Alexander Engel-Hodgkinson's Blog: Way to Stay "In the Know", page 7

So I finally got the payment stuff out of the way, and now I'm publishing the two Dark-Boy volumes and The Tea Party Affair on Kobo! I'm finally stretching out a bit more and getting my career as an author going, but I've still got a long way. This was just a hurdle I finally climbed over. Time for the next one.

Stay tuned.

......Okay, the base is still the same, but some of the equipment is brand spanking new. As an early birthday present, my dad got me a new laptop. For months (maybe even a year!), I've had to have my brother share his laptop with me since that was the only way I could use Microsoft Word to get any writing done. Now that he's taken the time to install Word, and Photoshop, and an antivirus (and added a few movies and shows I've been wanting to see, too!), I'm working with some brand new hardware that I've already taken a liking to. It's got a few kinks, and it doesn't seem to like being online much (doesn't like Torch, but that's too bad), but I'm sure it'll get over it sooner or later.

I'm back to working on that short story for Meerkat Press (no, I haven't forgotten about it), and I'm aiming to have it done ten days before the April 30th deadline.

Stay tuned.

It's in the publishing stages on Kindle right now, so it'll be another day or two before I get it listed up here, but I'm happy to say that The Tea Party Affair is on its way! WOOOOOOO!

At 122 pages, it's gone pretty well. It's more fleshed out, with a bit more character development and an extended action sequence along with an improved chase sequence near the end. It's still got a little tweaking and finalizing left, and I have yet to draw the cover (although I've got a great idea for it), but I think I can still get it published before the month is over. No rush.

Alright! I was on a roll last night and finished it at exactly 99 pages. I've just got the proof-reading and editing process to do, but that should be done in half the time. Along with that, I have the cover to draw. Now I have no doubts that this'll be published sometime this month! It will probably be more than 100 pages by the time it's finalized, but it'll still be a novella. WOOOO! So exciting! :D

Holy crap, man. I'd only been writing it for about a week and a half, maybe less, and I'm already over 70 pages in. Yesterday I had 62 pages. I'm just flying right through this book. It's not meant to be long at all; I estimate I've got another 15-20 pages before I'm done with the first draft, which I will then go through with proof-reading, editing, etc. Maybe small additions that I'll find necessary to flesh out the story a bit more. But I'm seriously doubting it'll go over 100 pages, considering how the subplot is practically wrapped up now and the primary events are coming to a climax, and I'm only on page 74. It should provide a nice, quick read.

Hell, I won't be too surprised if drawing the cover takes longer than the writing process of the actual story! I've got a cool idea for how the cover will look, but I won't spoil that for you guys. :)

I've made surprising progress in the development of I Keep My True Love in the Basement, and even more progress in that other story involving the murder at the tea party.

Speaking of which, the latter was more or less an 'Untitled Project' because I couldn't think up a fitting name for it, but I think out of the twenty or so titles I couldn't be final with (because they were lame), the most satisfying one is: The Tea Party Affair. I know. It's got the title of a erotic thriller, the premise of a mystery thriller, and the execution of an action thriller. However, believe me, I'm intent on keeping my over-the-top action tendencies toned to a general minimum (or medium, at least). So no gratuitous, chaotic fun for this one, unlike a few other stories I could name... >-> I only intend for it to be about 100 to 120 pages long, if that. So I might even publish it this month if I can get myself to complete a worthy cover for it by the end of the month.

I've suddenly felt a lacking in motivations as of yesterday, but I'm sure I'll get over that. I just need to keep writing and keep brainstorming. I've pretty much got The Tea Party Affair worked out (I even have a portion of the ending written out in advance), but there are still some kinks in I Keep My True Love in the Basement to work out.

Stay tuned.

Starting my second draft in the short story, I Keep My True Love in the Basement. Also working on a short murder/mystery/black comedy/action story on the side about a group of party goers who discover the body of an insane gangster's wife lying on the ballroom floor with her head blown off. While suspecting each other, these guys struggle to hide the evidence that the gangster's wife was even there before the gangster himself reaches the estate--because if he gets there and finds out his wife was murdered by someone attending the tea party, he'll kill everyone just for being there. So they figure it's better to hide the body and hope he doesn't kill them all anyway due to the lack of evidence.

Nothing too exciting. Just letting you guys know.

My dad's found an independent group called Meerkatpress that does anthologies comprised of short stories from indie authors, and I've decided to take a crack or two at it. In the meantime, I'll be focusing entirely on doing one or two short stories for their upcoming anthology, Love Hurts with a due date of April 30th.

Until then, I'll be writing drafts for submissions to this anthology. I may do one or two myself.

Stay tuned.

I've made quite a bit of progress with the plot outline for the two-parter starting with Vol. 3. At this rate, though, it may actually end up being a three-parter. Not sure how it'll go for now, still working out the kinks with the overall Cemetery Rumble arc. Stay tuned...