Christmas is coming....

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Yes, it's almost that time, when Yours Truly gets as pathetic acting as any young child in that I absolutely LOVE to open Christmas presents!  You should see me around the house; my wife has to be very careful about where she puts my stuff, and swears my children to secrecy.  Yeah, I'm that bad. :D

The downloads for Fraidy-Cat keep coming in, and it's great to see the interest in it.  As stated before, if you liked Fraidy-Cat, but have not yet read The Summoning of Clade Josso, I encourage you to take a look at it.  I hope to have another free short story for you to examine after New Year's, and will of course continue work on The Summoning of Old Velt.

In the meantime, I hope you get as good an assortment of presents as I usually get! Of course, we'll just forget about that outfit my mom got me a few years back... beyond that, no problems ;)

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

More open doors!

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

First, for the many downloads of "Fraidy-Cat" which have continued since last week, a big thank you needs to be repeated!  I've been getting great feeback from people on the story, which has been a great confidence builder for me.  If you've liked the story, feel free to pass the word on to others, by Internet and by word of mouth.  It's free to download, so you'll definitely get your money's worth :D  And also feel free to put up a review of what you've read so far on Smashwords.  Let the world know what you thought!

I've come today to tell you about a couple of doors which have opened and have given me an opportunity to expand the audience.  The first is a site called "Author's Den,"  which is a centralized Internet spot for writers to showcase their talent.  I joined up with them yesterday.  The other is a "mobile reader" website, similar to the Kindle Board website, which involves those who prefer their text to be laid out digitally-you know, all those hi-tech gizmo type people :D

Come check out these sites, and enjoy my work, as well as the work of others.  Soon OLD VELT will be joining CLADE JOSSO in availability, and we will go further in to the Meridian, taking one step closer to our ultimate goal.

Until then, See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Wow!!!! Thank you so much!!!

t.Greetings, fellow Bearers (and short story enthusiasts)!

What a great response I've gotten over the weekend! "Fraidy-Cat" was downloaded over thirty times in three days (That's a lot for an indie author!). Those of you willing to take a look at the story, thank you so much! Feel free to post a review of the story on the smashwords.com website, and if you liked it, spread the word about it!  Also, I invite you newcomers, if you've not done so already, to consider looking at The Summoning of Clade Josso as well, and whet your appetite for a new kind of fantasy epic

While I'm still working on the Vein novels, I've also been setting aside a little time every few days to work on short stories as well. The nice thing about doing this is that it keeps my writing fresh, so that I'm not burning myself out on just the Vein books. While writing is fun, it's like anything else: you need to diversify your time and focus, so that you don't end up with burnout.  The  short stories are a chance for me to change gears and pace, and that's good for a writer... well, good for me at least; I can't speak for everybody on that one.

So thank you all once again.  Hopefully, I'll have another omnibus entry to put in before Christmas, so that a little bit more of the Vein can be revealed to all, and Old Velt will be that much closer to being finished!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

And now, a nice side dish for you to enjoy...

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

While you are patiently waiting for THE SUMMONING OF OLD VELT to be finished, I have a little treat for you. As I've said before, I don't consider myself to be a horror writer, per se, but I did put out another short story, available for your free perusal, on Smashwords. Below is a link for you to check it out. If the link doesn't work directly, cut and paste it into your browser's address bar, and it'll take you there.

Okay, I've had long enough to breathe. Back to the grind with the novel!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Free short story: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7144

Omnibus Entry: The Meridian

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Below is the information about the Meridian, the central location in which the events of THE SUMMONING OF CLADE JOSSO take place.  I was hoping to attach it as a file, but unfortunately the formatting of this site does not permit me to do so.  So until then... Enjoy!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

The Meridian

The Meridian is an expanse which serves as a connection point for Seven different Worlds which exist in seven different universes. Made up of a diverse conglomeration of climates and terrains, the Meridian is not a planet per se, but a flat region that undergoes a planet-like cycle, with a white sun that occupies the sky during the daylight hours, and a starless purple night during the evening.

Prior to the great schism between the Heretics (also called the Blindmen) and the members of the Sect of the Awakened, who were loyal adherents to the deity Balys-Crahly, the Seven Gates which corresponded to their respective worlds were easily and freely accessed by the Seven Races. Anyone could travel to and from the different worlds; and the Meridian was appraised as an important central point of commerce and community, as well as a mystical place full of unfathomable wonders and mysteries. Although not originally intended to be a place for permanent residence, the Meridian had several settlements spring up throughout its regions, mostly near areas which provided for agricultural and commercial business. The wildlife of the Meridian had a benign relationship with the beings of the Seven Worlds, in addition to an already harmonious community of the multitudes who interacted with each other in their business and travels.

But when the schism occurred, all of this changed. The harmony and unity degraded into a terrible war, during which a series of dark changes overtook the Meridian and its inhabitants, and eventually spilled into the Seven Worlds. Although the exact history of the events that happened is sketchy (as many of the historical records were lost after the schism), what is generally known is that, during the war, the Meridian became a shadowy, forlorn world; its wonders and wildlife transforming into dangerous and nightmarish terrors. Great monuments and cities of a united civilization became desolate ruins, falling victim to the unbridled lusts and hate of the Meridian citizens, corrupted by the dark evil that spread over the land; or becoming empty shells of their former glory, changed by things more mysterious and hideous.

The war between the Sect and the Blindmen came to a head at the center of the Meridian, where the Sect initially seemed to be successful in defeating their foes during a fierce battle. But the Blindmen were not finished; before being banished from the Meridian, the Blindmen, through means unknown to the Sect, were able to successfully capture and imprison Balys-Crahly in the Vein, a little known “para-world” which is accessed from a portal located in the heart of a thick Wood in the central region of the Meridian. Though ultimately beaten in the end, the Blindmen had inflicted their damage. A great, impassible, cloud-like barrier, referred to as the Edge, filled the Meridian perimeter, sealing off the gateways to the Seven Worlds. What followed was mass panic among the remaining beings in the Meridian, resulting in a bloody, chaotic struggle, carried out by those motivated either by fear of what had happened, or by lust for power. Due to the sudden harshness and hostility of the Meridian creatures, those beings who survived the Sect-Blindmen war and the following lawless massacre took refuge in the cities, setting up improvised governmental structures, most of which were eventually taken over either brazenly or covertly by the Orders, which began to form shortly afterward. The arrival of the hostile Orders forced the remaining Sect members in some of the cities to go into hiding, as the Orders viewed the Sect as a potential threat to their power base.

Now, centuries after the great schism, the original inhabitants of the Vein have vanished. The once conventional access to the Meridian from the Seven Worlds through the original gateways is impossible; the gates on each world are shut fast (and in some cases, hidden). Nor can any within the Meridian leave, as the thick, cloudy Edge engulfs those who try to find the gates. Inhabiting the cities are “pact-makers”, those who lived in the Seven worlds, who have agreed to an accord which brings them to the Meridian upon their death in a type of afterlife. The only other beings permitted entrance to the Meridian are the Bearers, and it is prophesied that Seven Bearers will come, one from each of the Seven Worlds, and travel through the Meridian to the Vein, where they will release Balys-Crahly and restore the Meridian to its former state of peace and paradise.

Out with the Turkey, in with the tree....

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

And here it is, the most festive time of year. Got your Christmas shopping done yet? Nope-neither do I. I'm not quite a "last-minute" shopper, but I don't get the gifts in August, either (No foolin' on that; I know people like that who do their Christmas shopping before leaves change!).

I think that part of it is because I really don't believe the Christmas season starts until after Thanksgiving is done. One of my big pet peeves is walking into a store after Halloween and seeing Christmas stuff up. For crying out loud, can't you WAIT ANOTHER MONTH!? It's not like there's some sort of shopping ban between Thanksgiving and Christmas! Put up THANKSGIVING stuff for Thanksgiving, and CHRISTMAS stuff for Christmas! Keep the holidays in their respective seasons, and let us in the consumer world keep our sanity! (Only YOU can prevent Christmas burnout! Only YOU!)

Well, I'm happy to report that I've been able to get a decent amount of time to work on OLD VELT, the second novel in the Vein series.  I'm also happy to see that people are purchasing CLADE JOSSO as a Christmas gift for others, and have sold some signed copies to that end.  Also, I understand that the VIRTUAL IMAGININGS short story collection has also been doing well, which of course benefits breast cancer research.  See?  Authors make Christmas shopping easy! :D

Well, back to work for me.  I'm continuing the Vein omnibus, and will have some entries ready soon to post.  Until then, continue to enjoy preparing for Christmas!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean.

Preparing for Thanksgiving

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Ah, Thanksgiving is in the air.  If you're anything like me, you're looking forward to that plump, sumptuous turkey spread out on the table, with all of the fixin's on the sides-and then, afterward, if you're like me, you won't want to think about eating turkey for another two months afterwards.  I get a bit tired of turkey leftovers after an extended period of time.  That's why having the number of a good local pizza place is recommended for the Saturday after Thanksgiving :D

Alright, after this holiday break, I intend to get back to putting up stuff from the omnibus.  Sorry to say that I don't have any artwork yet for anyone to see, but the verbal descriptions will hopefully turn out to be a pleasing set of teasers for those curious to venture into the world of the Vein. 

May you all have a happy Thanksgiving, and have much to be thankful for! 

See you in the Vein,

J. Dean.

Life in the way...

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Ugh.

Unless you're doing well enough to call writing your primary career, then you have the same problem I do: that it can get awfully difficult to find the time to sit down and write.  One of the things I've learned about myself is that I write better when I have larger, uninterrupted blocks of time.  Mind you, it doesn't have to be THAT long (about 45 minutes to an hour will do if the creative juices are really flowing), but too little time leaves me little room to put anything of decent substance down for the Vein novels.  If I find myself losing time, I have to resort to working on my short stories, as they don't require me to necessarily put as much organizational thought into them.  Admittedly, I envy those writers who can work with sliced up time periods to write their novels; they are far better and more disciplined than I am.

So, while progress occurs with my short stories, Old Velt is stumbling along.  I hope to have my schedule pretty much set in the next couple of days, so that this almost-finished novel can be finally done, edited, and ready for print and digital text.

In the meantime, I'm also continuing work with the Vein omnibus, and have possibly found somebody who may be able to do some artwork for me.  That's pretty exciting, because I'd really like to see the images of the Vein come to life, particularly through somebody who has good skills with art.  With me, I'd get last place in a kindergarten stick figure contest :D

For those who have recently made purchases of CLADE JOSSO, thank you very much!  It was very encouraging to see a few sales made recently!  I hope you enjoy the book, and invite you to continue on with us into the Vein!  For those who haven't done so, as with most of my blogs, I'll include purchase links for the novel down below.  Also, a big thank you to those who have bought the VIRTUAL IMAGININGS short story collection.  Your purchase goes toward a good cause, and we thank you for it. 

Which reminds me, I need to get reading my copy of it. 

So off I go, trying to write, market, and read-oh, and I guess I could put some time in on my other job while I'm at it too ;)

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean


THE SUMMONING OF CLADE JOSSO: THE FIRST DESCENT INTO THE VEIN, available at Amazon.com, and Smashwords.com

 

VIRTUAL IMAGININGS now in Paperback.

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Well, Old Velt is coming along, although admittedly not as quickly as I'd like. That's okay; I've been able to put some time in for some short story writing.  I've got one done that I hope to share with you in the future.  It was probably one of the fastest written stories I've done-and admittedly, it wasn't totally original-I gave a nod to Mr. Ray Bradbury in some of its elements.  But it's being proofread, and once I get permission from the proofreader, I'll be looking for a venue in which to put it up for public consumption.

On another note, the hard copy version of the short story anthology VIRTUAL IMAGININGS is up and running on Amazon.com (AVAILABLE HERE).  For those of you who prefer old fashioned paper books (like me) instead of digital text, you can get the collection of short stories put together by me and other writers in that form now.  Remember, all profits go toward research for a cure for breast cancer, so it's good reading for a good cause.  The idea of putting together another collection is being discussed already, and from what I hear, we've already sold quite a few copies, so that's great to hear!

Well, when next I post, I hope to be focusing more on the work in the Vein.  As good as it is to do the short stories on the side, my main drive is fleshing out the continuing adventure of Old Velt.  Again, a thank you to those who have purchased the book, especially for the four new purchases on smashwords!  If you like the book, tell others about it!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Interviews and Interviews: my kind of fun!

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

I have a couple of interview links for you to check out.  I really like doing interviews most of the time.  It's fun talking about the novel and about writing.  Once you get the jitters out, it's not so bad; just pretend like you're talking to your best friend about your work-and if that doesn't help, pretend your best friend is dressed in a clown suit :) .

Here is a FACEBOOK INTERVIEW that I did for Flint talk radio last summer, archived on facebook.  You get to see my ugly mugwump on camera.  Bring your vomit bag if needed ;)

The second one was an inteview via Email, and will be found at the Aspiring Mangaka and Writers Club on December 29th-a nice little Christmas present for myself and for all of you. 

So enjoy the interviews and get the books (Links are provided below, and at the end of every post)!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Buy the Summoning of Clade Josso On paperback at Amazon, For your Kindle at Amazon, or At Smashwords with multiple digital text options.

Whoops.... Call me Mr. Short-term memory....

Forgot to add the link for the VIRTUAL IMAGININGS.  That's what I get for trying to do too much at once.  My apologies.

Okay, NOW here is the short story anthology that I've been gloating about: LINK TO VIRTUAL IMAGININGS 

This is the address for the digital copy.  The hard copy paperback should be available soon.  I will be happy to put the heads up for it as soon as it comes through!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

VIRTUAL IMAGININGS, a short story that includes one of my pieces, now available.

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

More exciting news from the homefront!  The short story anthology VIRTUAL IMAGININGS is now available on Amazon!  This is an eclectic assembly of works from various authors assembled together for your enjoyment.  All proceeds from this book will go toward research for a cure for breast cancer.

I had a great time helping out with this project.  The other authors are very talented writers, and for me to include one of my stories in this analogy is a real honor, because the people with whom I collaborated are REALLY good writers, who know their stuff.  My piece is entitled "The Accordion", a short little creepy story that was inspired by a real-life incident told to me by one of my students. 

It's really amazing what kind of inspiration you can get from real life.  When I first started writing, I tried to go way off the deep end in trying to get ideas.  What I've learned since then is much better:  all you have to do is take a situation in real life-preferably one that you have personal experience with-and "twist" the situation just a little bit.  Not only do you make it easier on yourself in some ways, but you also relate to your audience a whole lot better.  Stephen King and Ray Bradbury were very influential on me in that regard; they are both masters at doing this. 

The other thing that helps is not growing up :D.  I learned that from Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who said that he stopped growing up at eight years old.  Keep that young imagination, and you'll never starve for ideas.

So check the book out and enjoy it! And like everything else: if you liked it, tell other people about it. 

Well, until next time, it's back to work for me.  Like a moron, I left my flashdrive with the second Vein novel on it back home (ask my wife about my amnesia-particularly when it comes to "honey-do" lists).  Instead, I'm starting up another short story for one of my students.  I tell ya, if you want great ideas for short stories, work in a junior high or high school for a while and get to know your students.  You'll get lots of material to work with.

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean
 

CLADE JOSSO now available on Smashwords

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

I'm very excited to report that I have just updated CLADE JOSSO and have re-sent the manuscript to Amazon. But more exciting than that... wait for it... wait for it.. I'm on SMASHWORDS! Yes, that's right. THE SUMMONING OF CLADE JOSSO is now available on Smashwords for just 99 cents. For those who are unfamiliar with it, Smashwords takes book texts and supplies them in digital format for people who use computerized readers like the Sony or Kindle ones (I, unfortunately, am not quite wealthy enough to afford one; got this thing called "eating" that I have to prioritize first :D ). However, there is also an option which allows you to purchase the book and read the text directly on your PC or Mac, which is a nice alternative to have available. 

At the end of this blog entry is a link to the Smashwords site.  Check it out and enjoy!

In the meantime, I'm still waiting with bated breath (or is that "baited" breath?  Might need some Scope) for the short story analogy to be published.  Keep an eye out for VIRTUAL IMAGININGS, which is supposed to be available in both digital text and hard copy.  All proceeds for the short story analogy go toward research for a cure for breast cancer, so when the book comes out, I'll link that as well so we can buy a copy for a good cause and a good read! 

Well, next update will (hopefully) be in a few days.  Until then, check out the Smashwords link!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Smashwords link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/5338

Weekend calling...

Well, didn't get a whole lot accomplished in writing this week, unfortunately. But I have been working on the re-edit of CLADE JOSSO, still cleaning it up for publication on Smashwords for the kindle owners. Hopefully, that will broaden my audience a bit as well, since Smashwords gets in with Barnes and Noble.

Inspiration comes in the funniest ways for a writer. For me as a teacher, it's the lives of my students which they share in detail with me-whether or not I want to hear it. Got another inspiration from a student who apparently has no love at all for anything scary. That's giving me some great ideas *evil grin* although horror isn't really my strongest genre.

Something I've learned about writing, though, is that if you know how to cross genres and do it tastefully, you can get a much broader audience. CLADE JOSSO is hardly a "horror novel" per se, but it does have within it elements of horror. Same with the science fiction; I'm much more comfortable labeling it as "fantasy" than science fiction, but there IS an element of scifi to it. You've got to be careful doing this, though, because if you're too scattered with your work, you'll end up attracting nobody. There's a saying that goes "A master does not do a thousand things; he does one thing a thousand times." Pick and master a particular genre, and THEN you can move on to expanding your genres.

Well, that's all for now. I'm still waiting for the votes on putting up sections of my Omnibus for perusal, but from what I've gathered from others personally, it's a good idea to do so anyway. Let me know your thoughts on this!

And now, it's time to get ready to ditch work and say hello to two days of family, fellowship, and FOOTBALL!!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Addendum: Our collaboration website discussion.

Almost forgot-if you're curious to learn about the update of our Short Story Anthology, you can follow along with it here at http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,14396.0.html to see how it's going.

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Writing, writing, exhaustion, and more writing.

Oh man, this is what I get for working too much...

Last Saturday, I decide to go out and take care of yardwork. Good idea, right? Sure-until it leads to sinus problems :-( . Well, that's what I get for doing my house duties. Gotta shake it off and keep going.

Good news on the short story collaboration I'm involved with-the stories are collaborated! I believe the proofreader is finishing the once-over, and the cover designer put forth her ideas for the cover. It's pretty exciting, being a part of this. Not just for the exposure it will get all of us (nice though that is), but also because the proceeds will be going to a worthy cause, which is a good thing for everybody as well! The authors I'm working with are very good indie authors, and although I've not read all of their works, I get the impression (based on the postings they do) that they know how to write and write well (I don't have a kindle yet. Me too poor right now) :D

On the other hand, things have slowed down a bit for CLADE JOSSO right now; I'm trying to get my foot in the door regarding book clubs. If you happen to know of any book clubs that enjoy fantasy/scifi and have a flair for the unusual, send them my way! Again, those of you who have begun your descent into the Vein, thank you very much! Those who haven't-come on in!

By the end of this week, I should be putting up a few pieces from the Omnibus, which is being written along with the second novel of the Vein (Fish or cut bait, right?). Hopefully they'll serve to pique some interest in the distant observers of the Vein world, and draw them in to my nefarious trap!... *pause for maniacal villain laughter*

Ok... back to work.

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

C'mere, I've got a question for you...

Greetings, fellow Bearers! (If you don't know what a Bearer is, you need to get a copy of CLADE JOSSO to find out! :D )

I'm working on a few side items, and would LOVE to have your input on a couple of matters.

1.) I'm in the process of putting together a sort of Omnibus of the world of the Vein. The entire Omnibus is going to take quite some time to finish (I'm going this alone for now, and at this point I don't have an artist to help me create images-believe me, you don't want to see my pitiful attempts at pictures!), but I've considered pasting finished sections of the Omnibus up for people to read. If this sounds like a good idea to you, let me know.

Which leads me to my second matter...

2.) If you or anybody you know is good at art, and you think they'd do a good job at putting to image the elements of the novel, feel free to send them my way! I'm afraid I can't pay a whole lot right now, as the book needs to sell some more copies so that I can get some $$$ to pay people for services and.... well, you know the cycle. But for those of you who have the novel, tell others about it, especially if they have artistic abilities!

Well, that's all for right now. Again, those of you who have bought the book, thank you for doing so. For those of you who haven't-what are you waiting for? Come and join us in the adventure!\

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

THE SUMMONING OF CLADE JOSSO
Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Summoning-Clade-Josso-First-Descent/dp/1439222738

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001S2RBFG/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1439222738&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0PHS4NY392Q5Z9S7XCVD

Kindle:

New site and Exciting news!

So here we are, with a new blog site! I welcome those of you who are first time visitors, as well as those of you who are carry-overs from the myspace site! I'm pleased to bring to you a new place for blogging!

How much nicer it is to have a blog site which doesn't get blocked at work! Don't worry: for those of you who are productivity-minded, I only work on this on downtime. Same with the second novel, which is getting closer and closer to being finished every day (Pause for cheers and applause).

Right now, between the next novel, the three bands I'm working with (http://myspace.com/episodicmusic, http://jasoneaton.org, and a third teacher band whose website I don't have right off the top of my head), my full time teaching job, and my family, I'm one busy fellow. Nevertheless, I will certainly keep you apprised with updates on the Vein Project, including progress on the novels, booksignings, etc.

Right now, some great news to share with you. Currently, several authors-myself included-who publish works for Kindle readers are in the process of putting together a short story anthology and putting it out for people to purchase, with all proceeds going to a charity or worthy cause (I think that we're putting the profits toward breast cancer research, which is certainly a good cause!). My submission is a short story called "The Accordion", a semi-horror story inspired by a humorous incident that happened in the life of one of my students. With her permission, I shaped what she told me and turned it into an eerie short story, which I hope you will soon be reading.

So for those of you who have purchased THE SUMMONING OF CLADE JOSSO, thank you for doing so, and keep telling others about the book! If you've not yet done so, The book is available through Amazon.com, or if you are a kindle reader, an earlier version is available through Kindle as well (The direct links are provided at the end of this blog, under my signature). And hang in there, Old Velt is on his way!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

The Summoning of Clade Josso: Amazon Links:

Hard copy:http://www.amazon.com/Summoning-Clade-Josso-First-Descent/dp/1439222738

Kindle:http://www.amazon.com/Summoning-Clade-Josso-descent-ebook/dp/B001S2RBFG/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t