I've decided a main character is gonna die in this one.
I know, it's hard to believe that someone as caring as myself would smoke a main character (who does that? ehem, Joss Whedon, ehem.) But I'm about 95% sure it's gonna happen pretty close to the opening of Season Five of the Lost DMB Files.
I just started the first draft yesterday and I'm not very far into the story at this point, but I have a rough outline of the main emotional plays I intent to make. I'm not really much of an outliner. I tend to start by asking myself whose story I'm writing. Then I try to figure out the arc of that story.
Season Five will belong to J.T. McCutchen.
In this case, I knew those two things part way through re-editing Season Four (Twitch and Die!). Season Five (not yet titled) is absolutely J.T. McCutchen's story, and the arc will follow pretty closely to the classic "vengeance manhunt" motif. McCutchen knows that in order to protect his blessed Texas he not only needs to kill Lipscomb, but he has to replace him by getting promoted into Lipscomb's recently vacated position.
Nothing too complicated. I've learned that if I can't explain the whole plot that simply, then it's too complicated. But the fun happens through the emotional twists and sucker punches. So that's where my outlining process goes next.
Once I have the two basic questions nailed down, I envision must-write scenes. And it's super important to me that I can envision these scenes unfolding in a cinematic manner. If I can't see them I know that none of my wonderful readers will be able to see them as vividly as they deserve!
These scenes are the emotional touch points of the story. What happens to McCutchen as he tracks Lipscomb? What new information does McCutchen learn that rocks his world? (And when can I sneak in little bits for the reader to understand that McCutchen doesn't put together?) What is the cost of McCutchen's journey? What emotional, mental, and physical toll must he pay to stick true to his goal? In the end, in what ways does McCutchen win and in what ways does he lose? (My heroes always lose in at least one way or another.) Last but not least, what new antagonist will rise to replace the vanquished one? Like a nasty-antag-hydra, I love it when cutting off one head results in the birth of two more.
I don't quite have all the emotional touch points mapped out yet, but I felt good enough about the first two to start writing. Now I just gotta go to that dark place where there is nothing more satisfying that wrecking the lives of my characters.
And it ain't easy, because McCutchen is a tough guy to throw off-balance. I mean, in the second scene of the book I have to figure out a way to show McCutchen sitting in Pancho Villa's almost completely dark bedroom, sitting in the wingback chair beside Villa's bed, waiting for Villa to wake up and light his lamp so that the first thing Villa sees is McCutchen's crooked, all-assuming grin.
And then I gotta deliver the perfect one-liner. It's a challenge I relish.
Things are about to get ugly...
The Austin Job will be republished next week!
I'll jump back into the finishing edits and formatting after I send this email, so...things are pretty close to on-schedule so far, and hopefully I'll keep it that way!
If you missed the last few emails, read on for the full publishing schedule and for how you can help me out by leaving a review on Fistful of Reefer.
The Complete Publishing Schedule for the Year:
In case you've missed the grand plan, I plan on releasing ten books over the next ten months. Fistful of Reefer was first. The Austin Job is just about ready.Fistful of Reefer: a Schism 8 Series (Lost DMB Files, Season 1)The Austin Job: a Schism 8 Series (Lost DMB Files, Season 2)McCutchen's Bones: a Schism 8 Series (Lost DMB Files, Season 3)Twitch and Die!: a Schism 8 Series (Lost DMB Files, Season 4)De Novo Syndrome: a Schism 8 Series (De Novo, Season 1)Desert Gods: a Schism 8 Series (De Novo, Season 2)First Relic: a Schism 8 Series (Relic Hunters, Season 1)Holy City: a Schism 8 Series (Relic Hunters, Season 2)Chadzitzin: a Schism 8 Series (The Green Ones, Season 1)Masazin: a Schism 8 Series (The Green Ones, Season 2)
I Still Need Fistful of Reefer Reviews!
If you've read Fistful of Reefer, you can still be the first person to post a review to Amazon on the newly released version! I altered this book significantly enough to justify nuking the old version from the Amazon store (and everywhere I could track it down) in order to launch an entirely new version. The downside of this was that I lost the forty reviews it had gathered. Many of you had left those reviews. May they rest in peace...
Now, I'm asking if y'all would be kind enough to post new reviews. (Of all the nerve!) If you've already read Fistful of Reefer, you have a couple of wonderful options that would help me tremendously:Click over to Amazon and leave a new review.Click over to Amazon and buy the new version of the book while it is on sale for $2.99, read the new version that includes bonus episodes, Reefer Ranger and Del Rio Con Amor, and then leave a review.I'll raise the price from $2.99 back up to $4.99 pretty soon. So if you still want to buy a copy of the new version, now is your chance to save a couple bucks.
And... I'll leave this free first episode of Phish and Sparks (see below) up for a bit longer as well just in case some of you intended to snag it but haven't done so yet!
Have ray gun, will travel. Phish and Sparks are two curiosity-driven mercenaries who find themselves confronting mysterious elements and unknown forces in an expanding galaxy. These pulpy stories are an homage to the science fiction magazine shorts of old.
Click here for a free download of the first episode of Phish and Sparks. (To download the file, you'll be asked to enter your email. Obviously, you are already on this email list. Sorry for the redundancy. Just try to use the same email, so you don't end up on this list twice!)
All y'all are the best! Thanks for reading and for inspiring me to get back to these fun stories and crank 'em back out. Just so you know, over the next couple of months I'll be deciding which of these four series I want to jump back into in order to write a couple new books this year. If you have any strong opinions, let me know! On that note...
Fire in the hole!!!