Since school has finished, at least for the time being, I've been catching up on Netflix shows, and one in particular that I started a few years ago, but never stopped was Mad Men.
I'll be honest, it's overall story is fairly humdrum, nothing exciting happens like car chases, explosions, but the occasional cheating scene happens every once in a while. It's a show about men and women living their lives in the 60s. So far I've left it on as background noise while I write The Two Swords and read Blood Red by Jason Bovberg, if you haven't been reading my latest Tweets.
Now, this gem of a horror story has had me uncomfortable to sleep - and if you've been reading my posts, I do love me a good horror read, movie, whatever - and it's been a long time, since I've read Bram Stoker's Dracula, even, that I've been a bit weary to turn off the lights and duck under the covers. I won't give away what happens so far as I'm not finished with it, but I'll leave you with a description:
Rachel is 19. She doesn’t know how to handle her new stepmother, let alone the end of the world. But after finding her stepmother dead, Rachel is suddenly racing against time—and terrifying, unnatural forces—to survive a gruesome apocalyptic event. Outside her door, the college town of Fort Collins, Colorado, is filled with corpses, and something unfathomable is happening to those bodies. And it’s only just begun. As Rachel struggles to comprehend her horrible new reality, she’ll need to find answers to questions she never thought she’d ask—all while desperately searching for her lost father, on whom she pins all her hopes for coming out of this phenomenon alive and intact. But nothing will be as it seems.
If that's something you're into, I suggest you check it out. I'm honored to be included in the Permuted family with such talented authors. Makes me want to put out the best product I can.
That said, the story for The Two Swords is taking shape. I knew what it would be while writing The Immortal's Guide, but, naturally, that stump of a brain block struck and left me staring at an empty page for...well a straight year or two. Now that I'm under contract, it's time to buckle down and put all my notes and loose outlines to work.
I won't say much as the first book, The Dark World, isn't out yet under Permuted, but for those of you that did read it when I self-published the series, you'll know that the story starts with unrest and unease, a theme that only spirals out of control as the series progresses. With The Immortal's Guide we are met with a spiraling journey, physical as well as psychological, and in The Two Swords, that journey is reversed somewhat, the Creatures faced with the outcome of their choices in the second book - faced to deal with and own up to the new reality they find themselves in.
That and the good man Michael L. Wilson recently acquired a deal with Google Play to get Permuted Press books on their devices. As I have a Nook HD+, this is fantastic news, especially for an indie publisher. Permuted goes above and beyond for their authors and it's very heartwarming to see this bear lucrative fruit.
I've got to get back to writing. I'm waiting for package for some clothes I ordered a while back for Eternal Con to get here. I'll take some sneak peek pictures of my outfit if possible.
And, I'm curious, what do you listen to in the background, if anything, while you scrawl over paper, or tap away at your keyboard? Music, television, or silence? Something else? Let me know in the comments.
And as always
Keep your bite,
S.C. Parris
