When the Red Moon Runs Dry

Good evening.

This post is a long time coming.  I finished When the Red Moon Runs Dry.  It's done and up on Amazon if you would like to buy or borrow it.

I have a few things to share about it since I'm done and can reminisce about the story.

This story was in my head for a very long time.  Before I even knew who Marshal Noel or Violetta Iolanda were, I knew very well who the Masokan Pirates were.  A poor group of slaves and misfits, on a drug-induced crusade, with the most powerful weapons at their disposal.  When the Red Moon Runs Dry was almost the first novel I wrote, but the problem I kept running into was that these Masokan Pirates would have been easily dealt with by the hundreds of governments and warlords that exist in the future.

Find the Star was my answer to that problem.

Shattering the military infrastructures around the galaxy made it a perfect time for the Masokan Pirates to start building a galaxy in the eyes of their God.  Six years after the cataclysm in Find the Star is where the story of the Masokan Pirates attempts to do just that begin.

This story was in my head, but I did not begin to flesh it out until I discovered a podcast called Hardcore History, narrated and produced by a man named Dan Carlin.  He happened to be doing a series of podcasts on Genghis Khan, followed shortly there after on the reformation of Christianity in Europe.  Those two historical events are what gave me insight into why human beings might do the things they do in a harsh existence.  I do not mean to infer that the Masokan Pirates are based on Christians or any other religion, only religious extremists of all creeds.  It was a perfect storm of historical perspective for me as I was finishing my editing on Find the Star and could not wait to begin writing When the Red Moon Runs Dry.  If you have never heard Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast, I highly recommend you do so.  It's free on iTunes and other places.

While creating a universe in which When the Red Moon Runs Dry could take place, I realized that it should set the stage for the next story of Marshal Noel and Violetta Iolanda.  I was planning on taking a break from this universe, but a story came to me I could not ignore.  I just started The Falling Stars, which will be the third book in this series I still do not have a name for.  I stand by that this series will end with either four or five books, and I really hope it does.

Anyways, I don't expect there are a lot of you out there reading, but I'm grateful for the few who are.  I will try to update this more, but The Falling Stars is drawing much of my attention.

Spring Cleaning

Hi there,

So, I finished the first draft of When the Red Moon Runs Dry.  Very happy with it!  No doubt there is still a ton of work to do on it, but for now, I'm taking a break from the lives of Marshal Noel and Violetta Iolanda.  I plan to start editing and rewriting in the middle of May, so whenever that's done, I will do my best to get it up on Amazon as soon as possible.  Again, I know I still have a lot of work ahead on it, but I'm very excited to share it.  After that, I'm thinking I have one or two books left in the still-untitled series.  I'm hoping it's just one more book, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be two.

Took a few days off writing to "recharge".  Found myself just kind of wasting time.  I had all these great ideas, or at least I thought them so, floating around during this last composition, but each time I sat down to start writing them, they just felt dull.  A friend of mine has been using writing prompts lately from a website we both read, io9.  I started writing based on one, but two sentences in an idea just came to me and I had to stop working on my writing prompt.  I wasn't sure what it was, but then 40-pages later, I realized I started my next book.  I guess the writing prompt worked, even if my book has absolutely nothing to do with the prompt I initially started on.

I'm a big believer in pushing through creative malaise or frustration by simply continuing to write.  It has never failed me, and has often lead to bigger and better things creatively.  The ideas that have been stored away either in outlines, rough drafts, or my head will always be there and I can get to them when I am ready.  I just was not ready, and felt lazy for not being able to get one of them going.  By turning my attention to something out of my comfort zone, the writing prompt, it got the wheels turning and something completely unexpected and exciting came out of the process.  Not trying to sound like a preachy writer or anything, but I would encourage anyone stuck trying to start a story or come up with an idea to make sure you don't stop writing, because if the motor is not running and the wheels aren't turning, you won't go anywhere.

Happy spring, everyone.  It seems funny to write that on a particularly dismal rainy, April day.  I live in Portland, Oregon, so my part of the world takes baby steps toward warmer and brighter days.  I hope wherever you are that your part of the world is finding its way towards bluer skies and warm nights.

Thank you for reading.

Home stretch...

In the home stretch of finishing the sequel to Find the Star.  It's called When The Red Moon Runs Dry, and I guess it won't be anywhere near finished, just a big first draft I can set aside for a few weeks.  The momentum I've had on this story surprised me, especially here in the last few weeks as the candlelight of the story usually starts to dwindle for me.

Find the Star was a real learning experience in terms of composition, and I tried to make good habits while writing this follow-up novel.  I kept thorough notes while writing.  I utilized outlining when I had trouble formulating a character or scene in my head.  I corrected glaring spelling and grammatical errors as I went along.  Basically, I tried to stay organized so once I come back to start the editing process, it is a little less daunting than last time.

There is at least another week, probably two, left of writing on this first draft.  It's a bit self-congratulatory to be talking about the finish line when I'm not there, and not really that close.  Who knows?  Some idea could pop into my head in the middle of the last chapter, and then there are another hundred pages of writing to do.  I guess I am just happy that for all the errors I will surely find when I revisit it with a critical eye, I feel like I have the story I want.  I feel like I better know the characters I had before, and am enjoying giving life to the new ones here.  This universe in which they live is one I feel much more comfortable bouncing from planet to planet in.  It's mostly those things that compelled me to write this post.

I have no idea when this unfinished book will be published, but hopefully soon.  Hopefully.

Hi Reader

Hello,
Not a huge fan of blog writing, more of blog reading.  However, I have entered the world of self-publishing in the last few months and every piece of advice garnished from my fellow authors demands the self-published author have a blog.  Here it is.

No promises here.  I will try to update this as much as I can, but when I have spare time to sit in front of my computer, it is either to work on my current book or update my fantasy basketball team.  I hope you understand.

If for some reason you have stumbled upon this blog and are shaking your laptop, wailing, "Kyle!  No!  More, please!  You must give me more of your words!", then I will point you in the direction of my first novel, Find the Star.  It's my first novel, and the first in a series of which I don't have a name for but am currently deep in composition of its sequel.  If you decide to spend your $2.99 or $0.99 on it, I very much hope you enjoy it.  To shamelessly self-promote myself and my publisher, Amazon, if you sign up for their Prime Membership, you can download my book and any future books I put out for free from the Kindle Lending Library.  There is also a treasure trove of authors and books in the Lending Library you have access to.

Again, no promises here and I doubt there are more than three people who will read this before my next update, but I will try to keep this fresh.  Thanks for being a reader, reader.