Nov 1, 2022
See you on the other side
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See you on the other side
Home Stretch
Almost at the end of 2019, which means the end of a whole decade! We will officially be living in the 20s. That’s a fun concept to ponder over. As with every year, I get into the super-work-crunch-time-extravaganza. November gets ever closer to the home stretch. The contract work escalates. Projects once in limbo are are being resurrected. End of the year budgets needs to be used up. The list goes on.
Welcome to another edition of Unprocessed Thoughts
With December around the corner, I’ve had little blips of memories of what happened this year. Then I think to myself, “Wow, a lot happened this year.” I wouldn’t even know where to begin nor figure out how to explain it all. The writing career sure had a busy and successful go while only releasing one book. I’m hoping to do two releases per year over the next couple of years. That’s the plan. There’s enough material in the backburner that I can play with new forms of releasing the novels to broaden the fanbase. It’ll be a fun experimentation.
Now, with December around the corner, I can see how many weeks I have left and how much work I have to get done. It is daunting. It is intimidating. Yet, somehow, I always manage to get it all done every year for the past five years. In the back of my mind, I’m just reminding myself that I’ve done the grind before, and this year is no different.
Exciting things!
Enough whining, let’s chat about some of the exciting stuff, such as the recent reveal of the second Rutherford Manor Novel – Fire, Pain, & Ruin. The cover and title were shared, along with some fun info about the book. The official synopsis is coming soon, and the novel is aimed to come out in the spring of 2020.
Following that, I have two short stories to write this month. One is the concluding part five of Scrappers, and the second is an anthology submission – more on that in the future. Then there is Mental Damnation IV, which has a solid list of revisions to do. Some teasers about that will be coming in December as well, keep watch for those!
Getting through the home stretch
So, there is a lot of cool things happening in the background despite my quite online activity. Don’t worry. I am hard at work to bring tons of exciting things to you all in 2020. This includes new stories and extras.
Even though I am exhausted, grumpy, and experiencing project burnout once again, I am excited. There is a lot of cool things in the works for 2020, and I want to share them all now. Yet, they need some TLC. Good things come to those who wait. So stay tuned, keep watch, and we’ll be back for the final Unprocessed Thoughts of 2020 in December. The end of the home stretch.
Beer Note: Town Square Brewing Co. Alberta Ale Air Tractor
This beer is not quite a blonde ale and not quite a pale ale, as stated on the can. It sits at a 5.3% alcohol level and is light, sour, and hoppy. It fits well in the pale ale realm, getting close to an IPA. It mentions it has a fruity body, which is hinted in the flavour. Or perhaps my taste buds are off due to working too much and being run down. Who knows?
Cover Reveal Fire, Pain, & Ruin
Announced on the Rutherford Manor Facebook page, the cover and title to my new novel have been revealed!
Fire, Pain, & Ruin – A Rutherford Manor Novel
From the Facebook Post:
FIRE, PAIN, & RUIN – A Rutherford Manor Novel
Trying to live a normal life in the world of Rutherford Manor is difficult at best and sometimes impossible for the residents of the infamous household. Lisa and Louise Savidge are now young teenagers with a growing interest in the world, boys, and the family business.
Spalding and Penny Savidge certainly have their hands full with these young and highly curious girls and that doesn’t include all of the trauma, family dynamics, infatuation, past loves, supernatural events, and ancient dark curses that they must all endure.
All of this and MUCH MORE will unfold in our next Rutherford Manor book; Fire, Pain, & Ruin written by Konn Lavery – Horror Author! 😈
This time around our story includes RMU fan favorites including Spalding, Penny, Lisa, Louise, Nox, Lilith, Billy, Vivian, The Connors, and the mysterious Midwives of Rowley!
Launching in Spring 2020. More news coming very soon!
Three Manuscripts, and Then Some
Happy Halloween! A fitting season for the type of writing that I do. All the stories that I have created have some underlining dark foundation. Even in the three manuscripts I currently have on the go. It’s been a busy year, and that’s putting it lightly.
Welcome to Another Edition of Unprocessed Thoughts.
NaNoWriMo is just around the corner, and unfortunately, I am unable to participate this year. It is a shame because the program is a blast. Plus, Edmonton’s community has great events. You get to meet new writers there too. Perhaps next year, I can write a new project during NaNoWriMo. For now, I have my hands full.
Three Manuscripts!
Yes. Looking back to last year, in the spring, I wrote a slasher novel. In November, I wrote the first draft of The White Hand during NaNoWriMo. In the spring of 2019, I wrote Mental Damnation IV, and in September, I wrote Rutherford Manor II. Only The White Hand was published. So that leaves the three manuscripts in limbo.
Let’s chat about these three. Two of them we’ve talked about before.
Rutherford Manor II
The second book, a sequel to The White Hand, of the Rutherford Manor universe, is taking priority. This new book is the second full-length novel I have written with speech to text software. Currently, it is in the revision phase and coming along nicely.
Mental Damnation IV
The concluding novel of Mental Damnation. I am quite excited to get this out to everyone. As I’ve mentioned before, the goal is to have this one out some time in the second half of 2020. Mental Damnation IV was the first full novel I wrote with speech to text software. One of these days, I need to do a blog post explaining the experience of speech to text. For working on a first draft, I’d highly recommend it. Revisions are far easier too.
Untitled Slasher Novel
The first new writing I was able to do after the launch of YEGman in 2018. I hadn’t gotten into speech to text yet and had been doing a lot of reading about story structure and developing characters. I’ve had beta readers go through this manuscript in various stages. They provided wonderful feedback. I also got to do new research and interviews to make the story more authentic.
Originally it was going to be released in 2019. Ultimately, I decided to put it on hold after the beginnings of The White Hand emerged in the summer. I wanted all of the focus to be on Rutherford Manor. The slasher novel could wait, what’s the rush? The time I’ve spent pondering over its fate has been helpful. Finally, I’m coming close to a conclusion on what will become of this story. Light will be shined on what exactly this story is next year.
And Then Some
While working on four manuscripts in one year, I continued to write short stories, as seen in the monthly editions. Plus, there were several bonus stories in ZINEs. 2018-2019 has been the most intense writing period of my life. I honestly cannot say I have written this much ever before. It has made a huge difference in how I approach my writing process, my speed, and my confidence. It is true, the more you write, the better you get.
Playing Cards
Writing a new book two times a year is a ton of work. It’s exhausting too. Well worth it. These unpublished works give me the flexibility to decide when and how to release the stories. Finishing and publishing isn’t a panicked last-minute thing anymore.
If you’re a writer, I’d highly recommend finding ways to increase your writing speed. It makes a world of difference. Then you can sit on some stories and find the best way to share them.
Beer Note: Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel
For this month, I tried a darker Bavarian-style beer by Weihenstephaner. Right on the bottle, it states it is the world’s oldest brewery. Truthfully, I haven’t looked it up, the fellow at the liquor store said the company began in the 1600s. It’s a heavier beer and easy to sip on. Well worth having one, or two.
Revisions
September is wrapped up! What a ride. The beginning of the fall is always a rollercoaster as everyone returns from holidays. This year, I was ambitious and decided to write a new first draft in September as well. That was smart. Now that the month is over, I got time to breathe, and then jump into revisions!
Welcome to another edition of Unprocessed Thoughts
The end of September always marks an important milestone for me each year. The summer ends, which means contract work picks up, and I can start figuring out what the hell I will be doing the following year. It is generally the end of convention season for me too with the 3-day comic expo in my home town.
Edmonton Comic Expo
Edmonton Expo, what a weekend. This year I joined in a super-booth collaboration with Jamie Pruden, Theatre Garage, and Rutherford Manor. The new location let me tuck the table back and talk to people – a far more enjoyable experience talking. The end of the Edmonton Expo marked the last major event of 2019. Of course, there are a few more one-day events in October and November. Those are far easier to handle compared to long conventions.
Onto Revisions
Building my writing career each year has allowed me to figure out how to roughly estimate a year with convention dates, awards submissions, and when to release a book. It takes careful planning and this year I’ve practiced finding ways to work smarter and not harder. Now, I’ve got some new goals for 2020.
Rutherford Manor II
I managed to wrap up the first draft of Rutherford Manor II in two weeks of September. The actual book has been in the works since spring, but that was all outlining. The drafting completed made writing the first draft far easier. The speech to text software made a big difference too. I swear by it now. It will get your first draft down on paper at lightning speed.
Mental Damnation IV
Earlier this year, I wrapped up the fantasy series, Mental Damnation’s, first draft. It was the first go at speech to text and took about five weeks to write out 110,000 words. It already has a list of revision notes that I will be working on over the winter. Finally, after years of hiatus, we get to see what happens to Krista.
Revisions
The two drafts mentioned are the current works in progress. Of course, flash fiction will still be happening. This is plenty of work to keep me busy over the fall and winter until the new year starts. Now that convention season is over, most of my appearances will be online, keeping everyone updated on the writing progress.
I have yet to work on two entirely new manuscripts set for release in the following year. It’s a new milestone I’d like to tackle, and I am not one for editing two books simultaneously. It becomes too challenging to become submerged into either story. With that in mind, I’ll be doing revisions on one book at a time to get into the world of Rutherford Manor and Mental Damnation.
Beer Note: Mainframe Category 12 Brewing
This red ale brewed by the British Columbia company Category 12 is a lot heavier than what you’d expect for a red ale. It Is fairly dark and has a slight grainy texture. You can taste the little bit of sweet caramel with each sip as well.
Game Time
Another summer has come to an end, and we are close to the final convention of the year for my appearances. What a ride it has been. From the beginning of the year with DeadbyCon, to the launch of The White Hand, and to When Words Collide, it has been a hustle of a year. With the fall right around the corner, it is game time. Starting September I’ll be working on the first draft of Rutherford Manor II. Once that is complete, it is onto editing Mental Damnation IV’s first draft. Two books for next year is the goal. It’s a big challenge, and it’ll be one hell of a reward completing it. Good thing I’m learning to work faster and not harder as we chatted about in the last Unprocessed Thoughts.
Welcome to Another Edition of Unprocessed Thoughts
August was a strange month. As enjoyable as it was to go to a music festival, present at a writing convention, juggle contract work in between, and write chapter outlines to enable writing a manuscript in September, was heavy work. I got sick.
Physically sick with a nasty fusion of a fever and infection all rolled into one grotesque two weeks of gloom. Mental exhaustion was a whole other ballgame too. I’ll admit at the beginning of this Unprocessed Thoughts, I mentioned that I was learning to work faster and not harder. You can still work too much. Learning to work smark also includes taking breaks when you need them, short ones and long ones.
So, unintentionally August was spent on cruise mode, doing only required work, and that was all. The hiatus is why this month’s flash fiction was later than usual, and my online activity has been kept low. Taking time away is highly important.
The Break is Over. Game Time!
Now that summer is at a close, and I had time to rest, I am excited to get back into the world of Rutherford Manor. Edmonton Comic Expo is the last convention I am at this year, and it is in my city, so there is far less pressure. The fall and winter are when I get most of my work done because the weather is a drag, not travelling helps too. There is also something about the dark, cold, misery that gets me jazzed up to create stuff.
Unprocessed Projects
Here’s a fun spin on the Unprocessed Thoughts category – Unprocessed Projects! Tackling large projects like novels (in this case, Mental Damnation IV and Rutherford Manor II) takes dedication. Sometimes you want to chase something shiny and new. In the spirit of vagueness, I’ve been doing that with a sci-fi-horror series in the monthly flash fiction and a super-secret non-writing project for next year. More on that to come. For now, it’s game time.
Beer Note: Anarchist Amber Ale by Cannery Brewing Company
For this month I had Anarchist Amber Ale by Cannery Brewing Company. This red beer is a little heavier than what I would expect for an amber, but it is delicious. It comes in a 355ml bottle, so it’s enjoyable to sip on with no hurry to get onto the next drink.
Just Joshing Episode 275: Konn Lavery
I am pleased to have returned to Just Joshing’s podcast to talk about writing, transmedia storytelling, the big picture of life, human evolution and of course The White Hand.
A Darker Side to Him
Literary Titan has welcomed me back to chat about The White Hand Novel. Read the interview on their website. We cover the following:
The White Hand is a genre-crossing novel with elements of a macabre thriller and romance as well. Did you start writing with this in mind, or did this happen organically as you were writing?
How did you create Alastor and Spalding’s characters in a way that contrasted yet still supported the characters development?
What was your inspiration for the setup of the story and how did that help you create the ending?
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be published?
Read on Literary Titan!