Category Archives: Writing

Shifting

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I did a few things in the last year I wasn’t expecting.

I got books from NetGalley to review, published a novella, and put myself out there for something I can’t talk about.

All of this scared me, but especially that last one. It’s something I wanted to do for the last few years, and I finally did it. My wife said I should, and that’s all I needed.

The NetGalley reviews came about because I like doing reviews. I like to read and always have. I’d rather sit with a book for hours than do anything else. This has not always made married life serene. My wife reads, but for me, it’s always been a way to escape my life.

My childhood had issues, as does everyone’s. I always dove into books when I had them.

I did not use discernment while selecting my books from NetGalley. I should have selected my reads more carefully. I did not; by doing this, I had to return more books to NetGalley than I liked.

I reviewed some great books this year. Some of which have yet to be released. One of them, This Wretched Valley, gave me a book hangover for a few weeks. I preordered it to reread it so my wife could read it. It’s a fabulous book that I hope everyone will be talking about. There are other books that I did not like. You can search through my reviews and find them. I’m not the kind of person to mention them here.

For the novella, which has gained more readers overseas than stateside, I wanted to publish it but felt it needed work. I spent most of the year getting it ready for that. I selected the publishing date in June. I hoped for more readers as it’s a personal book. Dealing with mental issues is always one of those things that I tend to write about. It’s a thing for me.

I feel this is enough for today. I’ll post something later.

Shifting

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I did a few things in the last year I wasn’t expecting.

I got books from NetGalley to review, I published a novella, and I put myself out there for something that I can’t talk about.

All of this scared me, but especially that last one. It’s something I wanted to do the last few years and finally did it. My wife said I should, and that’s all I needed.

The NetGalley reviews came about because I like doing reviews. I like to read, always have. I’d rather sit with a book for hours than do anything else. This has not always made married life serene. My wife reads, but for me it’s always been a way to escape my life.

My childhood had issues, as does everyone’s. I always dove into books when I had them.

I did not use a discerning view while selecting my books from NetGalley. I should have selected my reads more carefully. I did not and by doing this I had to return more books to NetGalley than I like.

I reviewed some great books this year. Some of which have yet to be released. One of them, This Wretched Valley, gave me a book hangover for a few weeks. I preordered it so I could read it again, and so my wife could read it. It’s a fabulous book that I hope everyone will be talking about. There are other books that I did not like. You can search through my reviews and find them. I’m not the kind of person to mention them here.

For the novella, which has gained more readers overseas than stateside, I wanted to publish it but felt it needed work. I spent most of the year getting it ready for that. I selected the publishing date in June. I hoped for more readers as it’s a personal book. Dealing with mental issues is always one of those things that I tend to write about. It’s a thing for me.

I feel this is enough for today. I’ll post something later.

Hello, it’s been a while.

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I’ve escaped into a place. I don’t have social media on my phone, this is the closest thing I have.

I had planned on a break until January, but here’s January and yet, I’m still unwilling to break this sabbatical. It’s been enlightening.

On the writing front: I attained something that I wanted to do last year. I won’t speak of what it is, but I’m very excited about its prospects.

I’ve considered quitting writing often over the last month. It’s been a genuinely thoughtful process. At the end of it, I’ve come to realize I would be very sad to quit something I enjoy.

My book came out at the end of October and it’s faltered, which is another reason I considered quitting. We strive on.

Now I must go. I have things to do. You mustn’t worry and I’ll be okay. This year is going to be good.

I watched Exorcist: Believer so you don’t have to, A Review

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I went into this knowing the reviews; maybe that skews this, but I don’t think so.

It takes a bit to get into, just as the original film did.

There will be Spoilers in this review.

Two girls, one of whose mom died when she was born, after a blessing in Haiti moments before the earthquake hit.

Fast forward 13 years. The girl wants to communicate with her dead mother. Her friend, from a religious family, takes her into the forest beyond their school to help her communicate. Why a little Christian girl knows how to communicate with the dead is beyond me. They disappear for three days (Jesus’s three days reference).

They return, and neither remembers what they did or where they went for those three days. It’s left to the viewer to figure it out, which we don’t have to because weird things start to happen. One girl wets the bed. Hello, Regan, at the party.

The connection to the original movie is based on a book Chris McNeil wrote. The mom from the first movie. She has no contact with Regan.<–save for later.

Here’s a bright spot in this review. The two young actors who play the young girls are amazing. They dive into the parts. They are Olivia O’Neill and Lidya Jewett. Give these two more roles. They were brilliant.

She throws herself on the floor, which is a habit that both of the girls do. Convulses and ends up in the hospital. Let’s move to other parts that stick out for me.

The tropes are everywhere. This is the 2020s. Necks snapping, girls cursing at their mothers, throwing themselves on the floor, that’s old hat. It’s an overused trope that was done better in other movies.

Let’s move to a part that made me laugh. The various religions unite, like The Super Friends. Catholicism and its rite of exorcism come to save the day, but it doesn’t happen that way.

So, smoke comes out of the girl’s mouths. I was waiting for Sam and Dean to show up.

I will leave it to you, but the overt religiosity of it, the trope-filled script, and so many things make me give it a bad review. The end shot is excellent. I love the original and the book. I don’t think Green should be allowed near horror again. Halloween was good, Kills was awful, and Ends along with this were terrible.

Now, I’m going to watch the original to cleanse my palette.

Review for Let Me Tell You A Story, by Tim Waggoner

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I’ll start this with a few comments. I’ve read the other two books in this series. They’re two of the best “How To Write” books. The other books on that list are Stephen King’s On Writing, On Writing Horror By the HWA, and John Gardner’s On Becoming A Novelist. Some of these are not true “How To” books. King’s is more of a memoir, plainly stated on the cover. The others are How To Write books. Yes, King’s book has a section on “How To,” but the majority of the book is a memoir and a damn good one.

Tim’s books stick with horror, and while the first two, especially the first book, are great for beginners, the third book feels like it’s for those further along in their writing.

I loved this one as someone who has moved in a different direction with their writing. The first two helped me get started. This one is helping me move along in a number of ways.

I stopped writing for the last couple of months. But this is bringing me back.

This book is about Tim analyzing his own stories. Some of which were written a number of years ago. This feels like Tim talking to his younger self. Telling stories about the writer he was. Going through the stories is an analysis of the stories, but also a trip and memoir about the writer he was and is.

I’ve read my older stuff and see the progression from that writer to the one I am now. I see the elements repeating themselves, as they have for Tim.

Now, the part I can’t talk about. I did not do the exercises in this book. Doing them and reading the book for a review would take a bit longer. I will do them when the book comes out and share them here. I spent a few weeks doing the exercises in the other two books. I intend to do that with this book as well.

I’ll say that Tim gets better with each one of these. I’m sure he’ll be up for another Stoker for this one and probably win.

This series of books has helped me find my voice, fix writing issues, and improve my grasp of the craft. His idea in the first book of creating bags and pulling things from them gave me the idea for the novella I have coming out next month. It was woods, mental health, and cults. I ran with it from there. I got my copy through NetGalley, but as with the others in this series, I’ll purchase the physical copy. I need to get through each of the exercises. You all will be the first to know when I do.

Here is a link to Amazon for the Paperback, the Kindle, and Barnes & Noble for this book.