating the cover as far as layout, text placement, etc., but I will be contracting the actual artwork. Perhaps one day I can tinker around and learn enough about Photoshop and the digital arts to do my ideas justice, but in the meantime, I will focus on the writing and leave the visual arts to the visual artists.

 

As far as publication goes, I am getting very close to releasing this chapbook. A few of the poems included had been pending publication elsewhere, and I have been waiting for all that to resolve so that rights could revert back to me. At this point, I am free to publish these poems as I see fit, so I will be moving full steam ahead. Once I finish with the interior layout and scour it for final line edits, I will finalize the cover. I am hoping to have all that done so that it can be released in Ocober, just in time for Halloween. The initial release will be as an ebook on Amazon Kindle, and will also be available as print on demand. I will expand that to include all the other major ebook distributors such as iTunes and Smashwords, but as this is my first adventure into the world of self-publishing, it may take me some time.

 

In other news, my novella, Feeding Lazarus is in final revision and I am looking at a release date of early next year. It will also be getting a new cover design, which I will reveal here as we get closer to publication.

 

Until next we meet, be cool, be safe, and of course, just write.

 

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Thrills of “The First Time” Publication –And Beyond…

As a new writer there is nothing more thrilling than the first time you get to see your work published.  Like any of life’s great milestones, it is a moment to be forever cherished. Ah…truly, it is bliss.

I remember my first time. It was a zombie story called Slave in the Flesh, and it was printed in the zombie-themed anthology, Through the Eyes of the Undead in May, 2010. It seems a lifetime ago, but I realize it’s been less than a year and a half and the afterwards butt is still smoldering in the ashtray.

Since that time I’ve been striving to get more of my work–any more of my work–out there for all to see, and in any publication that will have me. I don’t stress this to discredit the publications that have published me. On the contrary, I am ever grateful and honored to have my work appear in each and every one of these excellent publications. My point here (if indeed I have one) is that when you first start publishing, a sort of bloodlust overtakes you and you need more. You become frenzied, and you don’t care where that next bit of blood is coming from or how you find yourself going about getting it. At least, this is how it seemed for me.

As I look over my publishing history to this point, I can see that I have published or am scheduled to publish, more than 20 short stories. In April of this year I started publishing poetry, and have since published 40+ poems with about ten more slated to be published through January 2012. I apologize if that sounds a bit boastful; what I’m trying to say is that I’m finally getting over the initial frenzy of “I just need to be published.” In other words, the afterglow of “the first time” is starting to fade.

Well then, what now?

There is an outbreak of writers out there looking for the quick fix, seeking fame and fortune in a one night stand. One or two of these in thousands might get lucky, but the rest will fade into oblivion. There comes a time in your writing career when you have to decide if you’re going to play the field all your life, or are you going to give it a real go in a committed relationship.

If you’re serious about writing, I believe there comes a time when you need to become more selective about not only what you are sending out for consideration, but also where you are sending it to. It becomes even more important to examine what you’re spending your time on as you go about slaving, writing, and revising. It becomes less about simply seeing your work published and more about building a readership, gaining fans, maybe getting a few professional credits to tack to your bio, or perhaps nailing just the right piece in just the right publication to garner some attention and maybe snatch up an award or two.

For my own writing career, it’s time I start actively switching gears into relationship mode. This gradual change has been occurring without me being fully conscious of it, as I’ve noticed myself concentrating on “bigger picture” projects: writing poems with collections and chapbooks in mind, stories for my own short story collections, longer narratives like novellas, and also plotting out novels.  I’m dreaming up more book ideas, titles, and cover designs than I’ll ever have time to produce in the next several years to come. I find I’m spending almost as much time, if not more time, blogging and networking than I actually do writing.

I’m committing myself until the proverbial “death do us part.” All my efforts now just become pre-marketing strategies and setting the stage for the long haul. I’m building a brand and carving a strong foundation for a real business in publishing. I’m getting set for the arduous road ahead, and patiently (yet still anxiously) awaiting the destinations this career in writing/publishing sees fit to take me. Like any committed relationship, a serious career in writing takes work. I’m ready to get to work, because I’m in it to win it, or die trying.

What was your “first time” publication and where do you see your writing/publishing path taking you?

Become a Great Author the Easy Way–Grow a Beard!

With the ever changing world of publishing–ebooks, self-publishing, POD–everyone is searching for the fast and easy way to become a great author. We’ve all heard the overnight success stories. There’s a gold rush happening here and everyone is looking to cash in on this gravy train of self-publishing before it skips town. Some people will tell you that the only way to ‘get there’ is through hard work and tons of luck. But, there’s another way, a simpler way. And folks, I’m here to tell you how. All you have to do to become a great author is grow a beard!

Now you may be wondering, is it absolutely necessary to have a beard in order to become a great author? Well no, of course not. That’s preposterous! But it certainly helps. And it sure is easier to grow a beard than it is to actually try writing a really good book. Writing takes work. Lots and lots of hard work. Also, it takes work, dedication, work, and yep, more work. But the good news is that beards practically grow themselves!

Yes, it’s true! All you really have to do is wait for them to grow! It’s that easy! In a way, the path to becoming a great author is as simple as Sea Monkeys! And if you don’t want to do all that boring stuff like waiting, you could just Photoshop a nice beard onto one of your already existing, beardless (and no doubt boring) bio pics, and viola! You are now a bearded author! (Btw, this is also a good tip for the ladies. Shhhh. Don’t worry ladies, the secret that your beard is fake is safe with us.) And don’t worry if you haven’t published anything yet, you can still call yourself an author, and because of your beard, people will believe you! Honest. Would a bearded guy lie to you? NO! He wouldn’t.

So now that we’re all gathered here today (uhg, I should probably re-write that–sounds like the start to a bad wedding–on second thought, revision=more work, so I’ll just leave it be, I doubt anyone will notice anyway) and since I’ve already discussed this wonderful tip which will have you burning rubber on the road to becoming a very great author in no time flat, I’ll now provide you with some evidence to support my claim.

Here is a list of great authors (aka writers with beards), all of whom knew (or in some cases know–believe it or not, some of these guys ain’t even dead!) the absolutely vital importance of wearing a good beard: