So, I’m writing two stories and editing a third story at the moment.
The good news is that I found a home for Date Night, a romance novella based around Burn and Bad Karma going on a date. Well, after dealing with some other people’s shenanigans, and a bit of gun fighting, a car chase, and some gun slinging before it’s over. It also involves an Eastern European mob. In Atlanta. And, yes, I did check with TA Walker, who writes romance. She confirms that Date Night is a romance story.
I’m also working on a military fantasy short story about an ensign who’s interning with a mercenary marine infantry formation. This is for the Butter Bars anthology I’m working on with Henchman Press. Hopefully, I’ll get this finished in the next couple of weeks so I can start sharing some snippets.
Last, I’m working on the rough draft of the sixth novel in the Burn and Bad Karma series. I’ve got too many story lines, and my ADHD is showing hard right now, but I’ll get it done and then clean it up in edits. I’ve posted a few snippets of this one on social media and people like what they’ve seen!
So, that’s where I am in the world of writing. Things are busy and I’m juggling a lot of projects, but they’re getting done as fast as I can get words into files and then cleaned up in edits!
Thanks for all your patience as I keep rolling toward new stories going into the world!
As I’m working through rebranding and getting new covers on my books, I’ve had the great fortune to work with Tiffanie Gray, who has nailed Moving Target and Easy Jobs.
As is usually the case, authors have a view of what their covers should look like. This idea usually has little connection to what readers are looking for when they look for books in their preferred genre. Tiffanie does a great job of pointing out the marketing needs of the cover, as well as incorporating ideas that work and help the cover become part of the story I’m trying to tell.
As you can tell, Tiffanie does excellent work and creates outstanding covers!
If you need help with covers, get in touch with Tiffanie at tiffanie_gray@sbcglobal.net
A few weeks back we had a sad moment at my home. Ein, my perpetual buddy through runs, walks, gym workouts and hours writing and editing stories, passed away. After 12 years of Ein being with us through everything from Georgia summers to Iowa winters. training for and running a half marathon with me, many walks, and being introduced to deer and horses, Ein has moved on across the rainbow bridge.
Yes, this has impacted me. I find myself looking for my buddy. I get up in the morning, and he’s not there waiting to go outside and then get his morning treat. He isn’t looking for me to take him for a walk when I get home from work. He’s not sleeping near one of us when it rains, and he’s not stalking the kitchen and dining room when we’re cooking or eating. I’m still processing the loss of a being I spent significant amounts of time with, who taught me a lot about life, loving my people, and how to live life.
But I had the privilege of being a good human to a very good boy for twelve years. I miss him.
The best news for Burn and Bad Karma is that they rarely have to attend any staff meetings, and if they do, the group is usually new people.
Seriously, though, it can be complicated for them to get through a job that should have been straight forward, simple and over with. That would also make the stories both shorter than expected and it wouldn’t ring true to real life. At least for most of us.
Since Easy Jobs is already in the title, I’ll use it as an example of complicating things for the characters. There are spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t read Easy Jobs, maybe go read that one first (or listen to the audio book).
The first thing that happens is that Hitcher, who’s exiting the Holy Mexican Empire’s embassy in Atlanta, gets spotted and chased by security personnel. Prioritizing not ending up a prisoner of the Empire, he accidentally kills one of the security team, and hurts a few others. Between the data he took, and the death of one of their own, the Empire’s local leadership wants their data and to make an example of Hitcher, so they set up a bounty for him, employing their own assets and mercenary forces in the Southern States Union.
Next, we meet Burn and Bad Karma conducting a data theft in some corporate executive’s skyrise condo. They’re professionals. Highly skilled. They reconned the condo, checked schedules, and did all the right things. And, of course, there was an unknown occupant in the condo, who came out armed. Data theft escalated to a self defense shooting, followed by the pair having to rappel down the building, getting into a short gun fight with a security team on the ground before stealing a car.
Micky then calls in Burn and Bad Karma to get Hitcher to Pittsburg. This involves dodging mercenaries, disrupting a gang robbery in a fast food place, illegally crossing a border, and, finally, a show down with the Empire’s hirelings and their ringer and high level killer.
Does it seem convoluted? Because it does. However, for the story to feel real, and to give the characters changes to shine and do what they do best, I had to find ways to increase the intensity. Burn and Bad Karma were focusing on steal and speed to get Hitcher clear. But they’re too people against a group that national resources to leverage, even if they have to so in a hostile nation. And I don’t want the Empire to seem incompetent. They aren’t. In setting, the Holy Mexican Empire controls everything to real world Panama, and is doing well in battle in the former US states from California to Texas. If they were incompetent, Hitcher would have gotten away clean in the first place.
So, writers have to find ways to increase the intensity and concern for the main characters. Some times, its the bad guys getting players on the board and messing up the main characters’ plans. Other times, it’s a matter of dumb luck braking against the characters. The gas station fight in Easy Jobs was a combination. Hitcher stepped in front of some mercenaries that were looking for the bounty on his head.
When we do this right, readers get a fun story that rings true and keeps you turning pages. Not that I, or any writer, nails that every time.
But here’s the secret: if the story needs a kick, I can add that in re-writes. I don’t have to write a perfect story the first time out. I can write the first draft, and when I re-read it, I can make notes going “hey this is too easy. Give them a threat or problem.” If you’ve read Easy Jobs, they literally had to swim across a river to get from Kentucky to Ohio. Why? Because at that point in time, the fictional United States and Southern States Union had no open check points or crossings. Burn and Bad Karma had no way to scam IDs that would allow such a crossing at that time. So, they had to slog it across and work their way to a town so they could secure another ride.
Along with that, they discuss the issues with the amount of surveillance they needed to avoid, and how they would, along with the risks of dealing with law enforcement, and how they would approach that. None of that would allow them an easier delivery.
So, hopefully, this gives you the readers (and any writers out there) some insight on how the stakes get increased in a story, even when the task should be simple and straight forward, an easy job. And we writers how you enjoy these stories!
First things first, I chose to take Friday off and make a weekend of the Con. And, as it turned out there’s a writing/creative track, which is now part of several of the Nerd Street conventions. So I took advantage of the panels, learned quite a bit at all of them, got to hear what is probably the most outrageous romance story about Thor ever (at a panel about writing adult material, specifically romance and violence). More importantly, I met up with friends, made some new friends, and made some contacts in the writing world.
Des Moines Con did a great job coordinating all the panels, and making sure everyone had the multimedia and support they needed. All of the panels I attended were both fun and educational, including panels about costuming for wrestlers (it gave me some great ideas for characters’ outfits in stories and considerations for where they might were specific types of materials, outfit styles, and color selection), a panel about how to produce ‘zines (those mini magazines that pop up in various places), and, of course, the intersection of comics and wrestling.
I also attended a 1 hour short story work shop, business panels for writers and comic book creation, a library panel and how libraries are relevant, a book in a month panel (Red did a great job with this one!), and the Writing After Dark (18+) mentioned above, Creating your own magic system to keep it coherent, a craft of writing panel, short story creation and opportunities.
My panels on fitness for the time crunched creative and all the things I wish I’d known when I started writing had small but interested and active participants who made both sessions more fun and valuable!
So, I’ll be going to other Nerd Street conventions, and I’ll definitely be back at Des Moines Con next year! I hope to see you there!
It’s true. I’m only held back by the need to sleep, have a day job, physics and law enforcement!
First things first: I’m working edits and story selection for Tales of the E4 Mafia 2, and Butter Bars! Large and (not so) In Charge! These are the next two anthologies from Henchman Press that I’m leading, and so far the stories are hitting all the marks: irreverent, action packed, funny, and, most important, good reads. I’ve even got a story set in my Burn and Bad Karma setting that takes place in the events in Sandblaster written by a friend of mine. It’s got a bit to go, but it is so funny. So, I’ll keep you posted as we get these anthologies closer to the publication mark.
Next, I’m presenting at Des Moines Con! I’ve mentioned this a couple of times, but I’ll repeat here:
On May 31st, at 11 AM, I’ll bein Panel 4 (Rooms 313-314) presenting Fitness for the Time Crunched Creative. This is for anyone in the creative world (fan or creator) who wants to improve their basic health and fitness, but doesn’t have the knowledge of what small changes to make or how to make them a habit so that they keep improving! No one will have to do burpees, but I’ll talk about hydration, better nutrition, sleep, exercise basics and how to make your medical team part of your fitness team.
On June 1st, at 3:45 PM, in Panel Room 3 (Rooms 315-316) I’m presenting Everything I Wish I’d Known When I Started Writing. We’ll cover productivity, editing, the importance of covers, networking and finding your community, building a fan base, and all the questions the audience has. If I can answer it, I will. If not I’ll direct you to other sources who are more knowledgeable.
If you want to see the full schedule of panels and events at Des Moines Con, please go to the Schedule Link!
And, finally, in a move that is terrifying, I’m working on a script and schedule for creating a video channel! This might be a couple of weeks before I have the first video up (I have a lot to learn, including video editing software), but it’s coming soon. Since I’ve posted it on the internet, now I have to do it!
I’ll be hosting a panel on June 1st at Des Moines Con with this title. But I thought I’d sit down and share with you all some of the lessons I’ve learned and things I’m still working through as I develop as a writer, author, editor and understand the fiction business better.
First things first, I published my first story, Easy Jobs, on 13 December 2016. Since then, I’ve published three additional stories, contributed to four anthologies, and edited a military science fiction anthology (Tales of the E4 Mafia) with Henchman Press.
To say the least, I’ve learned a lot.
First, I have to sit my butt in a chair and put works in a document every day. Let me say that again: Work on new stories every day. I have a day job, a house, my wife, my daughter and her kids, and my fitness that all need my attention, but if I want to succeed as an author and writer, I have to create new stories every day.
Second, editors are your friend, even when they say things you don’t like. I’m an adult, and I know my writing isn’t perfect. But sometimes when Krystal, my editor, says somethings wrong, or a character doesn’t have a consistent voice, or I’ve got two characters who sound like the same person, it hurts a bit. What I remind myself of is that Krystal is helping me make the story the best it can be. That’s what we want, as writers. To provide our readers with the best story we can at the point we publish it.
Third, productivity is good, and publishing more is good. I’ve got a series of short stories and novellas on my storage that hasn’t been published anywhere. Some of it helps develop Burn and Bad Karma. Other parts develop the world Burn and Bad Karma live and operate in. One story was a response to a challenge from a romance writer to write a romance story.
Yes, I wrote a romance story. Two people, other than me, have seen Date Night.
What I’m going to do is combine those short stories into anthologies so I can get them in front of people who already like my stories. Because they deserve more stories they like, and I want to write more.
Fourth, marketing my stories is a critical piece of all this. If I can get my stories in front of people who want to read stories like mine, we all win. If the stories are good enough, those readers do two things. First, they become fans, and second, they share my stories with their friends. More people get to read more stories they like, I get to write more stories. Last, those fans might become friends of mine. And who doesn’t need more friends?
Alright, I hope that helps clarify where I’m at, what I’ve learned, and what I’m trying to do as I get better at writing, being an author and learning the fiction business.
Leave a comment about what questions you have for me, and what you want to see more of from me!
Life, family and writing have all gotten busy lately. I’ll update you as best I can!
The signing event at Pella Books during Tulip Time was successful. I sold a couple of books, met some really great local authors, and ate too much ‘fair food’ while I was up town. This annual event is always enjoyable, and it’s a great chance for me to get to know more local creatives, and meet people in the local community.
I finally got a box of author copies of Moving Target with the new cover by Tiffanie Gray. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to unbox the new books yet due to other issues going on.
We received sad news that The Curiosity Shop is closing at the end of the month. They’ve been great to work with, and their shop will be missed by many of us!
I’ve gotten started on story selection for Tales of the E4 Mafia 2 and Butter Bars! Large and (Not So) In Charge, but it’s been slow going between work and other issues.
Unfortunately, a family member has had a significant health issue, so the last few days have involved a lot of time in a hospital and tracking what’s going on.
May 31st, 11 AM in Rooms 313-314 : Fitness for Time Crunched Creatives, where I’ll give tips and advise for writers, creators, fans and anyone else who’s overworked and still trying to improve their health and fitness!
June 1st, 3:45 PM in Room 315-316: Everything I Wish I’d Known When I Started Writing – this is a panel for people getting started on their writing journey, looking for ways to progress, what marketing is, why editing your work is far more important than you think, and why you should not take Mom’s word that your story is brilliant, among many other lessons I’ve learned (far too often the hard way!). I’m even developing a presentation for this one!
So, there you have it and thanks for reading this far! I hope you’re all doing well. Reach out or comment if you’re having a busy time, and how you handle it when things feel like they’re all happening at once!
So, I’ve been planning to re-do the covers on my current works for a while. And, as a quirk of the universe, I met the wonderful Tiffanie Gray through a comment thread in a social media group. Tiffanie and I discussed what I needed for an appropriate new cover for Moving Target, including genre considerations, plot line, and what would interest you, my readers.
It took a few iterations, but we came to a solid cover that I really like. Hopefully you like it, as well!
If you’re interested in Tiffanie’s work, check her website:
Here’s a snippet from ‘Corporals’, my current work in progress:
‘You good, babe?’ Karma shifted her sub machine gun to her shoulder. The white karat in her vision field swept along with the weapon’s point of aim as she moved down the corridor. Sounds reached her from an open office door on her left. ‘You know what they did to me.’ Shifting to the door, Karma breathed and listened. Three men talking, voices low. She moved through the door. The job was to rescue the kids and grab anyone they could for the cops and Rangers to get intel out of. That meant Burn should have been on the move, not her. But Burn wouldn’t put paid to these bastards. ‘This is a job. Stay focused.’ Stepping in the room, the three men turned to her, their conversation stopping. Her sub machine gun coughed three rounds. Three men collapsed back in their chairs, neat holes in their heads. Karma considered her options. Working solo, she didn’t have time to check for any data or documents. Finding the other kids was her priority. Turning, she moved out of the room and back down the hall. ‘I’m focused.’
I’m looking forward to this whole story getting out to the world.
Keith Hedger's Home for Fiction 