Action Adventure Fiction

A couple of my real life friends keep asking me when Oasis is going to be published. I always tell them “As soon as I finish editing it.”

Well, assuming there’s anyone out there that cares, I’ve got two useful meters in the sidebar.

They match my process:

Line Edits - I’m going through line by line looking for typos and other errors.

Final Read - I’m reading Oasis out loud to my favorite editor (my wife, Aurora). Reading aloud helps me fix those nagging little phrasing issues and allows me to give things a nice polish. I hope.

OK, normally I take criticism in stride. I know the stuff I write is not for everybody. If you don’t like the subject matter, or my writing style, fine. There’s just some stuff that really irks me.

I got a comment in the past day or so on the first chapter of Oasis that says:

“olive skin”

“a language I didn’t understand”

Let me guess: the “terrorists” created the zombies. I sense an ideology I don’t want to delve into. I don’t think I’ll continue reading.

I responded in the comments there, but I’d like to put it here, too.

Response

First, there’s no guessing needed. I thought it was in-your-face-plain that terrorists were responsible for starting the outbreak in Oasis.

Second, an ideology? What ideology? That terrorists do bad things? I thought that was pretty much common knowledge, and why we call them “Terror”-ists. Are there Middle Eastern terrorists? Well, that’s a well-established fact. Do I even imply that everybody from the Middle East is a terrorist? Of course not. Do I imply that that everyone with olive skin is a terrorist? No. The hero (Corbin) has olive skin because his mother was from Spain. Now, are there bigots out there that do assume that olive skin=Middle Eastern Terrorist? Yes. As a matter of fact Corbin has problems with some of those type of closed-minded characters, starting in the VERY NEXT CHAPTER.

Let me put it this way: The terrorists in Oasis are a plot device, not a political message.

However, if this chapter “offended” you, then its probably best you don’t keep reading. You will most likely be incapable of enjoying the story.

* Bryce Takes A Deep Breath *

Whew.

Sorry about that.

Now I look like the idoit for being so easily offended, don’t I?

I’m such a freaking hypocrite.

Moral of the Story

Getting offended by small things really sucks the fun, the joy, the very life out of you, doesn’t it?

The Other Lesson

Other than learning the moral of the story, I just learned how to spell the word “hypocrite.” Thank you, Merriam-Webster Online.

First off, let me just say thank you to everybody for reading Oasis. And of course for your astute typo catching.

I knew the ending would not be everyone’s cup of tea, but hey, what book ending is? For me, it kept in with the pulpy flavor that I’ve wanted Oasis to have. After all, Oasis was inspired by my favorite pulp authors: Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan/John Cater Of Mars), Robert E. Howard (Conan) and Kenneth Robinson (Doc Savage)

I’ll be sending emails to a few of you to see if you’ll let me use your comment on the Oasis web site.

So what’s next for Oasis?

It’s pretty simple. I’m going to go through and clean up some of those pesky typos. I’m going to make some minor edits to the story, nothing major, I just want some parts to flow a little easier. There’s a chapter I think I’d like in the first third of the book. After that - I’m seeking publication. If I can’t get a publisher fairly quickly, I’ll be self-publishing via CreateSpace.com. In any case, my goal is to make sure by the end of the year you can all hold a beautifully printed copy in your hands.

By the way, If I end up self publishing, here’s what the cover will probably look like.

So what’s next for StoryHack?

In the meantime, the fiction here will not stop. First up, you’ll see a piece of the first novel I attempted to write. After that, I’ve got a couple of short stories that I need to get out of my system. Then who knows? Perhaps more serial novel goodness.

Author’s Note: Happy Independence Day! This is it, folks. Last chapter was twice as long as a regular one. This one is about four times the usual length. I could have split it into two or three chapters easily, and I probably will do that for the paperback version, but I figured since I told you guys I’d be wrapping things up today, I’d go ahead and serve up the whole enchilada.Enjoy, and then have a safe and happy weekend.

At The End Of The Tunnel

Darkness and a loud ringing in my ear.

And a throbbing pain in my shoulder.

I rolled to my left and scrambled to stand.

The doctor was shouting something. I couldn’t quite tell what it was – the ringing was still too loud.

I stumbled over the doctor’s thrashing leg and fell sideways into the desk. It hurt, but it kept me from falling all the way to the floor.

The doctor kept up his frenzied shouting.

I couldn’t be positive, but I think he was saying, ” (more…)

All right, I put up a website for Oasis. Go check it out and let me know what what you think.

www.ZombieNovelOasis.com

I also need some reviews of Oasis to put up on that site. So if you’s like to help me out, please leave your review in the comments here, or email it to reviews AT storyhack.com

[Author's note: Wow. 60 Chapters. Can you believe it? And only one left to go... If this is the first time you've seen Oasis, you're probably better off starting with Chapter 1: The Last Shift.]

Underground

It’s just natural to just take something when someone else hands it out to you. Sales people use this tactic to get you holding a pen, thus making it more likely you’ll sign a contract.

I had just grabbed the stupid canister without thinking. The doctor had distracted me for one second, which was all the time he needed to pull the gun.

I scolded myself for not being more careful around a man that I knew couldn’t be trusted.

The doctor motioned down the hall. “Let’s (more…)

[Author's note. Oh boy! Only 2 more chapters left! Will Corbin survive? If you've never read Oasis before, start with Chapter 1. And don't you worry, when Oasis is over, I wont leave you high and dry. I've got lots of stuff planned.]

The Bombs

Beth opened the door to come in and the doctor brushed her out of his way.

“What’s his problem?”

I stood up. “Not sure, but it doesn’t sound good.”

She tossed a small pile of clothes on the bed. “The water’s out.”

It sank in. I was sweating, but my blood froze. Without water, we’d die within just a few days. Plus, it’d cause a frenzy in here.

“I know. That’s why the mad doctor just took off. He said it ‘wasn’t supposed to happen yet.’”

She stepped closer. “What does that mean?”

I looked straight at her and shrugged. “It means he knew this was coming.”

She tilted her head. “Yeah, but why…”

“Wish I knew.”

She closed the distance with a final step and threw (more…)

[Author's note: All right, folks. I think there's only 3 chapters left. We'll see how fast I can get through the final few twists and turns. If you've just learned about Oasis, start with chapter 1.]

Rest & Recovery?

I gasped and opened my eyes. It felt like my head was finally above water after someone had held it under too long.

“Don’t do that!”

Two red shoes were on the foot of my bed. They were being worn by a young man sitting on a nearby chair. His eyes were big and he pretty much looked like he had seen a ghost.

“You trying to scare me to death?”

I pushed up on an elbow. “Well, good morning to you, too.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Wow. You’re… how are you?”

“Would you (more…)

[Author's Note: If you've never read Oasis before, go start with the beginning. (a very good place to start)]

Into the Unknown

The room was crowded and loud and the air was thick with the smells of excited people.

Samson was on the street. There was no way out, and no way he could survive that mess. He had been a pillar of strength in a tornado of chaos. Now he was going to die because he had come to save me.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

My knees shook. The blood rushed from my face. My vision blurred. Breathing came hard. The noise of the room drifted away.

And then I crumpled up into a heap on the floor.

The mercy of passing out didn’t come, though. I was still partially conscious as three guys I didn’t recognize helped me up and half carried me to a room a few doors down.

My head pounded.

They put me on the bed and ran off to get help.

I closed my eyes and prayed they wouldn’t let me become… one of those things. I didn’t even know if anyone else had noticed my bite yet. I had to stay awake long enough to make sure someone saw it. And then I could slip away.

There was talking and shouting in the hall. People came into the room, hovered (more…)

[Ok, Sorry about the wait. I'm out of town and pressed for time, so I'll have to update the links and stuff later.]

Pure Pressure

Countless hands pounded down and brought me to my hands and knees.

A zombie flopped down on my my back.

Another teeth-chattering roll of thunder.

That’s not thunder. It sounds more like…

A severed forearm splashed in the puddle just off to the left of my head. Thick, coagulated blood oozed out into the water.

My stomach churned. What would (more…)