Alexander Engel-Hodgkinson's Blog: Way to Stay "In the Know", page 3

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I realize I'm three days late for that. Whoops...

Cobalt Christmas has been facing some delays, but no worries! I'm almost finished with the touch-ups and the finale. Mainly just running through it to make sure it's good for release. Life holds me back from finishing it faster, unfortunately. I spend most of my days working and sleeping...

Anyway, I see no reason why I can't have it finished this month, so hopefully that's what'll happen! Then I'll get right back to work on Cobalt Rogue Vols 3 and 3.5. Aiming for a summer release for those, still. Just gotta work a little harder on keeping up with deadlines. So far I've never been able to make a single one I set out for myself. Ugh...

In other news, I'll be keeping the prices for Cobalt Rogue Vols 1 and 2 at $3.50 until I release their counterparts, so grab 'em while they're hot, and if you like them, I'd appreciate an earnest review or two! :)

Stay tuned!

Volume 1: The Dead Blue: https://www.amazon.com/Cobalt-Rogue-V...
Volume 2: Sky Japan Welcome Party: https://www.amazon.com/Cobalt-Rogue-V...

Sincerest apologies for not getting back to you guys sooner. No real excuse for it, honestly, except that I meant to do it and just didn’t do it. Ehhh......

Aaaaanyway, development on Cobalt Christmas is going great. I’m hurtling toward its conclusion, and we’re just a month away from release now! OOOOOOO EXCITING! 0:

To celebrate this upcoming release, I’ve set prices for Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 1 and 2 at $3.51 US on Amazon Kindle, so go ahead and grab yourselves a digital copy, or read ‘em for free if you have Kindle Unlimited! Links below! Note that you don’t NEED to know anything from these novels to understand the story in Cobalt Christmas, because I know how much that can suck for some people who just want to read a good, violent Christmas story in the spirit of Gremlins and just about anything Shane Black had a hand in between ‘87 and ‘95--with cyberpunk themes and superpowers and stuff. It’ll be a fun time either way, I hope.

In other news, I have at least one more pre-release promo image planned for Cobalt Christmas--it ain’t gonna be much, but it’ll be something. Wish I could have drawn more, especially last month, since I wanted to draw Michael Myers for Halloween, and V from V for Vendetta for the fifth of November, but never got around to either... ah, working life...

Not much else to say at this point. I promise I’ll release my next update in good time, LOL! If you wanna familiarize yourselves with the younger versions of the characters in Cobalt Christmas, by all means, please check out the links below! ^-^

Stay tuned!



Vol. 1: https://www.amazon.com/Cobalt-Rogue...

Vol. 2: https://www.amazon.com/Cobalt-Rogue...

This update is a lot later than I’d originally intended... sorry about that. My internet at home’s been spotty, and I can’t post these things on my phone for some weird reason.

Anyway, I’ve got bad news and sort-of good (decent? Maybe?) news.

First, the dry vegetables: Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 3 and Vol. 3.5 are facing delays. Just haven’t had a lot of time or energy to meet the deadline with life and work and all that wonderful stuff. I’ve postponed those bigger projects to early 2018, which is going to be a busy year for me...

Now, the potatoes: The Goodreads Apple Book Awards or whatever they’re called invited me to send one of my published works to be considered for nomination in one or two categories of their lineup. Problem is, it costs quite a bit of money just to enter two categories, and I have no idea where to pay online, and no one has responded to my IM’s as of yet... which is a bummer since the price for submission goes up even more come September. I was thinking of submitting I Keep My True Love in the Basement/REMIX, but hell, if I don’t even know where to send my payment, I don’t think this is going to happen. Not to mention the risk that absolutely nothing will come of it, and I’ll have thrown away over a hundred dollars. So who knows.

Finally, the dessert: Cobalt Christmas will still meet its December 10th deadline for this year. I won’t completely let down the one or two people looking forward to its publication (lol). Nothing’s going to stop me from meeting that deadline (except maybe death. Maybe).

Believe it or not, I’m working my ass off. I’m eighty pages into Cobalt Christmas so far, out of a projected 180-200 page length, and when I don’t have my laptop to make progress on that, I’,m making progress on Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 3 on the Microsoft Word app on my phone, even though it frustratingly lags like a lazy motherfucker with cousins in the snail family.

Stay tuned...

Seems I forgot to add my June Update from my Facebook page to my Goodreads page... my mistake. Oops.

Anywaaayyyy, here's my July update!

Still hard at work with 'Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 3: Cemetery Rumble, Part I' and 'Cobalt Rogue: Vol. 3.5: Hell Week,' but they're comin' along. Still aiming for that August 30th deadline for both.

I may be taking a break from 'Cobalt Rogue' after this two-parter and the Christmas spin-off (due August 10th) are released to focus on a couple other projects, but the initial plan was to have one or two installments in 'The Final Apocalypse Saga' out bi-annually, anyway. So don't expect another 'Cobalt Rogue' installment until at the most the summer of 2019, although that isn't totally concrete. By that point, the series would be close to half-finished, with 'Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 4: Cemetery Rumble, Part II' and 'Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 4.5: Target X,' the latter of which we finally see a certain character leap back into the spotlight with his guns blazing.

Now if you think I'm going to add a '.5' volume next to every volume from here on out, you'll be mistaken--I have everything worked out and intend to have thirteen volumes in the main 'Cobalt Rogue' portion of 'The Final Apocalypse Saga;' ten in the main series and three '.5' volumes directly linked to the timeline included as well. Along with one direct prequel (which will be marked down as 'Vol. 0' and a couple of possible spin-offs that will probably be a part of a different series altogether, or a prequel series, like 'Star Wars,' but hopefully not nearly as shitty. At this point in time, though, the spin-offs may or may not happen because I don't want to overdo it, and if I do decide to do it, I'll probably take a few years' break after the series finale to do them.

The main reason there are two '.5' volumes in the 'Cemetery Rumble' arc is simple: it's the storyline that finally puts the rest of the series' events into motion, and there is a little too much story to try to cram into just three five-hundred-page novels. Another '.5' volume is reserved for the second major arc in the series when the remainder of those who have survived the events in the first few arcs will finally come out of the light and square off in preparation for the 'Final Apocalypse.'

In other news, I went digging through my computer and found out that I have a bunch of side projects I'd like to finally see completed and published, so I might work on those throughout 2018 along with my extended one-shot, 'Jumping for Charlotte.' Some of these old side projects are so old that their original versions are actually on my DeviantART account (TheNexus18) and are free for anyone to read if you're interested. The final published versions will be much different from the early DeviantART versions, kind of like what Andrés Muschietti did for 'Mama.' (A side note: if you haven't seen either version of 'Mama' you should check them out. They're not amazing but they're pretty interesting.)

Anyway, that's all for now. I still have about two hours before I have to get ready for work tonight, so I'm going to use that time to get a little more progress done on 'Cobalt Rogue.'

Stay tuned.

Not much to report this month. Still hard at work with Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 3 and Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 3.5 as I draw away illustrations for both of those and the upcoming spin-off, Cobalt Christmas; for promotional purposes and bonus illustration purposes. The attached image of an adult Jenny Knight is still in its sketch stage, and still needs a bit of work before I move to the next stage, but it’s coming along. Reserved for the inside of Cobalt Christmas, once that’s released in December ‘17.

May have also decided to create a sequel to one of my other non-Cobalt Rogue works, The Tea Party Affair, which was a caper novella about a group of criminals scrambling to hide the body of a vicious mob enforcer before he finds out, all while poking and prodding each other to find out which one of them is responsible for the mess. This time, however, it’ll be a ‘briefcase full of money’ kind of chase caper rather than a whodunit like the first one. Gotta have that variety, after all. Haven’t decided on a name yet, but it’s still quite a ways off before I start writing it anyway.

It’s been busy both in my house and at work. We were at full capacity for the first time since I started working there last night! It was quite insane.

Anyway, the summer deadlines are still active for the two-part third volume, so everyone stay tuned!

We're already more than halfway through the month and I feel it's time for my earliest update yet!

Allergies delayed me by about a week but it's finally happening! Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 2's final edited version will see the light of day on April 20th at half-price alongside Vol. 1 for three days only! Both Amazon Kindle listings at 50% to celebrate the fact that after two long years I'm finally happy with the finished product. Lesson learned there: don't be so friggin' hasty to publish a draft! LOL. I feel it's appropriate for both volumes to be split price-wise since they're two parts of the series' debut story arc.

In the meantime, the previously stated release dates for Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 3 and 3.5; and Cobalt Christmas; have not been changed. The former two-parter will be released in the summer in the same fashion as the 50% sale for the first two volumes, and the latter Cobalt Christmas will be released on December 10th.

May have one or two non-Cobalt Rogue-related surprises in store along the way. ;)

Here are the links:

Vol. 1: https://www.amazon.com/Cobalt-Rogue-V...

Vol. 2: https://www.amazon.com/Cobalt-Rogue-V...

Stay tuned!

March has come and gone! Almost...

Well, this isn’t as ‘end of the month’ as my previous updates, so I suppose that’s an improvement to some degree.

I’ve got news! Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 2’s editing will finally be complete in the next couple days! The updated (and final) version will be released on Amazon (I’ll provide the link when it is) by the end of this month! Sooooo just a few more days until that happens.

Then, I'll get right back to work on Vol. 3: Cemetery Rumble, Part I, and Vol. 3.5: Hell Week; both of which are due for summer releases. Aaaaaand then I'll be completing/publishing Cobalt Christmas, due in December.

Anyway, still thinking up new concepts; still working, still breathing, that sort of thing. The next little while will be quite busy, with two yet-unpublished Cobalt Rogue installments to be completed and published in the summer, and the Cobalt Christmas spinoff in December! Speaking of which, the Goodreads pages for all three are up now, with their official release dates!

Stay tuned.

Sorry about the wait, all. Anyway...

There isn't much to say this month in terms of updates. I'm working, as usual, and my drawing hand is getting a bit dry from all the cold weather we've been having. But the snow is finally (slowly) going away! That's a plus. But of course, with the melting snow comes allergy season. Yay...

I've been writing when I can, drawing when I can. I have a lot to do this year and I plan on doing it. The three Cobalt Rogue projects will likely take up most of it despite Vol. 3 and Vol. 3.5 already being about half done. But of course, I still have to finish re-editing Vol. 2, which has taken far too long. Because of all these Cobalt Rogue projects, which are definitely at the top of my priority list when it comes to writing, the extended Jumping for Charlotte novella is going to be a while. Possibly next year.

Meanwhile, I'm still thinking up story concepts. I can't help it; they just pop into my head, just like that. One in particular is becoming my favourite, but I have three fresh concepts with working titles.

Hollowpoint Romance
A disgraced criminal at the end of his rope sits in a motel room. He's playing Russian roulette with himself, biting down on the muzzle of a revolver with a single hollowpoint round in the cylinder. Every time the hammer slams down on an empty chamber, a different event in the bizarre sequence leading up to this moment is revealed. Every chamber of a gun has a story to tell...

Roadside Terror Trilogy
A trilogy of novellas that detail the most horrific incidents that have occurred under three different managements at a roadside motel located in the middle of nowhere between 1954-2008. This motel's fifty-year history is nothing like what they taught you in school...

1 - Escape from the Cannibal Whorehouse!
I know. What a title. The owner of a rundown motel has a nasty little hobby: running down hitchhikers with his pickup and transporting them back to his motel. One unfortunate woman becomes his latest victim, but when he hits her, she doesn't die... but she has to pretend she is for her own sake, and endure the unbelievable horrors of Kennedy's Roadside Motel.

2 - Midnight Hours
A criminal couple on the run from the law and in disguise inadvertently reveal their true devious nature to the night clerk of the motel and hold him prisoner in their room. Slowly, however, they begin to realize that their prisoner is much, much worse than they are... and he won't let them leave!

3 - Blizzard Shades
A young night clerk of the motel has a blizzard to deal with in the small hours of his shift. However, things get strange when the guests all start filing into the lobby to report strange occurrences outside their windows... things that can't possibly be the wind whistling through their windows. Eventually the lobby is full, and that's when the fun begins. A creature of darkness haunts these grounds, and it's trying to get their attention. But why?

Anyway, these will still be a while yet, but I'm noting them down while the concepts are still fresh in my mind.

Also, I haven't forgotten about my review swaps! Please be patient with me. :( I know I've made you all wait for far too long.

Stay tuned!

Now how does that work? Well, there are some weeks where I'm working five nights in a row. In fact, I just finished my third streak, and am now comfortably sitting on my couch typing this out when I should probably be sleeping. Tonight's my night off, but I'll likely be awake for most of it, anyway.

I figured you guys deserved an update, since I haven't made a blog post since freaking November.

Alright, so here it is, and I have a surprising amount of stuff planned for this year.

First off: I have four big-ish projects planned, three of which will be Cobalt Rogue-related, including both parts of Vol. 3 planned for separate summer releases and a Christmas 'special' slated for the end of the year--the latter of which I won't reveal much, other than the name, 'Cobalt Christmas,' AKA 'Cobalt Rogue: Countdown Till Christmas.' Haven't decided on the title just yet.

The other is 'Jumping for Charlotte,' which is by far going to be the shortest of the lot. I can only do so much in a year, you know. Lol.

I'm starting to manage to balance all this reading and writing and eating and sleeping out with my work schedule. Midnight may be the best shift, since it has the fewest people showing up (lol), but it can be tiring. All that sunlight--or rather, the lack of it. I can't see that being a very good thing after a while.

However, it does do wonders for my imagination. The site is ripe with inspiring things. Creepy things, atmospheric things, and things that create things in my head. It seems that no matter where I go, my imagination twists it into a scenario for a dozen different story ideas. I'm weird like that. Who knows? Maybe we'll be seeing a few motel-based horror stories in the next year or so. I definitely enjoy writing horror stories.

NOTE TO THOSE OF YOU WITH WHOM I'M SWAPPING REVIEWS WITH: IF I HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO YOUR BOOK YET, FEAR NOT, FOR I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU. I apologize for my slow reception.

ALSO, I'm aware that I still have yet to finish editing 'Cobalt Rogue, Vol. 2.' Hopefully I'll have that done soon. Please forgive me, and be patient, although I'm also aware that I've been asking for a lot of patience these past few months...

Anyway, stay tuned. Will be bringing another update in a week or a few weeks... sometime in February, for sure. If I'm going to make scarce updates, I will try to keep it monthly or bi-weekly from now on.

Thank you all!

Yes, the Kindle version of '/REMIX' is on sale now for $2.99 until next Wednesday! Grab it on Amazon while you can!

https://www.amazon.com/Keep-True-Love...

The synopsis: synopsis: In the year 2068 A.D., the world has united under the fist of Altieria Corporation's wise and powerful CEO. Not without its complications...

The wife of a robotics engineer turns up dead in a cheap motel, and all evidence points to a telekinetic suspect that doesn't exist in the public eye--or even the eyes of the man who sees everything.

Two veteran detectives, a rebel faction, and an aggressive reporter approach the case from their own perspectives and rapidly descend into a web of lies, secrets, illegal operations, and violence. In their struggle for survival, they begin to suspect that the Altieria Corporation may somehow be involved. And if it is, how can they hope to learn the truth and expose it to a world that the Company now controls?

https://www.amazon.com/Keep-True-Love...




Stay tuned for more updates!