#michael ridding

[sthoover1]

They've waited long enough.

[sthoover1]

Author Fair Recap/Going Dark

Hello, everyone, and welcome once again to the S.T. Hoover Power Hour! Ok, it's only a blog post. I'm sorry I lied. But anyway, I wanted to write up a fairly "serious" post about the recent author fair I attended, and also talk about where things stand with Michael Ridding. As some of you know, I recently attended the Stark County District Library's Local Authors Fair, which was the first event I ever attended as an author. Most of you know the story of how it happened, but for a quick recap, @farylslair was set up to attend the fair, and when she brought me up during the process, they asked if I would come along. I didn't intend to do any events until the book was actually published, but after talking with those in charge of organizing the event, I felt confident in going to promote my upcoming novel and meet other local authors. To be honest, I didn't know what to expect. My mind tends to think the worst will always happen--and what that would have been, I don't know. Luckily, I didn't find out. While it was a small event, it was something I now see I needed to do. I brought along a hardback "prototype" of the book along with some information about it, and I teased my next book as well. People really seemed to respond to the new cover and book details in a positive light. I had some good, long conversations with potential readers and other local authors, and it was overall a very positive and rewarding experience. I had no idea so many talented authors lived in the area (nearly 40 authors signed up for the event), and I hope their introduction to me was a good one. I've always known I don't quite fit the usual "author" mold, but nonetheless, I wasn't looked down upon for that. People seemed to accept me, authors and attendees alike, which I will admit was one of my greater fears. I was worried that I wouldn't be looked at as an equal, possibly for who I am, or because I didn't have a book out yet. Luckily, neither were the case. I felt overwhelmingly accepted and understood at the event, and I can't wait to go back again. While I don't typically give advice, since I feel as such a new author that would be inappropriate, I do feel safe in saying this: If you have an opportunity like I did, where you know the book will be out or already is out, no matter the size or scope of the event, do it so long as it's reputable. Not all of them are, so do your research. But even this little library event, for how small it was, made all the difference, and I felt it every time I talked with an author or reader. Even if no one attended the event, I think the authors would have been more than fine mingling and talking amongst themselves, and for the first time in my life, I felt like one of them. I felt professional--more professional than all the posting and tweeting in the world will ever make me feel. So if you're asked or you want to attend, and you have the book(s) (or some form or writing) to back yourself up, definitely look into events like the one I attended. It'll be worth it if you know what you're doing. Now, onto another topic, Michael Ridding updates. As it says in the title, I plan on going dark when Michael comes in. This means no Facebook, website or Tumblr until my edits are complete. Twitter may still see some action since it's a quick and easy platform to work with. But everything else will probably be pushed aside so I can finish the book. My plan is that over April, I run through the line edits and begin the copyediting process. I have a copyeditor on standby who is eagerly awaiting the manuscript, and as I finish it, she will get to work and make sure it all looks spiffy. The novel is almost done. I feel confident in saying it will be out this summer, and if I can, I will get it out as early as May (cross all those fingers and toes). Other than that, things are moving along. I have two other novels I'm currently saving money to have edited, but for now, my focus is on Michael. This book's waited a long time to see readers, but I don't want to rush the process. Still, I'll have enough to keep myself busy after it's wrapped up, and hopefully, we will see a second novel release in 2017 (cross all those finger and toes again, just don't hurt yourself. K? K.) I suppose that's all for now. As of this update, I plan to go dark and finish the book. The edits could come in tonight, a week from now, or longer. Regardless, I need a rest before I review them, which I plan to start taking after this posts, and continue until the edits arrive. We'll let fate decide how long that will be. Thanks for reading my ramblings and I hope to see you all again in a little over a month with some cool news. Thanks again for reading, I'll see you in time.

-S.T. Hoover

[sthoover1]

Website, Author Gig, and “Michael Ridding” Updates!

Hello everyone, It’s been a while. 

Again.

I know, I’m sorry.

Again.

But I have a lot of cool things to talk about in this update, which I think will work better as a bullet-point list so you don't have to sit through my rambling.

Ready, here we go!

My Author Site is Up!

My author website, www.sthoover.com, is finally up! This is where all the news will go first for the time being, so if you’re one of those people who wants to see news as soon as it happens, definitely bookmark the site! Otherwise, wait a few hours (or days) to see it on Tumblr, Facebook, and pretty much anywhere else I am.

Author Gig!

Ok, who’s ready for a shocker? 

I was recently asked to attend a local author fair in Canton, Ohio (more info on the site.). I will be unveiling the new cover for Michael Ridding: A DenCom Thriller, while also promoting the book and (fingers crossed) unveiling the title of my next book! Now, the next book is not set in stone yet, but I hope that in the next few weeks I will know enough to feel confident in teasing it.

Michael Ridding edits near completion!

I’ve recently talked with my editor, who says the edits of Michael Ridding are nearly complete on his end! I should have them back by the end of the month or early next month. From there, I plan to review and approve his notes over the month of April, which I have set aside for this purpose. Then, my plan is to send the book to a copyeditor, review their notes, put the book out, and then take a nap!

That's about all for now. Cool things are happening, so be sure to stay tuned.

-S.T. Hoover

[sthoover1]

I Tweet all the Tweets!

Hooray for shameless self-promotion!

For those interested in more frequent updates, I present my Twitter account for your enjoyment. I try to post something daily, not always writing-related, but mostly so. 

Enjoy. 

[sthoover1]

Michael Ridding has been progressing nicely. The first batch of professional edits are coming in soon, and I intend to work into my planned Christmas vacation so I can have the book ready for round two, come 2017. In the meantime, I've also been helping Faryl put out her first short story collection. The book is now up for preorder and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys macabre short fiction. The collection features a variety of dark fantasy, horror, dystopian, and even western fiction that she's spent years working on and, in my opinion, the quality speaks for itself. A link should appear below, for those who are interested in supporting her work. That's all for now, still working away. Hopefully, in the next few months, I'll have a good idea of when Michael Ridding will be out. I'll keep you posted.

Preorder Link

[sthoover1]

Hello again everyone,It's been a while since my last post, and I wanted to give a few exciting updates. I don't want to keep you too long, so here are the bullet points:

A new novella is nearing its final draft. I should be posting more info and beta reading requests in the next couple of months.

Michael Ridding is now with the editor. I am aiming for a release in the first quarter of 2017, fingers crossed.

I am happy to say I recently finished the first draft of a collaboration piece. Should have more details on this soon as well, but all I can say for now is the premise has me very excited.

Development on my website has begun, hoping to have it up before the end of the year if everything falls into place.

I guess that's it for now, just wanted to keep everyone updated. Looking forward to posting much more news in the future!

-S.T. Hoover

[sthoover1]

"Michael Ridding" Moves Forward, Collaboration Project, and Other Stuff!

Hello again everyone! I know, since my trip to California I have not been as active as I promised. I would give some long-winded excuse as to why I couldn't post daily, but I believe the answer will be made all too obvious as you read.

Let's start with the two big pieces of news, shall we?

First off, the beta reading portion of Michael Ridding's road to publication has come to an end. I received a huge amount of solid feedback, criticism, and praise, and I thank everyone for that. While most edits are applied, some I will be handling with the editor in the next coming months.

Yep, I said editor.

After a lengthy search, I found an editor that I feel is the best possible choice for the novel. By the time this post goes out, my most recent manuscript after beta edits will be in his hands and we will begin work shortly.

Now, while edits are proceeding as planned on my first novel, I am happy to announce that I will be teaming up with fellow writer @farylslair to write a collaboration manuscript. We are hoping it has the potential to become a novel-length project, but at this time the thorough outline Faryl and I have written together places it teetering between novella and novel length. I am currently just under twenty thousand words into the first draft and we are hoping for a release in late summer 2017, but it could be later since this is not technically at the top of either of our lists (for those that don't know, Faryl is currently in college and her studies are obviously going to be her main focus over the next several months. We’re going to try our best to get it out as soon as it's ready, but with Faryl’s understandably tight schedule it’s going to be a while). We’ll keep everyone posted.

After I am done with the first draft, Faryl will work her magic and I will focus on a few smaller projects as edits of Michael get underway. I don't want to share too many details, but it looks like this winter will be a busy one, and hopefully we can plan on a few releases in 2017, probably starting with Michael sometime early in the year.

I suppose that's it for now. I will be on when I can, but please understand that the less I'm on, the more I'm writing. Or procrastinating. Sometimes both.

-S.T. Hoover

[sthoover1]

Absence/Minor updates

Hey guys,

So I wanted to make it known that I will be absent for roughly two weeks. In fact, by the time this post is up, I should already be in the air. 

I’m taking a much-needed vacation to California where I plan to recharge before hitting the final edits of my novel in full force. Also, while I’m there, I’ll be revisiting Palm Springs, which is where about half of the novel takes place and where the main character lives. If I’m lucky I’ll be able to see the house that inspired his, but that’s a big maybe. Will see when I get there. Plus, I plan to take a short trip to the Mojave desert for an author picture. Again, not set in stone, but we can hope.

I’ll try and hit social media when I can, and I’m going to put a few things in the queue, including an author questionnaire that I was tagged in by @glorious74 , who I profusely apologize to for taking so long to fill it out.

Lastly, I just want to let everyone know that beta reading is going great. I have one highly recommended reader sending me his noted copy of the book, which will likely arrive while I am out of state but will be something good to come back to. Also, there are four or five people I’ll be giving beta copies to in California while I’m there, but there is still room for more. So, if you think you can keep the secrets and read a seventy thousand word (at minimum) manuscript by the middle or end of July, feel free to drop me a line, just know that over the next couple of weeks I will only be on sporadically.

I guess that’s it for now. Keep an eye out for the questionnaire and I hope to be back as soon as possible : )

-S.T. Hoover