Eugene Knight's Blog

 
There was a couple of scenes I cut out of my new book. One of the main ones was the cafe that Toby and the other characters frequent. The cafe was an old black and white television style; old 60’s shows constantly played on television screens throughout the cafe. Shows like The Munsters and The Andy Griffith show. The cafe had tons of memorabilia placed on the shelves from the actual shows. I don’t know if a cafe like that actually exists, but I think that would be awesome. One of the television shows I watched growing up was Get Smart; it was corny and made me laugh. When I was younger I had a black and white television in my room and every so often when I couldn’t sleep there would be an all-night marathon of The Three Stoogies or The Munsters. And I couldn’t miss The Twilight Zone.
That is probably why some of my dreams used to be scary. The one dream that most people have had at some point is being in school and forgetting to put any underwear or pants on. I think that must be one of those dreams everyone has had. Later, I always wondered how that dream even made sense. I mean, I would think at some point before I made it to class someone would stop me, preferably my parents to let me know I'm getting ready to go to school half-naked.  But no, that dream I always seemed to make it to school and be surrounded by people before I noticed. Another one of my favorite scary dreams was  white static noise that chased me around for no reason.
Any reoccurring dreams that you've had that at the time scared you awake, but then later were like, how was that scary again? Post a comment down below. I'm always fascinated by dreams.
Have a good week
Eugene

There is so much tension with North Korea lately. Every day there is an article about Kim Jong-un and what he says he’s going to do. I can’t help but laugh because I always picture Psy, the Gangnam Style song, thinking the kid in the video looks like him. If you don’t know who PSY is he’s a South Korean rapper. I know, if just hearing that doesn’t make you laugh or peak your interest then check out the video I attached to the blog, and picture Kim Jong-un. It’s a must see! Every time Kim speaks, I picture them in the back-ground rapping. He reminds me of a kid throwing a tantrum trying to provoke whoever he can. The thing I didn’t get was he brought up Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Anyone who has taken a history class knows what happened and the after affects that still haunt people.  I’m waiting for China to stand down and just say have at it we’ll turn our heads, especially since Kim went at them in a taunt as well. 

I’m speaking lightly about it, but honestly, after all the articles I’ve read lately, it feels like the war may break out at any minute. I’m just waiting to wake up in the morning and read the article that North Korea bombed someone. But telling Americans that our country is going to be in ashes? For the most part I think the President is trying to handle the situation with care, but at what point is enough? Should we wait until he’s actually able to bomb us or does? It seems like Kim is trying to provoke us to bomb his country first, so he has some type of justification. The innocent people in the country don't deserve it.

If world war III does ever happen, I assume the aftermath would resemble the game Fallout except for the ghouls, super mutants and well, all the animals, but maybe that could be true too as well.
Have a safe week,
Eugene

In writing, there always a couple things I think about. One is I want the reader to feel fulfilled by the end of the book. Two, I want the reader to want more. But the most important thing for me as a writer I want to make an impact on the reader. Meaning, I want to write something that the reader can take with them and never forget. That has always and will always be my true goal as a writer.
I received a review on Amazon and the reviewer mentioned something for the most part makes sense, a profession that they didn’t know about. Oneirology, which is the study of dreams. Back before I wrote this book, I myself didn’t know there was an actual profession.
The two books I already published meant a lot to me for a bunch of different reasons. I used to love books about dreams. When I was little I would go up to my public library all the time and read books about dreams. One that stuck with me and I don’t remember the title was about manipulating dreams and transforming them into what you want while you were sleeping. Another thing I thought about was telepathy. Growing up I met and became friends with several twins, boys and girls. I always felt like there was some type of telepathy behind them. Not only that, but at the same time when I was younger I always thought that their thought process was the same. Then learned firsthand I couldn’t be more wrong. I had a crush on the two girls I met who were twins in school, and their outlook and thoughts couldn’t have been anymore opposite.
Have a good week
Eugene

I tend to eat fast-food from time to time, usually when I am just too busy to prepare anything to eat or right after work when I’m feeling worn out from a long day. I used to never write reviews about fast-food, but that changed for one important reason. When the food is horrible, I think I should let people know. Not just horrible, but horrendously bad. For instance, I had McDonald’s a couple weeks ago, the food was so bad I ended up throwing it away. I found that pretty irritating. The beef in the burgers where so dry I compared it to beef jerky and the buns were so hard I compared them to flavorless croutons. The french-fries, so old I could tell they re-deep-fried them, which made them 100 times more disgusting. If you think you can’t tell if fries have been re-deep-fried, you can tell easily, the fries look a lot darker than they normally do. I have worked at a fast-food place, when I was younger and tried it and the outcome was, never do that again. And yes, I wrote that in a review.

 The thing is, I’ve even contacted Wendy’s before because their food was so bad at a place near me. They offered me coupons and I guess their gesture could have been sincere, but that was not why I took the time to go to their website and complain. I told them I don’t ever plan on eating there again, the food was that bad! All I ever wanted from any food review is for those restaurants to fix the problems, and I’m sure other customers feel the same way. Usually, I don’t check the food until I get home, that is when I find the surprise. So, I guess the question I ask is as a customer how much stock should I put into fast-food. It is cheap, so does that make it okay to give people old food than act like it never happened.  I have 2 Burger Kings close to me. And their fries are always old and hard. Out of all the places, they charge the most for their fries and you don’t get the quality that you pay for. I’d rather be asked to wait so I could get fresh hot food than pushed along with some old food. I don’t want to even touch on KFC, because that involves a toilet and I should have gone to the emergency room and been checked for food-poisoning.   

The problem I found was, I’m not that good at writing reviews when the food has been good at places, but I did spend a couple days on yelp going through the places where I went and the food was good and hot. I felt bad that I didn’t recognize that fact. But wanted to make sure I thanked each place, because it has been harder finding them, lately.  I guess after that I decided to start cooking more at home, because a lot of fast-food joints just don’t deserve my hard-earned money, even if it is just a couple dollars.

I think more people should write reviews when it comes to places they’ve eaten at, if it was good or bad just to let other people know and maybe shed light on the food if it was bad so managers can make the improvements that are needed. If you decide to go somewhere to eat during the week, take a few minutes and write a review on google or yelp, because it may help people like me who usually read the food reviews before going.
Thanks for reading, have a good week!
Eugene

Happy Easter to my family, friends and readers.

I added the first chapter of my new book The Devil’s circus; well. not the whole chapter, half of it. Because after that I may make some changes, it’s in debate right now. Here’s the link: https://eugeneknight.com/the-devils-c...

My new book Burning Through Their Eyes will be in an Amazon countdown deal in a couple days, starting the 19th of this month at .99 cents and finishing at the original price by April 26th.

I have been keeping an eye on the past giveaway winner’s packages, and I don’t know why but all the books that have been sent to London almost a month ago now, have yet to reach their destination. There is nothing after March 26 on the tracking. I do apologize, but there isn’t anything I can do about it, but if they don’t arrive by next week, I’ll send you another copy if you contact me. I’m starting to think the winners on the latest giveaway may get their books before the previous winners.

Another Review!

Reviewed By Tracy A. Fischer for Readers’ Favorite
Review Rating:                  4 Stars

In an interesting and highly charged new read by author Eugene Knight, Burning Through Their Eyes is a book that will hook readers right from the start and will keep them obsessively reading all the way through to the very end. Follow the story of protagonist Toby, a man who is ready to start his life over with his wife and children after a move to Chicago. He harbors a hope that he will also be able to find out what truly happened to his father, who was murdered during his time working at the University there. What Toby finds, however, leads him down a dangerous path. The University is controlled by the NSA, and the NSA has been conducting nefarious testing while there; controlling people through their dreams and spying on them through their own eyes. When one of Toby's sons is kidnapped, and he suspects it is because of the natural abilities that his son possesses, Toby is willing to do anything to get him back. But once he finds out that a person who can see the future has seen his murder, he realizes that more than he ever thought possible is at stake. Will Toby survive? You'll need to read the book to find out!

I certainly enjoyed Burning Through Their Eyes. Author Eugene Knight has done a good job in creating characters that his readers will be able to connect with and relate to; certainly a hallmark of a great author. This book is exciting and very fast paced, and has a unique plot that most readers will not have come across before. Any reader who enjoys an action packed thriller would enjoy this book. I am pleased to be able to recommend Burning Through Their Eyes, and I look forward to reading more from author Eugene Knight in the future!

Happy Easter have a great week!
Eugene

[image error] My first book In Between Dreams is free right now on Kindle. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L8DQQKG    Not that you need to read the first book to understand the second book. I wrote them as a separate story, but every once and awhile I do throw out some stuff from the first book. It is available free April 8 through the 12. The third and book of the series you definitely need to read the second book to know what is going on, even though I will touch on stuff, but like most people have written in reviews, the story is very unique.
Here is another review I though I would share.
Reviewed By:      Romuald Dzemo for Readers’ Favorite
Review Rating:   5 Stars
Burning Through Their Eyes by Eugene Knight is a stunning sci-fi with a unique concept and surprising originality. When Toby decides to move to Chicago, it is because he wants to start a new life with his family and to get close to the place where his father was killed. But Toby is shocked with the things he learns, understanding that the University where he works runs a very dangerous program operated by the NSA. But that isn’t enough; one of his sons is kidnapped and could be in grave danger; his son would be subject to a dangerous research which aims at harnessing the ability to manipulate the dreams of others and to pry into their thoughts through their eyes. Now Toby must rescue his son, and to do so, he must use his own set of exceptional skills. The only problem, apart from a deadly adversary, is when a gifted seer of the future reveals that he’s seen Toby killed in a vision.

I was drawn into the story from the very start with the great writing and the author’s ability to lead readers into the conflict. The story starts with action and the major conflict is introduced in the very first pages. I wanted to know who the man being tortured was because he seems to have been deceived. In his thoughts, the young man remembers the words of Dr. Niles from the University of Chicago, telling them she needed their help because “You guys have great potential.” The element of suspense is introduced right at the beginning of the story and the author uses it so wonderfully to keep the reader interested and focused. Eugene Knight’s Burning Through Their Eyes is a powerful work that combines crime and intrigue to create an absorbing plot, great characters, and a drama that readers will enjoy. It reads like a motion picture.


This week I decided to talk a little bit about the editing issue that held the book from being published on the original date. It was kind of irritating. I sent the book out in November to have it edited and didn’t hear anything back until January where I received a crappy response from just asking how the editing was going; I guess that should have been the red flag. The editor promised it would be done by the release date with enough time to check it over. Well, I still have yet to hear from that person, even after I waited until the last minute then switched editors, because we had an agreement. But I guess agreements in writing mean nothing anymore. I wasn’t going to put a release date down and start the giveaway three months in advance, but she reassured me everything was going “good”.
I would have switched editors a long-time prier, but I didn’t want to pay for two separate edits. On top of that, the editor did a good job on the first book. So, was hoping for the same thing this time.
I guess what I took out of it is how much should I trust someone that I’d never met? And at what point did she break the contract? It really is a moot point now. I’m definitely doing things different with The Devil’s Circus.

See you next week
Eugene

My new giveaway is live on goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/229586-burning-through-their-eyes. If you haven’t stopped by yet and signed up, you should. The giveaway is until April 15.
Now that my new book is out there was something I wanted to bring up. 

I talked a little bit about invisible body suits that were used in the book. Someone told me that that was a pretty farfetched idea that I threw out there. The truth is, it isn’t an unbelievable idea, it actually exists! I read about it, about, eight or nine years ago, in either a Wired or Popular Science magazine I don’t remember which. What makes it fascinating is there’s thousands of mini mirrors on the suit that somehow reflect what is behind the person and brings it to the front of them making it as though they look invisible. I attached a photo of the recent invisibility cloak down below.  http://www.thedailypedia.com/2015/09/real-life-invisibility-cloak/ That is the link to the site where I just found it as a reference, but was not where I found the original idea.

 What entertained me the most out of the conversation is the fact that manipulating minds and a seer of the future didn’t faze them at all, as though that was all believable. But when I threw out the invisibility suit in chapter 5, that was what stuck in their head until they had to tell me that was implausible.  I couldn’t help but laugh, granted I write fiction, but it’s still makes me laugh thinking about it.

If you have visited my website in the last week, I added a new tab as a teaser. There isn’t anything remarkable there yet, but I will have the first chapter up for my new book The Devil’s Circus within the next month. The book isn’t out until next year, but for the people who enjoyed my last two novels, gives you an idea on what my next book is about. https://www.eugeneknight.com
Have a good week and keep reading,
Eugene

I have a new goodreads giveaway coming up in a couple days here is the link for that

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

Also, below is another great review I received.

Reviewed By Rabia Tanveer
Burning Through Their Eyes by Eugene Knight is the continuation of In Between Dreams, the story of Toby. When we first met him, he was getting to know his new powers and trying to cope with the violent dreams he had. Now that he has found love and has a family of his own, he is finding some stability and happiness with his wife and children. He moved to Chicago to start a new life with his new family, while at the same time trying to find out more about the death of his father who was murdered. However, things are not going as smoothly as he had thought; the NSA is researching mind manipulation and everything to do with it. They are sparing no costs when it comes to doing their “research,” even if it means that they have to kidnap an innocent child. Toby’s world comes crashing down when one of his children is kidnapped, but Toby is not giving up. He is ready to fight for his children, even if it means that he has to use his own abilities. But the road ahead is very difficult? Can Toby fight much more powerful people? Can he find his child before it is too late?

This is once again a great novel by Eugene Knight. I loved In Between Dreams and I absolutely loved Burning Through Their Eyes. I love the character development of Toby; I loved how he was so relaxed and affectionate and I enjoyed his determination to get his child back. The story is thrilling, captivating and very interesting. You will not want to put the novel down because you will want to know how this ends. And, most importantly, you will want to know what Toby does, you will be rooting for him, you will be cheering him on and you will feel connected to him in his struggle to find himself and be the protector that he wants to be. It is brilliant! I am a huge fan of Eugene Knight's writing style and Toby! I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars because it deserves so much more.

It took me a little longer to release the book. I spent a lot of time on it this week to make it happen. I received half of the books in the mail Thursday evening, and spent Friday and Saturday morning getting them sent out, all the orders and the goodreads giveaway are not completely shipped yet, just the books that are going to GB, CA, and AU. This week I’ll have the rest of the book out.  I feel bad for the post office employee who has to deal with me in the morning. it’s a lot of books. So, I didn’t want to send them out all at once or I’d be at the post office all day. I should get the rest of the books sent out by the end of the week. I could have sent them straight from the publisher, but I threw a couple of knickknacks in for everyone.
I was going to talk about the editing issue this week, but I received my first review from Reader's Favorite, which had me beaming. So, I thought I would share that this week instead.
 
Reviewed By Christian Sia for Readers’ Favorite
Eugene Knight is a name I will begin to associate with the likes of James Patterson. Yes, his powerful blend of thriller and sci-fi took me by surprise. Readers are introduced to Toby Ryan, a character with exceptional psychic powers, an underground network of experts about to create a deadly technology, an NSA project, and a band of criminals, all brought together in a very compelling plot.

Toby returns to Chicago to start a new life with his family, but Chicago will always remind him of how his father died and could it be because he needs to know who killed him and how? His first surprise is that his son is kidnapped and might be in grave danger. Toby quickly understands that things aren’t going to be the way they seem as he learns of an NSA secret that can transform the kind of skills he is born with into a formidable weapon. What matters is finding his son and he will have to use his power to control dreams and pry into the minds of others by peering through their eyes. Can he succeed when a deadly prophecy hangs upon his head? Burning Through Their Eyes is a tantalizing, hard-to-put-down story.

Eugene Knight has used a narrative voice that allows the different POV’s to come out clearly. The writing is top-notch, and the author makes great use of different literary elements to make the story interesting. The story starts with a dramatic event, a boy being tortured, and the reader also gets a great idea of the kind of conflict developed throughout the story. The shifts in narrative voices, from the first person narrative to the third person, respect the different POV’s and this creates suspense and anticipation in the reader. Burning Through Their Eyes is fast-paced, well-written, with memorable and compelling characters, a story that is insanely entertaining. I won’t hesitate to recommend this one to fans of sci-fi, crime and investigation. It is a thriller with great psychological depth.


Have a great week
Eugene Knight

I know the title this week is pretty long, but my blog is touching on all those this week.

I received my book back from the editors yesterday. I started going over all the changes and am reading through it one more time to see if there is anything that I or the editors may have missed. As of right now I am about half done with the read through, I’ve spent most of my time on this since I received it back and I am expecting to get it out by the 14th or 15th  this month; even if I have to pull a couple all-nighter's to make that happen.

I am excited! I know that the extra time it took me to release the book will pay off for the readers. It will leave the readers speechless when they read this book.

As long as everything continues at the same pace and no huge issues arise. I will have all the goodreads and pre-orders out by next Monday.
In my next blog, I will go into more detail on what the holdup was on the book release.

Thanks for reading
Eugene