Beginning Harry Potter and Do I Have a Series in Me?

This past week I started something I should have a long time ago. Anyone who's going to write in the field of YA (Young Adult) has a vast selection of authors to research, but should, in my opinion of course, check out the works of Patrick Ness (A Monster Calls is my favorite book and is one of the most decorated YA works out there), Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak, Twisted) and, perhaps considered at the top of the YA mountain even after all these years, J.K. Rowling.

For years I've put off the seven books featuring "The Boy Who Lived" along with Ron and Hermione because of the films based on them. I saw the first movie - Sorcerer's Stone - in the theaters and really liked it. I attempted to start the books (there were, I think, four at the time?) but found that seeing the movie first kind of spoiled the experience of reading the book - ultimately, despite the book being a tad different and a bit more in-depth, the conclusion was the same. I saw the second and third film - Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban - and enjoyed them a lot due to the ever-darkening tones. As well I followed the coverage of each new book coming out, ending with the seventh. Films four through six I didn't see, but caught Deathly Hallows, Part One, on a bus trip to New York the day before seeing the final film in theaters. While there was a gap for me, I followed along pretty well with the last two movies and thought the conclusion to be very fitting; I particularly enjoyed the glimpse into the characters' futures in the end and (in the movie, at least) you get the sense that the experiences the triumvirate have been through hasn't completely left them. You could almost say the events of their time at Hogwarts scarred them in a way similar to the lightning bolt on Harry's forehead - always present.

Like I said, for years I put off reading the books; I was waiting for the impression of the films to wear off.

Last week I started Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and have raced through it (I'm not a fast reader) and am nearly finished. While every now and again I get the sense of what I saw in that film (and it's been a very long time since I've seen it), it's a very refreshing, easy, brisk read. In a way I am glad to have waited and started them now - after all the hoopla about them has long ended. I can read them - regardless of knowing the ultimate ending and some choice spoilers (yes, I know what happens to Dumbledore) - for my own enjoyment and at my own pace without having any worries of running into fans spouting about them online like when they were brand new.

It would be unfair to critique Rowling's series (dare I call it her magnum opus so early in her career?), having only digested one of the books so far, but I find her a very witty writer who moves at a fast pace (the entire sequence with the troll inside Hogwarts lasted longer in the film than it does reading the 3 or 4 pages in the book). I am very excited to get into the remaining six. I'm also very interested to see why most of the other books are so much denser, given her tendency to be breezy and go from scene to scene very quickly. There must be a lot more plot involved. My hope is everything is balanced well and doesn't succumb under the weight of quantity over quality.

While reading Sorcerer's Stone, I thought about The Dark Tower series by Stephen King; I've only read the first installment - The Gunslinger - of that particular sequence of novels so far, but each of the works of King and Rowling got me thinking: Would I ever write a series? Do I have one long story in me to tell?

Right now...in short...no. But (!) that's not to say I wouldn't be open to doing one in the future. Where I am in my writing now is I like to tell simple, clean stories that don't leave the reader hanging after the end. The stories, to me, should feel like an experience, and deeply personal. To stretch it out over a series is beyond my comfort at the moment. I hope to someday be inspired by an idea that has the potential to take up a few volumes, but I won't worry about it if it doesn't happen. I'm very confident in what I have to say with each book and, believe it or not (if you go by the one published book per year rule), I have stories set in stone - and by that I mean in my notebooks - to tell for at least the next six years, and they're all single books. I'm always getting ideas and when I believe I have a good one I put it in its own notebook and add to it over time.

So no, no series in the works right now, but even though it may never happen that's not to say that I won't ever revisit a character - main or supporting - in another novel sometime in the future either.

Guest Blog Up On Winter Goose Site

This week I have a guest blog up over on my publisher's website, where I go into a bit of detail regarding my beginnings as a writer and, among other things, the idea that popped in my head that eventually became Seeing, my first published novel.

Click on over to Winter Goose's site for the blog entitled A Winter After Many Long Seasons.

Two Weeks Later

So, the book has been out for two weeks now, and purposely to not over-saturate social media with continuous announcements of the release, I've taken a restrained approach. My biggest worry is putting potential readers off by being too much a salesperson. Ever follow an author on Twitter? Some are good, like one of my faves Patrick Ness (@PatrickNess), who talks about his work rather than always trying to sell it - there is a huge difference - while there are those who constantly shove their work down your throat (you know who you are if you do this), and most of them aren't subtle about it. I never want to be like that (it never makes me want to read their work), so, my plan now that the book is out is to work hard on getting it reviewed - the process requires patience as it can be a bit of a slow burn but it's far better to push what others are saying rather than myself proclaiming from the hilltops. Of course I love my book - I wrote it! - but I want to know what you have to say.

And wow... The reception I've received thus far has been beyond anything I could have dreamed. My friends, I am fortunate, and feel truly blessed that those getting their hands on Seeing are not only enjoying it but finding it is affecting them on a much more personal level. I would be lying if I said this wasn't my intention all along, but I never knew just how moving readers would find the book. I'm so glad those who are reading it are sharing with me their thoughts and feelings. Again, I'm incredibly thankful.

If you follow me on Facebook then you may know that a few days ago I posted my first review. The review came from someone close in my family, who ordered the book immediately on their Nook the day it came out and finished it shortly after. They sent me their thoughts in an e-mail at 3:30 in the morning because that's when they finished it. First I thought it was great they felt compelled to give me their thoughts at such an unusual time, then I read what they had to say. I felt posting who the review came from may cause others to roll their eyes and think, based on the relationship: Well, of course they would say that! I, however, know this person to be honest - even sometimes brutally so - and also an avid reader of all types of genres and authors. If they weren't impressed, I would know. What follows is their exact review:

I had your book put into my nook the other day.  I just finished it and had to tell  you just how moved I was with the  book.  It  is a very moving story!  I cried.  I enjoyed it very much.  You should be very proud of yourself!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Note: I copy/pasted, so, yes, all those exclamation points were in the original message.

 

I told this person that getting their review made me less fearful of the reviews that would be in-coming. You get through the first one you can get through the rest, right?

 

Not really. It was a tiny bit of a lie, I suppose. Not that I didn't tell this person what I felt at the time to be truthful, but a nagging voice kept up in the back of my head, speaking whenever it was quiet, wondering what someone who didn't know me might think of the book.

 

Fortunately, I only had to wait a few more days before someone - someone I can say I don't know - posted a review on Amazon. I'd also be lying if I said I didn't constantly (obsessively?) check Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble for any reviews. I do it as if it were my job. ... I guess it sort of is, huh?

 

Anyway, here is what one reader decided to share in their 5-star review:

 

This book was beautifully written. Not only does it touch upon topics that pertain to adults and parents but it reaches out to such emotions that young adults experience. I will be sharing this book with my daughter. This is a true calling!

 

Wow.

 

I've read the review over countless times and still have no idea what to say other than thank you, thank you, thank you.

Here is another one, this one a 5-star review from Goodreads:

This is a book for young and old alike. This book may be fiction geared for young adults, but it is a must read for any age if you have ever suffered the intense hurt and bewilderment of being abandoned by a parent. Forget all the self help books and stop asking yourself "why". Immerse yourself in "Seeing" and you will finally realize that "You've got to learn to let go." Falank has nailed it....Seeing delivered on it's promise...it has changed the way I see the world, forever.

Again, wow. It means a lot to me that readers are taking the time to post their thoughts, and what they're saying means even more.

 

Right now the book is out for review with two friends of mine who are authors (a third author friend will get their copy soon), and I'm desperate to know what they think. I've also reached out to a few editorials to get reviews, so the "professional" reviews are forthcoming.

And then this morning I woke to some awesome news:

Erik, the kid reviewer behind the website This Kid Reviews Books, will be reviewing Seeing!! (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Note: Yes, all of those exclamation points are appropriate.

No offense to anyone who has or will be agreeing to give me a review (I appreciate you all), but this one excites me the most. That someone of the target audience will be critiquing the work - not to mention this was someone I was really hoping would give me a review - has me on cloud nine (I hate that expression but I've only been awake twenty minutes and it was all that was coming to me to describe my own excitement).

UPDATE: I've just learned that Seeing has also been chosen for review by the students associated with the site LitPick.com!!
 

So it's only been two weeks. There's a long road ahead for the book - one of the stops on this long road will be my first author event: Wednesday, August 6th, at RiverRead Books in downtown Binghamton at 6:30pm - but I'm ready to put in the miles and take you all along for the ride.

SEEING now available!

Folks, this is it! My debut novel, Seeing, is now on sale and can be purchased through the major book outlets: currently Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

At this time the print version and Nook eBook version is on sale with the Kindle eBook coming shortly.

But enough from me, here're the links:

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Joseph-Falank/dp/1941058159/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404060881&sr=8-1&keywords=seeing+falank

Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seeing-joseph-falank/1119875671?ean=9781941058152

Glad To Be Alive

Happens all the time on Twitter, right? We casual people post a question aimed at one of the many celebrities/authors/artists we follow, but never really expect an answer.

But then...



...

He freaking answered.

Stephen King (the man who wrote Carrie, The Shining, It, The Stand, Cell, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, The Green Mile, Bag of Bones, Lisey's Story, Misery, and a bunch of other novels that have made him a household name and one of the world's - if not the world's - most successful and well-known authors, and my personal favorite) answered me (me, the author of just one book) on Twitter.

That was over twenty days ago and I still get chills when I look back.

Where I was going with this was not the celebratory shivers I got upon King answering my tweet, but in how he celebrates a new novel being released: a hamburger, and feeling glad to be alive.

Tomorrow, Monday, June 30, will be the day when my first novel, Seeing, is released. Just about fifteen hours from right now. That knowledge brings along a whole new kind of shivers.

For four years I've struggled and clawed my way to this point. In the fall of 2010 I wrote a simple story that was more about believing in something than it was about the supernatural. There are no witches, no wizards in my book. No Chosen Ones; no one leading a rebellion to save the last vestiges of humanity. The world of YA (Young Adult) books is on fire with these types of explosive tales. But that wasn't the route I wanted to travel. My story is simply about a boy; a boy who is looking for hope. And he's doing it in our modern world.

I want to personally thank all of those at Winter Goose Publishing. They believed in my story. They gave me a beautiful cover. And they gave me a chance.

Tomorrow isn't just my book birthday though; it's also the start of a new beginning. My wife and I will be packing up all the boxes and furniture in our apartment (a place we've had since we were married three years ago) and moving into our first house - three months before our daughter will be born in October. Lots of changes and exciting things coming.

So, if I can take a moment and respond to Stephen King (and I have to do it here because my response will exceed the 140 character limit on Twitter), I want to say that on the day of my book coming out (tomorrow) I probably won't be sitting down to enjoy a hamburger - more likely I'll be running around with moving boxes in hand and a slice of pizza hanging out of my mouth - but I'll definitely be feeling glad to be alive.

Some Of What's To Come

Taking a break while packing up the apartment for the big move next weekend (my wife and I are [finally] moving into our first house!), I thought I'd get a quick blog in to get you all up to date on some pretty cool things that've happened lately, and some of what's to come.

Among the most exciting (besides the house) is that I received the advance digital version of SEEING from my publisher this past week to look over and give the OK to.

Why, hello there. (Note: the e-book has been open on my computer all week; I just keep going back and looking at it.)

The past year's experiences of having a book published - everything from signing the contract to going through the different cover designs and beyond - have always gone the way of a single line of thought: Wow...now it feels real. Well, dear readers, now it really feels real. Because I've seen it. I've seen the book - yes, in digital format only, and fully expect to be wiping away tears when I first hold the print version in my hands - and I am so anxious for you all to see (and hold) it too. Soon enough, I promise.

With June on the backend, the release should be coming in the next few days. I'll definitely post on it and get all the links up to online outlets. And when the first copies come in, I'll be sure to post again. I'll try not to be too excessive with the posting.

Because I don't want to spoil even the littlest detail, the only other thing I'll say is that an author I've known for a few years, and greatly respect, is currently reading the digital copy. For me, the thought that the book is out there and its first review is coming... Wow.

Now it feels real.

In other news, with the book's release forthcoming, I should have an update fairly soon regarding my first author event/book signing. Stay tuned for that.

In SEEING-unrelated stuff: School is finally out for the summer, and with all that remains to be juggled for the next few weeks, not having to go to work (two day jobs) every day allows a lot of freedom to finish other tasks at hand. For one, I'm about a week away from finishing the next draft of another novel (my second) that you should be seeing at retailers around the tail-end of next year. I know it seems unfair to mention a new book and not say anything more...but maybe just this tidbit: the story (an adult one this time) focuses on a single point of view, much like in SEEING.

So, there you have it: Book release soon, first house, possible signing coming up, new book for 2015.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go and resume packing some boxes before all the determination I have left completely dissolves.

Review: Devourer of Souls

Last October on this blog I reviewed fellow author Kevin Lucia's first short story collection Things Slip Through (from Crystal Lake Publishing). Now while horror isn't the genre I write in, I do very much enjoy reading it (Stephen King being my all time favorite author) and I find Kevin's stories to be some of the more effective, mainly because his goal isn't to just hit you with gore and gross you out. He gives you characters to care about and then sucker punches you when something terrible happens to them (and many terrible things happen in Devourer, but I'm getting ahead of myself). He lingers on suspense. He also takes pride in giving readers a haunted setting in his town of Clifton Heights, a place that's quickly becoming more and more its own main character with each published tale. And I'm very happy to report that Kevin's next big release - an e-book collection of two novellas called Devourer of Souls (out June 30 from Ragnarok Publications) - satisfies as a follow-up to Things and also stands very well on its own.

From the publisher:

Welcome to Clifton Heights, an average Adirondack town. It's nice enough, really. Except after dark. Or on cold winter days when you're all alone...

 

Sophan. 
An ancient game of chance and Fate. One boy's smoldering hate, another boy's need to make things right, and a father's ghosts of Vietnam past. These are the key players in this latest tale of revenge and reparation performed on the stage of the strange Adirondack town of Clifton Heights, NY.

The Man in Yellow.
Tahawus is a small, isolated Adirondack town just north of Clifton Heights. A quiet place filled with simple people of an ardent faith, nothing much ever happens there...until the man in yellow comes calling. He knows your worst nightmares, and he can offer your fondest wish. All you need is faith...and a mouth from which to scream.

Review:
Devourer's two novellas ("Sophan" and "The Man in Yellow") tell separate stories in different locations in and around Clifton Heights but share a few similarities. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that both stories are from the point of view of children (some older, some younger) and how they react to their parent/parents in the situations they find themselves in. Sometimes the parents are helpful with advice, and other times they are actually the ones endangering their child.

The stories have a "coming-of-age" flavor to them (more so in the way of "The Body" [or what you may know of as Stand By Me] rather than the more innocent bunch from The Sandlot, though there are no real comparisons to these stories outside a common theme). Macabre forces beyond their control accelerate the growth of these characters to deal with something far beyond their years, and this is where Lucia shines. Not in the darkness of his tales - we know he is quite capable of that from Things and other stories under his belt - but in how the progress of these characters comes across as not only necessary but believable.

Quite often, in horror especially, we find a character who acts in a bizarre way in order to meet the demands of the story. Here, these characters act how we expect them to. How we would. How anyone would. And that means feeling the consequences of choice.

One character makes a decision - an awful, regretful decision - near the end of Sophan, that while isn't heroic, nor provides us with a flashy ending, is the way it should be. And in Lucia's signature style, the beast is kept more to the peripheral, because it isn't the main focus here (though he does create quite the antagonist in "The Man in Yellow"). These aren't tales of heroes or anyone suddenly stepping up to tee-off against evil. These are tales of young people reacting, scared out of their minds, and the instinct of survival kicks in.

Sometimes survival isn't always being brave. And we learn that through Lucia's meek and rebellious, though well-meaning, characters.

The storytelling device used here is a continuation from Things, where Sheriff Chris is meeting with a friend (this time Father Ward) and discussing local stories found in a journal - the stories being "Sophan" and "The Man in Yellow." This doesn't mean you need to have read Things in order to enjoy Devourer. If you have, you'll get more out of these new tales as the whole of Clifton Heights and its surrounding area and citizens become a little bit more defined, though there's still plenty around the fringe that's left out of focus.

On the whole this collection is breezy, atmospheric, and right to the point. Perfect for summer reading.

Devourer of Souls will be available June 30.