MALEVOLENT, the newest Jennifer Blake novel, is now available

MALEVOLENT, the 7th novel featuring police psychic Jennifer Blake, is now available on Amazon.

 

The past and future collide as the fledgling Team Blake comes together to face a daunting challenge.

As Jen and her new team of psychics hunt the ghost nurse, a new and daunting entity makes itself known as Ben finds himself caught up in a massive criminal operation. Jen reluctantly accepts the mantle of leadership. She begins a new project almost as terrifying as the monsters she battles, and Jake’s demons come home as they fight to survive the most terrifying enemy they’ve ever known.

Grab  your copy today!

If you haven’t met Jennifer Blake yet, you can catch up on her exploits here:

BLOOD EAGLE

FACELESS

LEGACIES

LOST CITY

NEMESIS

SINS OF THE FATHERS

And watch for HAUNTED, the 8th Jennifer Blake novel, later this year.

Best Wishes,

Michael

WHAT’S NEXT?

Just thought I’d drop a little note to let y’all know what’s coming up in 2017.

First, the last Blood Lines novel, BLOOD BORNE, drops January 1st.  You can preorder your copy here.

OTHER TITLES SLATED FOR RELEASE IN 2017

The Beast Within–A lone werewolf on the trail of revenge finds himself saddled with an obnoxious teenage girl and the woman he left behind.

 

ARES–A gifted young genius, a horrible accident, and the ground-breaking surgical procedure he designed come together in a cautionary tale about the price of knowledge

 

The Burning–A supernatural tale of revenge, and love lost.

 

Sunset Ranch–The lone survivor of a horrible mass murder returns to the scene to film a documentary, only to discover that the events of that night are not as buried as she’d hoped.

The Things We Leave Behind–A new collection of short stories, featuring zombies, a haunted apartment building, a woman tormented by a devoted stalker, and much more.

 

That’s everything slated for release in 2017 so far, although I may have another installment in the Jennifer Blake series ready later in the year.

Regards,

Michael

On the short story…

The following is the introduction to my next collection of short stories, currently in production.  I thought I’d share it with you all now.

 

Why do authors write short stories?

For years, they were considered a loss; most publishers wouldn’t accept an anthology of short stories unless you were one of the big names. The magazine market, once a welcome home for short fiction, all but dried up and blew away over the years, replaced by fluff pieces on the latest celebrity gossip and countless articles on the ever-popular search for the G-spot. Time spent working on short stories was almost considered wasted. It was infinitely easier to sell a novel than a short story, or even a collection of them. Considering the difficulty in selling a first novel, that’s saying something.

But authors continue to crank them out. I don’t know a single writer who doesn’t have a stack of them, all polished up with nowhere to go. One author I know has a backlog of at least a hundred different shorts that will most likely never see the light of day. Knowing how talented the author is, I consider this one of the world’s great tragedies. Some writers use them as writing exercises, meant to do nothing more than keep the gears oiled, so to speak. Others write them simply because they need to write something, but need a break in between novels. And others still, too afraid to tackle the admittedly Herculean task of writing a novel, stick to the short story, perfecting their craft and learning the ropes. In this, the short story shines; I don’t know of a single author who didn’t cut their teeth on short stories.

Myself, I use them as a diversion. If a novel can be likened to waging a war (and I certainly believe it can) then the short story is one of those rare periods of inactivity in between the battles. Such breaks are always a welcome diversion, like a pickup game of baseball in between artillery shellings.

While the novel is a complicated machine, full of inter-connected cogs and gears all turning together in an elaborate dance, the short story is a simple mechanism. One big wheel, turning slowly as the author works the crank. The various cogs and wheels of the novel each have different purposes; one might be the setting, another the backstory. All of the characters have their own mechanisms, and all of them work together to turn the main shaft of the story. The action of the mechanism produces many byproducts, including themes, allegory, and messages. But the short story is a different animal.

There’s only one moving part to the short story, and it exists solely to fulfill one function. It’s sole purpose is to tell the story. The author turns the crank, and the story rolls out onto the paper. And since (or maybe because) it only does one thing, it tends to do it very well. I dare you to find a single novel, from any author, that can sustain the tension and impact that pervades W.W. Jacobs’ “The Monkey’s Paw,” or even comes close to equaling the juxtaposition of the mundane and the horrific in Stephen King’s “Children of the Corn” or “The Mangler.” To this day, I’ve never found any novel that can hold a candle to the suspense in Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Then again, Poe is one of those authors whose work shines best when it is short, brutal, and to the point.

For years, authors have continued to crank out short stories, despite the seeming lack of a viable market for them. But today, that’s all changing. The advent of independent e-books has brought the short story out of the dark, dusted it off, and presented it to the world. It let it get away from the kid’s table and allowed it to sit with the grown-ups, so to speak. And I, for one, couldn’t be happier about it.

Of course, the same rules that govern the world of novels also apply to the short story collection; for every Stephen King’s Night Shift or Robert Bloch’s prodigious bibliography of short story collections comes a plethora of real stinkers. Still, the avid reader doesn’t seem deterred by the odds; they happily wade through pile after pile of utter garbage, hoping to find that one rare gem.

With this collection, I’m hoping I’ve done something more than add to the garbage pile. So, for your amusement (or just to give you another reason to call me a hack) here is the latest collection of my own diversions.

Michael Chambers

Springfield, MO

September, 2016

The Things We Leave Behind is currently in production.  I’ll have a cover and release date for you guys soon.

Until then, you can pre-order SINS OF THE FATHERS, the latest Jennifer Blake novel.

Best Wishes,

Michael

Jennifer Blake Returns, and a Cover Reveal!

Jennifer Blake returns in SINS OF THE FATHERS, the sixth novel in the series.  Blake and her team must solve a decades-old crime in order to prevent present-day murders.

SINS OF THE FATHERS is scheduled to release on Halloween 2016.

Pre-orders will begin September 15th.

 

Without further ado, may I present the cover of SINS OF THE FATHERS

 

If you haven’t caught up on the many adventures and utter chaos that is Jennifer Blake’s life, you can find the previous five volumes here:

• BLOOD EAGLE
• FACELESS
• LEGACIES
• LOST CITY
• NEMESIS

 

Where have all the standalones gone?

No one is writing stand-alone novels any more.  Go stroll through Amazon’s ebooks, and you’ll see that virtually everything you see is “book one in the Fartknocker series.”

Now obviously, that’s not true, and probably never will be.  People will always write stand-alone stories with no sequels or long-range plans, and publishers will more than likely always buy them–but lord, don’t they love them a series.

That’s where it comes from, you know.  People see publishers putting all their marketing and effort into this or that series, and assume–almost certainly incorrectly–that they are only interested in the next big series.  Therefore, everything has to be stretched into a series, whether or not it has the potential for it.  So, sadly, many great characters and stories are forced to keep shuffling across the stage long after they should have been allowed to take a bow and fade into the background for the next act.

I’m about to propose something radical.  I preface this by saying that I do, in fact, have a moderately successful series of my own, although my favorite of my works remains a single, stand-alone novel.  But I think this merits saying.

FORGET ABOUT THE SEQUELS AND WRITE THE BOOK.

Don’t worry about it.  If the story doesn’t merit a return, then don’t go back.  Finish the story, and let it shine on its own.  If it has the potential to be a series, it’ll let you know.  Don’t force it.

After all, imagine how lame a sequel to Dracula would have been.  (Actually, you don’t have to imagine–there are countless lame novels vaguely based on what happened after the good Count lost his head.)

Tell the story.  If it’s done, it’s done; don’t try to reanimate a dead story line to stretch it out.

AUDIO ALL THE BOOKS!

So basically I’ve been incredibly busy with the audiobook project.  You know, that insane idea I had a few months ago to convert ALL my books into audiobooks?  Yeah, I wonder if I’ve gone crazy, too.

source: giphy.com

At any rate, I thought I’d give you guys an update on where all of that stands.  As of right now, these are the titles that are currently in production.

BAD GIRLS

BLOOD EAGLE

HUNTED

SMILING JACK

CHARACTER ISSUES

SISTERS

At this point it’s a toss-up to see which will be done first, so I won’t even hazard a guess.  For those of you who’ve asked, yes, I do plan to do both the complete Blood Lines series and the Jennifer Blake series as well.

Be sure to check back here regularly, and I’ll update you as I know anything.  You can also check out my Facebook author page and my Twitter feed for more updates and general announcements.

 

Best wishes,

Michael

It’s here! It’s here!

source: giphy.com

ASYLUM, my first novella, is now available as an audiobook!

ASYLUM is sort of my love letter to old school horror.  No sparkling vampires or angst-ridden villains here; just non-stop action and gore aplenty.  Check it out here:

Audible: http://adbl.co/2btqlpa
iTunes: http://apple.co/2bvhhil
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2bqfeLi

It’s narrated by the awesome Kay Webster, who gave Quiet Charlie the absolute perfect voice.  Go grab your copy today, and watch for more audiobooks coming soon!

 

On Publishing

source: giphy.com

A few people have asked me about publishing independently. While scores of books have been written on the subject, by people much more qualified than I am, I thought I’d share my two cents’ worth, and a little about my process.

First, and although you’d think it goes without saying, it still needs to be said, you must finish the book. And by finish, it must be completed, edited, revised, and polished. Until you have a manuscript ready to go, don’t even worry about the rest of the process.

Once you have a completed, polished manuscript in hand, it’s time to look at formatting. Again, there are loads of books on the subject available on Kindle, many of them free or low-cost. Amazon actually puts out one themselves, and if you haven’t read this one cover to cover, you’re not ready. It’s very helpful to either download a pre-made template, or create your own using Kindle’s formatting guidelines. The two most common word processor programs, Microsoft Word and OpenOffice Writer, both allow you to save templates. Take your time here and do it right; you can have the best book in the world, and if the formatting is screwy enough to confuse the reader, you’re doomed.

Now that we’re all formatted, it’s time to think about a cover. The importance of a quality cover cannot be overstated. It is your book’s first impression, and is responsible for most of the decision to buy or not from readers. If you’re going to put out money on your book, this is arguably one of the two most important areas, the other being editing.

A note about images: It can be very tempting to simply snag a picture off Google images to use in your cover. I can’t say this enough: don’t do it. Really, just don’t. Stock images can be had for $3-20, which is a lot cheaper than a lawsuit for copyright violation. Don’t cheap out. Buy your images, and attribute them accordingly.
Don’t be afraid to jump in and give it a shot, but it never hurts to do your homework. Study other covers in your genre. Read everything you can on designing ebook covers, and graphics design in general.

Now that you’ve got the book and the cover, you need a blurb. FAIR WARNING: This can, and usually is, harder to write than the book itself. Take your time and get it right.

source: giphy.com

An author bio is a must. Yes, writing your own bio can be almost as much fun as doing your own dental work, but you really do need one. Again, take your time and get it right.

So you’ve written the book, edited and revised it, and polished it until it shines. You’ve formatted it properly for the medium (in this case, ebook) and you’ve got a killer cover, a catchy blurb, and an intriguing author bio. Now it’s time to consider some business decisions.

The two main outlets for indie ebooks are Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing and Smashwords. I prefer Amazon, but both have their pros and cons. Do your research and decide which is best for you.

Once you’ve selected your venue Or venues (you can publish on both) follow the step-by-step instructions both have on their websites. Both put your book through a cursory quality control check, but once that’s done, your book will be live on your selected sales channels.

A few helpful tidbits:

I write in OpenOffice.org, mostly because I love open source software, but either OO or Word are your best bet. There exists almost as many “writing programs” as there are aspiring writers. Most will charge you an arm and a leg, and will often require further instruction (for a price, naturally) to get the most out of them. For me, this is a great example of the Keep It Simple, Stupid rule. Stick to a good quality word processor program, and focus on writing, not learning new software.

For graphics editing, Photoshop is the gold standard, but by no means the only option available. GIMP and paint.net are both perfectly viable options. Just about any graphics program that lets you do multiple layers and transparencies will work. Use what works for you. I personally like paint.net.

Stock images are a wonderful way to create killer covers. There are hundreds of stock image sites available, easily found with a simple Google search. I prefer Canstock, but the key is to find the right image, so once you have the idea in mind, search as many as you have to until you find the right one. Then BUY IT. For the love of all things holy, DON’T STEAL IMAGES. The most expensive stock images in the world won’t come close to what a copyright lawsuit will cost you.

Editing may be the most crucial element of publishing. Fresh eyes are NOT OPTIONAL. By the time you’re ready to publish, at least one other objective, sometimes brutally honest person must have read through your manuscript. For me, that’s my wife. For you, it can be anyone you trust to be honest about what they see.

I hope this was at least somewhat helpful, but the truth is it’s a learning process that never really ends.  Do your homework, and you’ll find your way.

It’s November! Let’s write a novel!

Holy crap, it’s here!

Once again National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is upon us. It’s a great idea, giving would-be authors the motivation and support they need to finally tackle that novel they just know is living in their heads. Many people choose, either through convenience or necessity, to work outside their home. Coffee shops in particular are great for this, due to the fact they offer copious amounts of caffeine and a fairly quiet atmosphere.

With that in mind, I’d like to offer what I consider my top ten suggestions (I don’t quite have the balls to call them rules) for writing in coffee shops and other businesses.  (Note:  All of these points have come about as part of my own experiences desperately trying to work in my local coffee house during November, where I’ve seen each and every one of them happen more times than I care to count.)

1. Tables at coffee shops are like prime real estate. You wanna use it, you gotta pay for it. If you’re going to be there for hours, pay your rent with more than the bottomless $2 cup of coffee.
2. The servers, cooks, etc. don’t care that you’re writing a novel. They’re working, so don’t tie them up telling them all about it. You should be writing it instead of talking about it anyway.
3. Free Wi-Fi at coffee shops isn’t really free; they just aren’t charging you for it. This goes back to #1. If you’re going to use it, be sure to support the business that offers it. And if you’re not using it, turn off your Wi-Fi adapter so you free up bandwidth and IP addresses for those that are.
4. You will probably see many other people with laptops while you are there. Ignore them; you’re supposed to be working, too. There are any number of places you can organize and connect with other NaNoWriMo participants; the coffee shop isn’t one of them. You should be writing, not talking about it with others. Especially if they themselves are trying to write, in which case interrupting them is a perfectly valid reason to kick you in the groin.
5. Remember #1? Well, it’s doubly important during peak hours such as 11-2 and 4-6, when those places that offer meal services have their rush hours. If you’re going to take up a table, make sure it’s worth their while to let you, and don’t be that guy. You know, the one who nags the employees while they’re in the weeds with multiple lunch or dinner orders about the free refill coffee being out or old.
6. Be considerate of other patrons. They, like the rest of the world, don’t care that you’re writing a novel, or that you need music or movies as background noise. If you do, use good quality headphones that don’t let the sound out past your personal space, and keep the volume reasonable. If the movie you use has content someone might find objectionable, make sure it’s either not on the screen or that your computer isn’t visible to those passing by. Don’t spread out like you’re in your own living room; keep your research and notes, etc, organized so you’re not chasing paper under someone else’s table every time someone walks by.
7. Don’t be a camper. Bring only what you absolutely need to work with, and nothing more. If you find you need several props, trinkets, your favorite stuffed bear, or a picture of Elvis to work, consider working somewhere private. No one wants to walk by and see what appears to be a homeless person living in booth #4. Narrow your research materials to what is germane to your work. If your research is in several different books, consider photocopying or retyping it into one document. You’ll save time this way, anyway.
8. Much like tables, parking spaces are prime real estate. Don’t park in the absolute primo parking space if you’re going to be there for hours. Leave that to the customers who come in, get their order, enjoy, and leave. Trust me, lack of good parking spaces cost a business more income than bad service.
9. If you’re in a coffee shop, taking up all this valuable real estate and time from the staff to work, then make sure you are ACTUALLY WORKING. Here’s a hint: Posting to Facebook or Twitter isn’t working. Checking your text messages isn’t working. Talking on the phone isn’t working. By now, you should be aware of how important it is to set aside a block of time for work anyway; it’s doubly important when you’re doing it in someone’s business. If you’re done, then settle up any tab you might have, take care of the server, and leave. Don’t sit waiting for the next idea to come to you. It’ll come no matter where you are, but in the meantime there’s no point costing the establishment that’s welcomed you in more money.
10. I can’t stress this enough. Working outside your home can be expensive, if you aren’t being a dick about it. If you can’t afford to do it properly, such as patronizing the business hosting you or taking care of the servers who waited on you, please consider the public library or working from home if possible. Even the most bohemian, artist-supporting, groovy businesses in the world are just that–businesses. At the end of the day, they’re there to make money.

With that in mind, go forth and knock that first draft out!  And remember, it’s perfectly okay to produce a shitty first draft; that’s what editing and rewrites are for.  Just get it on paper!

 

 

When the Good Guys Don’t Make It: A note about losing your favorite character

Some of you have asked how I make the decisions as to which characters will live and which will die. A few have even written me “How could you kill X?” messages.

It’s true, I’m not shy about killing off characters, and not always just extras. Sometimes not all the good guys make it through, and that’s not likely to change. But I thought I might share my thought process a little.

When I started publishing, I did so with one golden rule; to never lie to the reader. While it’s certainly true that I control the events that happen in my works, I don’t intentionally try to shape them to allow this or that person (save the main/point-of-view character, naturally) to live when circumstances dictate they most likely wouldn’t make it.

Sometimes a character is too strong, and would prevent the events that need to happen from unfolding. Other times, it becomes apparent that my MC isn’t emotionally invested in the events unfolding, and needs a shock to get them into the problem. What better way than to take away part of their foundation? And yes, sometimes I kill someone off just because they’re too darned sweet, or it’s time to give the most important person in this equation (that’s you, the reader) a good hard jolt to keep you from getting too comfortable.

In Stephen King’s Cujo, Tad Trenton, the boy stuck in the car with his mother, dies of dehydration. It’s incredibly moving and sad, and was such a bone of contention that when the movie adaptation came out in 1983, the screenwriters changed the ending to let the boy live. It’s at once both a minor change, and an incredibly huge one.

Now, movies and books are two different creatures, and neither one is changed by the presence of the other. Sometimes, movies let us have the happy ending we want, because they can. Too often, even the best movies don’t stay with us in nearly the same way that all good novels seem to do. For that reason, a good novel can’t afford to flinch. To me, Mr. King’s ending rings more true. A young boy trapped in a car, in intense heat and under crippling psychological stress, doesn’t have a very good chance of coming out alive. But there’s something deeper at work here.

Since a good portion of the novel is told through Donna Trenton’s viewpoint, we have to assume she’s safe (well, okay, not safe, but probably going to come out alive). Since no one wants to see a child die, we tend to assume we won’t be shown that. Well, I think Mr. King had proven long before Cujo that it was never safe to assume anything in his little town of Castle Rock, Maine. But if we assume both characters are going to make it through, there’s no risk. No risk means no real tension, which means we don’t mind putting the book down to go water the rose bushes or catch the latest episode of our favorite TV show. After all, they’re not going to die, so we can come back and check in on them later.

But good stories always have an element of risk. Maybe not always life-and-death risk, but there has to be something vital at stake. So, with that in mind, remember that the one thing I promised to never do is lie to you. Even when it breaks your heart (and mine; remember, I spend weeks with these same characters living in my head. I know them inside and out) I won’t flinch. No one is safe, and the good guys don’t always make it through.