The Journey Of St. Laurent, Chapter 2

Author’s note: Sorry about the delay. I wasn’t totally pleased with how this turned out. I’ll almost certainly do heavy revision when I finish the book and get to editing. I, however, have messed around long enough, and I can’t can’t sit around waiting for inspiration to make this the way I think I want it.

For those of you who are new: You are now reading an online serial pulp novel. If you didn’t start at the beginning, you may want to do so. Chapter 1:  Down By The Bay

Chapter 2 – Hit the Road, Jack

The day I began my journey I woke up completely disoriented. In fact, I was pretty sure that I had somehow ended up in prison.

I opened my eyes and looked around. I was surrounded by four bleak cement walls. Below me was a polished cement floor. Above me was a cement ceiling, some large conduit pipe things and some heating ducts. The only door to the room was metal, with a large pane of safety glass, with the wire mesh set into it, just like they had in the front doors of my junior high. The lights in the hallway outside that windows provided the only illumination.

I was lying on a dusty, old, short, uncomfortable roll-away bed. The kind that folds up and they wheel into your room for you when you’re traveling and too cheap to just get a second motel room.

Am I in jail?

The air in the room was stale and just added to the emptiness of it all. My teeth felt slimy, and much more so than the regular morning sliminess. Like I hadn’t brushed in a week. My skin felt like it was covered in a sticky oil, like I had been out in the sun, gotten all sweaty, and then never showered off, and then did the whole procedure again five or six times.

I pulled off the thin blanket that covered me and sat up on the flimsy bed. I was wearing tan cargo pants and a blue shirt from a set of scrubs. My clothes looked like I had been rubbing them in dirt, and had small bloodstains in various places.

And my body, oh my body. I had aches, pains, and throbbings pretty much everywhere. Both my arms had bruises and scrapes.

Seeing my clothes and injuries lifted me out of the haze of sleep.

I wasn’t in prison. I was in a military base. An underground research base just outside the city of Oasis, where I had lived up until yesterday.

The memories of violence, loneliness, and despair flooded back in. Oasis had been overrun with a horrible virus. I had been infected. I almost died, but was the first to survive an experimental cure. I had been separated from the other survivors and found my way here, to the base.

By now I was pretty sure the military had finished bombing and burning the city to the ground. Even with access to a cure, the risk of widespread infection was just too great to let it stand.

To make matters worse, yesterday I learned some very disturbing things.

Yesterday, after a couple weeks of hell, I was told that news of what really happened in Oasis had been covered up. As far as everyone else in the country was concerned, Oasis had been destroyed by a series of terrorist explosions two weeks ago.

Yesterday, after narrowly escaping with my life, I learned why. The military had shut off Oasis to prevent word about the virus from getting out.

Yesterday, after everything else that had happened, I learned the most frightening thing of all. I learned who the government really wanted to hide the virus from. I hadn’t believed it until I had seen proof. When I did see proof, a pit had hardened in my stomach until it made me want to vomit.

Yesterday, I learned that we aren’t alone in the universe. I learned that Earth had been visited many times by a group of extra-terrestrials. I learned that these extra-terrestrials were not friendly.

I shook my head. Aliens. What in the world have I gotten myself into now?

I didn’t know if the door was locked, and I didn’t really know where to go even if it was open, so I decided to just sit and think about how incredibly crappy my life was.

It’s too bad I didn’t have enough time to work up a really good self-pity-wallowing. Before three minutes had passed, the door opened and a man in military uniform burst into the room.

“Oh, good, you’re up.”

I grunted, shrugged, then nodded a greeting.

The man was a good 4 inches taller than me. He a couple of extra pounds and probably twenty years on me as well. His uniform was decorated with all manner of ribbons, medals and awards. A little tag over his left breast read “Major Jamal Glover.” Under his left arm he carried two portfolios. In his right hand he had a small duffel bag. He must have pushed the door handle with an elbow. His uniform was a little wrinkled. He had dark circles and a hint of puffiness under his eyes. All in all, he didn’t look like he had slept at all during the previous night.

He tossed the duffel and one of the portfolios on the bed next to me. “How did you sleep?”

“Better than I have any right to, I suppose.”

“Grab that folder and that bag. We don’t have much time. We need to walk and talk.”

I stifled a yawn and grabbed the stuff.

He turned toward the door. “Let’s go.”

Before I knew it, he was out of there. I scrambled off the bed and out the door to see which way he had gone. A few half-jogging steps later, I caught up.

“The portfolio has the favor I want from you. There is a letter in there that is to be delivered to Alan Jex.”

Alan Jex? It took a moment for my brain to dredge up where I had heard the name before. “The radio host? The conspiracy guy?”

“Yes. And I’d like same-day delivery, but that’s probably impossible. I’ll settle for as fast as you can get down there. There’s not much time.”

“How as I supposed to get there? And where exactly is there?”

“He broadcasts from the KNRT building in San Antonio, Texas. You ever been there?”

“Well, I was raised just outside of San Antonio, so I’ve been there, but-”

“Good. Turn here.”

We veered down a side hall.

Without a guide, I could have wondered lost in the cement hallways forever. They all looked the same.

Major Glover pointed up ahead. “In there. Take a quick shower, then I’ll answer your other questions. There’s a change of clothes in that bag.”

Sure enough, it was a locker room, complete with a stack of fresh towels. The shower was warm and fantastic.

The bag had a dark blue jogging suit, a pair of boxers, a pair of white socks, a new pair of running shoes, and a thick white envelope.

The shoes fit right, but everything else was a little loose. I jammed my dirty clothes in the bag and put the envelope on top.

The whole shower and change couldn’t have been more than six minutes, but by the time I came out into the hallway, the Major was leaning against a wall with his eyes closed.

“Major?”

His eyes flitted open and his sucked in a breath through his nostrils.

Yep, he was asleep.

He glanced down at his watch and grunted. “No time.”

He set off down the hall again.

I was finally awake enough to stay caught up. “Why do you trust me with this?”

“I don’t. Corbin, here’s the deal. I don’t have a lot of options, and you just happen to be the best bet. Several of the other survivors spoke well of you. And things have gotten much worse overnight. For this base, I mean. Washington is… Well, you know about the viral weapon we developed here.”

I had been through two weeks of hell in the thick of things as it had ripped the city of Oasis apart. “All too well.”

“Well, it’s already been destroyed. Every sample we had. Washington is afraid of the extra terrestrials. They’re afraid it might get out that we killed one with the virus. They’re afraid to tell the public what we know about them. The people have to know. No question in my mind. They have to know. Washington won’t do anything unless people know.”

It struck me that the Major was committing treason by telling me all this. I wondered what could possibly be in the portfolio that was worth taking this kind of risk?

Major Glover continued. “Alan isn’t the most respected media personality out there, but he has contacts, he does have an audience, and he will listen to what I’ve written in that portfolio.”

We walked on for a minute or two. I had a million questions, but nothing I could seem to vocalize.

The Major pointed at a large double door. “That’s it.”

“What?”

“There’s an underground tram that runs every hour to Safford. When you get there, wander around the parking structure until you find a brown Jeep Wrangler. Keys are in the ash tray. I put as much cash as I could get my hands on without raising any eyebrows in the envelope in that bag. You have to do this.”

My head still wasn’t sure this was even a good idea, but I heard the words “I will” exit my mouth anyway.

“Oh, and Corbin?”

“Yeah?”

“One more thing. I did some digging after what you told me yesterday.”

He reached into a pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “If you need something to do after you make the delivery, here’s an idea. Now hit the road, I’ve got another meeting.”

He set off down the hallway and in a blink was gone.

I’d better get moving.

____

Keep Reading! Chapter 3 is here.

Oasis Updates

Well, yesterday I got my first really scathing review of Oasis on Amazon. 1 star. My favorite part of the review says:

This book is like a $0.69 cent bean burrito from Taco Bell. It will dull your hunger for zombie brain bashing if you’re really in a fix, but it will not satisfy.

Ouch.

Oh, well. There’s no accounting for taste. If Stephen King can be a self-proclaimed literary Big Mac, I guess I should be proud to be a burrito. Oddly enough, the review didn’t even dampen my spirits much. I know my book isn’t a 1. It may not be a 5 either (btw, thanks for the two of you that did give me a 5 – you guys are awesome), but it’s definitely not a 1.

Anyway, my book was ranked yesterday at #62,167 today at #49,655, the highest I’ve seen so far. While that may sound at first like a totally crappy rank, consider the fact that Amazon has like 10,000,000 books. Even if there are only 2 million, that puts me ahead of 97% of the other listed books.

So thanks everybody for all your support!

Oh, yeah, and I still think I’ll be able to get chapter two of The Journey Of St. Laurent up tomorrow.

7 Ideas To Get Unstuck… When You’re Writing

Ok, I recently had an email exchange with a friend about what I do when I get stuck in my writing.

Here’s some things that help me:

1. Examine the reason you’re stuck.
   Sometimes it’s some other little thing nagging at the back of your mind, and it’s something you need to deal with before your brain can get all creative and writerly. Personal example: If there’s a job around the house that I know needs to be done, sometimes that job will pop back into my head several times an hour, and I won’t be able to focus on writing until the job has been done.
2. Read something creative/inspiring.
   When I start a decent book, I usually can’t focus on writing until I finish it, but I’m a pretty fast reader and it never takes more than a few days. I always seem to have a few more good ideas after I finish something moving/passionate (think American revolution, not bodice-ripper)/ creative.
3. Drill down story ideas.
   Sometimes it helps to define what I’m going to write better and better until actual fiction starts coming out. For example, I might start with an idea: Corbin get’s kicked out of his apartment building. Then I drill it down – Corbin finds his apartment ransacked, then he pisses of Andy, then he gets kicked out. I might expand on part of it like this: Corbin calls Andy a couple of names. Corbin ignores Andy’s command. Corbin spits in Andy’s face. Usually when I keep drilling it down like this, ideas for dialogue start forming. Maybe the sequence of events starts changing.
4. Get good sleep.
   I can’t focus on anything when I’m running (and writing) on fumes. Writing early morning and late night doesn’t make too much difference to me, as long as I’m not sleepy.
5. Exercise.
   Even though I haven’t been in fantastic shape for a while, during periods of time where I’m exercising 10 or 15 minutes a day I feel better and think more clearly. Writing comes easier.
6. Set deadlines and announce them to the world.
   This is probably the only reason I ever finished Oasis. I told a bunch of folks that every Friday there would be a new chapter, and after that, I was pretty good. When I wasn’t, my real life friends gave me a hard time. Sometimes, I’ll just crank out something crappy based on my drilled down notes and hope inspiration hit during editing.
7. Listen to some music.
   Exciting classical music really get my brain turning over. When I’m writing, it usually doesn’t help me to listen to stuff with words, as my head just starts to sing along. Here’s some examples of the type of music I’m talking about:
   • Carl Orff – Carmina Burana “O Fortuna” (download available here – not my favorite version, but free)
   • Camille Saint-Saens – Danse Macabre
   • The classical version of the castlevania theme song (I’m a nerd)
   • Aaron Copeland – Fanfare For the common man
   • Gustav Holst – Mars: The Bringer of War (way down the page. They have lots of other fantastic recordings there, too.)
   • Jeff Beal – He has a 4 part concerto called Things Unseen. I especially like 1 – Ghosts. http://www.jeffbeal.com/Pages/Concert%20Works.html
   • Karl Jenkins – Palladio (That one from the diamond commercial) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sluHJGcxek

What do you do when you get stuck?

p.s. Sorry about the delay on Chapter 2. I’m stuck, but not for creative reasons. It’s something else entirely. I’ll tell you folks all about it in about a month. I’m hoping to get back on schedule soon.

p.p.s. 7 More Tips for overcoming writer’s block

Self Publishing, Belgian Horror, and Cats.

I recently came in contact with Vanessa Morgan, from Belgium. She’s a horror writer that recently self published a book using Llumina Press. I hadn’t heard of Llumina Press before, and as usual, I like to hear from other self published authors, so we swapped a couple of emails.

So, I just have to know, were you born in Belgium, or are you just living there?

Yes, I was born in Belgium. I’m not even a native speaker, but don’t tell anyone J

What else do you want people to know about yourself?

I’m passionate about horror movies, cats and good food. And when I say passionate, I really mean it. I get deliriously happy from watching a good horror film or kissing my cat or eating extremely spicy food (or preferably everything together). I’m 33 years old, but I still see the world as a little girl and most of my friends are way younger than I am. Have I mentioned my cat yet?

Now tell me a little bit about your book.

It may surprise you, but my work is rather dark. Don’t count on things to end well, because they won’t. I think my major quality as a writer is the ability to create a creepy atmosphere and tension. Horror movies are my main influence and people compare Drowned Sorrow to films such as The Wicker Man, Dark Water and Dead and Buried. It’s the story of a mother and her teenage daughter who get lured into a dangerous sect. It’s set in a small New England town and there’s a supernatural twist to the story.

Where can folks learn more about you or buy your books?

The easiest way to buy Drowned Sorrow is to go online. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, … carry my book and some of them give great discounts. You may also find Drowned Sorrow at your local bookstore and if they don’t have it, don’t hesitate to order it from them. If you prefer e-books, you may want to go to my publisher’s site http://www.llumina.com/store/drownedsorrowEB.htm. To learn more about me and my work, go to http://www.drowned-sorrow.com. There’s also a section with real ghost stories and a horror movie quiz with film clips.

Why did you decide to self publish?

Self-publishing was my first option. Unlike many other authors I never tried sending my work out to publishers. There were several reasons for this. First of all, I live in Belgium, a tiny country in Europe. Many Americans have never even heard of it. First-time American authors have a hard time getting accepted by major publishing houses, so it would probably have been even more difficult coming from another country. Getting a contract with a ‘real’ publisher isn’t that important for me either. Sending out manuscripts would have cost me a lot of money and time and I preferred to use those resources to do everything myself. Second, many authors complain about the service they’re getting from small publishers, the main problem being that most books aren’t returnable which means that bookstores won’t carry them.

What self publishing house did you use?

I used Llumina Press and up until now I’m very happy with their service. One of the good things about Llumina is that they offer a lot of marketing options: bookstore and book fair representation, returnability, posters, flyers, business cards, press releases, advertising, you name it. They also edit the book. Books full of typos and errors won’t make it to their catalogue. That said, I wanted to use another publisher first, Diggory Press. In the beginning they seem professional, but it’s a real scam. Don’t even consider using them.

Who did the cover and the interior layout for your book?

Llumina Press was responsible for the interior layout. I used a professional graphic designer for the cover of the book and I believe it’s worth the money. If the cover doesn’t look good, readers won’t pick up your book. I know I won’t. They always say that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I think that is so untrue.

Would you recommend your publisher to others?

What do you think?

How long of a process was it to set things up with Llumina?

About four months. That’s rather long, especially because the cover was already done before I contacted them. But at least it’s a serious company, so it’s worth it. And four months is a minimum to prepare your marketing. There’s so much competition, that you can never do enough of it.

What have you done to promote your books?

I’m on several networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Shelfari, Alive Not Dead and a few Ning-sites (don’t hesitate to send me a friend request or to become a fan). Thanks to those sites I got a lot of invitations for interviews and reviews, but I also contact webmasters and magazine publishers myself to ask if they’re interested in a review or an interview. I also run Google ads and paid placements on AuthorsDen. Drowned Sorrow has its own website too. It features real ghost stories and a horror movie quiz with film clips. To promote the site, I use link exchanges and I put links on all the websites mentioned above. I was very lucky to have a talented movie director make a fantastic book trailer for Drowned Sorrow; it’s on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ild3ZunVlz8. (Embedded Below) Unfortunately, I haven’t done much to promote the trailer; that’s something I should definitely work on. The sky’s the limit, so we’ll see where new marketing ideas will bring me.

What successes have you seen?

Drowned Sorrow is only out since a month, so it’s a bit early to talk about successes. Still, generally they say a self-published book is successful if it sells several hundred copies, so that means I’m already a best-selling author. Nice, huh?

What advice do you have for other authors?

Never give up on your dream. You have to make it happen. It may not be a smooth ride to the top, but it’s still a ride and if you return home because of some problems, you’ll never arrive at your destination. Prepare yourself as much as possible by learning everything you can about writing and marketing, but even more important, just write and get published. If you wait until the time is just right or your book is perfect, it’ll probably never happen.

Is there anything that I should have asked you?

You should have asked me about my cat.

Ok, I’ll bite. What about your cat?

Avalon is a 7-year-old Turkish Van cat, named after the Mamoru Oshii movie. He’s twice the size of a regular cat and he’s never more than an inch away from me. He’s the inspiration for my next novel, a story about a haunted village with more cats than one can handle. Other interesting facts: he loves peas and corn, he roars like a lion after using his litter box, and he’s afraid of my guinea pig.

Thanks for your time, Vanessa, and good luck with your book.

You learn more about Vanessa by visiting http://www.drowned-sorrow.com

Crash.

Have you wondered where I’ve been? Oh bother. The windows installation on my laptop gave up it’s will to live.

Sigh.

I’ve almost got it reconstructed to where it’ll be usefull.

Grumble, grumble.