Hey guys,
Lots of exciting things in the works. For those who are new, every month I release an article here to the inner circle. I tell the good, the bad, and the ugly of whatever’s going on with my author news. I write fantasy, sci-fi, and a bit of paranormal, but I’m looking to potentially broaden that.
Freebies
After some deliberation, I decided I wasn’t giving you guys enough free content in terms of stories. I know not everyone here’s searching for writing advice, and although I’ve written four books and published two, I don’t know if I’m qualified to give it. It would probably be easy to make some articles, but I don’t think that’s what all of you want.
So in light of this, I have two rough chapters coming of a new story. This one plays on the classic premise of the horny bard seducing the dragon and flips it on its head in a romantic comedy adventure, leaning a bit more adventure, but there’s still a love story.
But here’s the twist. The story’s told from the dragon’s perspective, and I don’t want to spoil much, but I pitched two stories to some fellow writers and they loved this one way more.
Working title is called Hitched (because hillbilly demon marriage, don’t ask) or Ballad of (an Angry) Knocked up Dragon.
Expect a chapter or two coming to your inbox. 🙂
New Newsletter- The Mustache Cartel
Speaking of inboxes, (shameless plug,) I recently dropped a newsletter because apparently Jetpack only notifies of new articles or something. Admittedly, I’m still a bit shaky on the details. So I’ve created this to make sure no one misses an article and better keep everyone up to date. This way fewer people are out of the loop. Although it is an extra step for me, it’ll be worth it.
So yeah, I’ve started a cartel, sorta. I’m gonna craft some exquisite lines, poetry lines, lol.
For those who’ve joined, welcome! Welcome to the madness.
Lafonda and Leo
For those who may not have noticed, I’ve been making lots of Ostrich memes in advance of my new middle grade novel Lafonda and Leo Heroes of the Land.
The book’s expected this August. I get the book back from proofreading next Saturday or Sunday.
It’s about a glow-in-the-dark belly button gnome and cursed ostrich princess teaming up to save the land from a troll and evil witch before they plague the town under their control and bring darkness to their home.
As you can see, it’s very zany and fun with a surprising amount of suspense according to a few beta readers.
The community held a vote on my Facebook page and another, and we decided upon the final cover.
Here’s a preview from when the book was still rough. It’s come along way since then.
Hollow’s Heist
No real news here, but I thought I’d give a mention to those interested. I’m still waiting for feedback from a developmental editor giving me a Story Grid Diagnostic. This is my first time with that, so I’m not sure what to expect. I know the story’s still nowhere near a place that I’m happy with it.
The premise is a reborn assassin must steal an ice phoenix to escape her thieves guild bent on her demise and earn her freedom, but the first rule of the thieves guild is no one leaves the thieves guild. The second, don’t grow attached.
In a steampunk city bent on her death, she must learn who she can trust and remember who she is as the ever-looming threat of death and her failing heart haunts her. But she finds not all who pursue her want to rip that heart from her chest. One bounty hunter may want a bit more. Psyche Bates is caught in a storm beyond anything she’s faced and must rise and overcome.
I have no launch date set, but it’ll likely be spring or summer 2022.
Synder’s Gate
So this may need some preface, but basically I am bouncing between three stories over the past month and a half or so: Hitched, Clover Pockets Tales of the Undergrove, and Synder’s Gate. (I’ve trunked The Duster for now.)
Synder’s Gate I started in January and currently has about twelve chapters so far and was leaning on finishing this one first since the plot feels the most solid. As I said, when I pitched it, they liked Hitched better, so it may be worth reconsidering.
Anyway, Synder’s Gate explores the idea of how would the wizarding world of something like Harry Potter could respond to technology. So what if they embraced it with pocket dimensions in cyberspace, warebeasts, and demonic trojans, and instead of spells, no one uses sticks and unicorn blood anymore. It’s the turn of the century. They use apps and hexting to cast Fireball Lite (watermarked.)
So the premise for this world is that the few wizards who live among humanity access the magical pocket dimension through a rotating url on the dark web. One constant location is an MMO hidden within plain sight.
Meet Paige
Well one such Mage, Paige Price to enter the beta of the new MMO Synder’s Gate II, but there’s a catch. She doesn’t know she’s a witch and demonic entities known as Trojans will kill her for the passcode inside, which by the way, she doesn’t know. Worse, they kidnapped her best friend, Amy, for ransom until she releases the key.
Now Paige armed with her personal assistant angel, Nicole, must uncover the secrets of the technomancy around them and stop the destruction of the wizarding world all before Trojans kill Amy.
I have no date yet, but I feel confident I want to finish this one. I’m bordering 20,000 words going strong. Raising the stakes helped me break a huge roadblock in the plot.
Tales of the Undergrove
This may be the first formal introduction for this story, and it holds a special place in my heart. I’m about six chapters (10,000 words) in.
The Reason
Mild tangent here, but during middle school, I adored a series called the Rats of NIMH. They made a movie, but the movie’s trash compared to the first book. (There’s a reason they never made a sequel.) I loved the world and characters, but disliked the plot and I wanted to create something like it in my own way. Lafonda and Leo lead to some introspection and I really enjoyed writing for kids in that I could do all this crazy stuff and just have fun, and I think the world needs more of that.
This one may be a bit more serious as I wanted to make it a series, but I wanted something YA/middle grade with anthropomorphic animals, mystery, and ill-fated magic compared to the tragic science of NIMH.
The Story
But I adore the characters. Everything’s so colorful and dark like a lightshow. The animals live in this upside-down realm with antigravity and twilight. Glow-in-the-dark fungi and dandelions like trees populate the world and most animals live in an upside-down tree or the surrounding forest. Everyone has interesting motivations and mannerisms. The main character Clover is adorable awkward bunny girl and I hate myself for leaving her in peril right now, lol.
There’s ancient prophecy she’s tied up in with a powerful carnivorous vine, known as the Orifice, and it’s not going well for her. The society has silenced these stories. Also she likes a boy who’s forbidden as she’s a lowly housemaid and he’s a noble flying wolf/wolverine.
I don’t know if I’m ready to talk about this one yet. I worry it’s not good enough. That’s partly why I stopped. Maybe I relate too much to Clover, but I don’t wanna get into that.
Audiobook
In other news, The Vestige Rise of the Pureblood Audiobook is doing better than anticipated. I guess some people would rather listen in the car than read at home. Especially after the pandemic cooping everyone at home too!
Link’s here to the platforms if any’s interested.
The Tavern
Me and the guys posted a D&D live stream. Sadly, we couldn’t get Twitch to work so I posted a recording on the Tavern. We sadly don’t think we’ll be doing another unless we are starting a new campaign. That way it’s easier on the audience to follow along.
Conclusion
So that about does it for this month. I’m planning on posting two chapters of Hitched either next week or the week after that. Even though it’s still a rough draft, I want to share my best.
In the meantime, there’s the Facebook page for any as it happens updates. If any of these stories tickles your fancy let me know in the comments and I may share a chapter or two.
Until next time,
Keep writing!
Antonio