Posted on by ajbrown · 2 Comments

It’s Not Bragging, Kiddo

The one thing I hate about writing is promoting. It’s true. I hate promoting myself. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it feels too much like bragging. I’m not one to brag. Never have been.

You’ve heard the saying, It’s not bragging if you can back it up, kid.

Okay, the kid part isn’t in there, but that’s how I hear it in my head, maybe with a bit of Humphrey Bogart behind it.

It seems to me, and I could be wrong, but a great many people who brag are either very confident in themselves and their abilities or full of some smelly stuff. Maybe it’s half and half.

When I was a kid, I heard a story about Pistol Pete Maravich. For those of you who don’t know who Pistol Pete was, he was one of the greatest scorers in the history of college basketball (he scored 3667 points in his college career, averaging 44.2 points a game). He went on to play in the pros, though his career was cut short, thanks to those little things called injuries. Interesting enough, most people don’t remember Maravich for his scoring, but for his creative passes. He is, essentially, one of the pioneers of the passing guards that we know today, but I’m not going to go into that here.

At any rate, the story goes that Wilt Chamberlain asked Maravich how high he could shoot the basketball. Maravich asked, “How high can you reach?”

Chamberlain then showed him how high he could reach while jumping.

Maravich (most likely with a slight smile on his face) said, “I can shoot one inch above that.”

Arrogance? No, I think not. Maravich was confident in his abilities. Maybe he was bragging a little? But he sure could back it up, kid

Bragging and confidence seem to go together. They are like birds of a feather. They are like peas in a pod. They are like any other cheesy cliché I wish to throw out there.

Confidence and ability can take you far, but it can only take you so far if you aren’t willing to take a few risks and put yourself out there, put your abilities out there. This is where I struggle: putting myself out there.

It just feels like bragging.

But maybe that’s what I need to do. Brag a little. Show some confidence.

Okay. Here goes.

Henceforth, some bragging will occur.

You have been warned.

There’s no turning back once I get started.

Here we go.

Are you ready for this?

I’m stalling, right?

Yeah, I thought so.

No more stalling.

Read the following words and believe them.

I am a good writer. I am a very good writer. No, I am not your typical fast paced all action all the time type of writer, but most of my stories are really good (especially the ones over the last two or so years).

If you don’t believe me, then read one of my collections. Consider it a challenge to the naysayers. Yes, I said naysayers.

I’ve spent a good chunk of my life with very few people who believed in me or my abilities. I’ve constantly had to prove myself, and in many respects, that is why I don’t particularly care to socialize outside of work and the few friends I have. Let me tell you, when it comes to writing, I’ve worked and worked and worked and with each story, my abilities get better. It’s just a fact that I have seen over the years.

I had one editor tell me to quit writing, that I would never be good at it. Umm… dear Mr. Editor Dude, you were wrong, and from what I hear, you went out of business, probably because of the way you treated the writers that made your magazine.

(Oh, sorry. A little bit of soapbox standing for a minute there).

I work hard at writing and I stay true to myself. I enjoy creating characters and scenery and situations for my characters to be in. I also love letting those characters decide how the stories will end and how long they will be.

I’ll tell you one thing you won’t find with my stories: all action and no development. I hate those types of stories and I refuse to write them. Does that mean some of my stories are a little wordy? Absolutely. As Stephen King once said about his work, “sometimes my stories become elephantine.” I’m okay with that. Thankfully, my stories only become little elephants, not 1500 page mammoths. The thing to remember is they are good. Good, I say.

I may be a nobody at the bottom of the totem pole right now, but I won’t be forever. There will come a day when things will break the right way for my writing career and I will take off.

It’s not bragging, kid. Not if you can back it up.

Let me let you in on a little secret. Just in case you haven’t heard: I’m a good writer. Read it again. I’m a good writer. And you will like my work.

That’s not bragging. That’s confidence. It’s not arrogance. It’s learning to believe in myself, in my abilities. It is something I have struggled my entire life with: the confidence to believe in myself.

You tell me: Is it bragging? Is it confidence?

One other thing I need to do is get back to blogging regularly, a couple of times a week. It is the one thing I need to take the time to do. I know I’ve been neglectful of Type AJ Negative at times, and for that, I apologize. But stick with me. I have some things I am working on that you may find interesting (you’re darn right you’ll find it interesting, and don’t you forget it).

If, by chance, I have piqued your interest in one of my two collections (or both of them), here are links to them. Along the Splintered Path came out in January and was released by Dark Continents Publishing. Southern Bones was released in October and was put out by CMB Publishing. Don’t bother looking the name up—it’s my own label.

Here’s a little game for you: What does the CMB stand for? No, a certain wife of mine cannot play.

The links follow, but for now, be safe, keep reading and until we meet again, my friends…

Southern Bones E-Book

Southern Bones Print Version

Along the Splintered Path Print Version

Along the Splintered Path E-book

Posted on by ajbrown

The Coffin Hop and Other Notes

Good evening Interweb People…

You know, every time I write something like that I think of Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam.

I know that was totally off subject, but it’s what came to mind, and if you’ve been a follower of Type AJ Negative for any length of time, then you know I generally just write what I think. But wait, we haven’t really gotten to the subject yet, have we?

Of course not, A.J.

The last seven days of Halloween—oops, I mean October—is upon us and that means my favorite month of the year will be ending in one week. You can’t see it, but I am making a really horrid sad face right now. Just use your imagination: A grown man sitting at a desk, his hair unkempt, wire rimmed glasses perched on his nose. He wears an Eric Cartman t-shirt that says, Respect My Authority. Oh, and Cartman is dressed as a cop. Well, what do you know, he is also wearing his Eric Cartman pajama bottoms and—Holy Cow, he matches! The world is coming to an end! There was a frown there. Really, there was, but the whole matching Cartman shirt and bottoms just totally made him laugh.

Picture that instead.

Okay, you can stop laughing now.

Seriously.

Stop laughing.

Stop laughing.

STOP LAUGHING!

Whew. Okay. Now that you have finished… Hey, you! Yeah, you in the back with the hat on backwards and the soul patch. I’m right here. I can hear you.

Ahem. Now, where was I? That’s right, about to explain what I am going to attempt over the next week. I say attempt because things have been a little crazy the last few months and I haven’t been able to update the blog as often as I would have liked.

There is this thing called The Coffin Hop that begins on the 24th, which is tomorrow. What is the Coffin Hop, you ask? Well, it’s a promotional of sorts. To quote the website:

COFFIN HOP is the annual Horror Author event, geared towards gaining exposure for indie horror and genre authors, and increasing interaction with fans and readers. Conceived in 2011 by authors Axel Howerton and Julie Jansen, COFFIN HOP was initially intended to be a small answer to the proliferation of author blog hops for Romance, Erotica and other genres while noticing a dearth of well-organized, high profile events for horror writers.

The first annual COFFIN HOP bloomed to over 100 authors and brought in thousands of readers and fans over the week leading up to Halloween. Every one of those 100 authors held contests, gave away e-books, paperbacks, prize packages, autographed copies, toys, personalized writings, videos, themed jewelery, movie posters… the list goes on and on and on.

You can find more details at the website, here.

Essentially, this is for both the writers and the readers. It helps the readers find indie authors who they may have never found otherwise. And it is a chance for those same indie authors to get a little extra exposure and to communicate with the readers.

Let me say this: It’s not easy to gain readers. Not in the world today where the options are plenty and the market is saturated with everything you can think of. It is hard to find consistent readers—and it is even harder to keep them coming back. One bad or controversial story and you could lose readers quicker than you gained them.

This year there are over 100 writers participating, many of which will have give aways. I’m hoping to do one as well with my new collection, Southern Bones. If I am able to do a give away, then it will appear in this space tomorrow.

Well, maybe not in exactly this space, since it is being used at the moment, but in the next blog. I know, I probably didn’t need to clarify that, but some of my family—no, not you, or you, but… yeah, you—would make some wise crack about which space is being used.

At any rate, do you want to find some new writers to read? Check out The Coffin Hop. Click on the various links and go hopping. Leave comments and likes. Enter the give aways and competitions. Contact the writers and let them know you appreciate the hard work that goes into being an author. Yes, it is work—very, very hard work.

While I have you here, let me do some shameless self-promoting:

As mentioned above, my new short story collection, Southern Bones, is now out on Amazon. Follow the link. Pick up a copy. Like the book, if you will, and don’t forget to review it. Reviews are important.

Also, you can now pick up a copy of Along the Splintered Path in print.

For those who have already picked up a copy of either/both of the books, I thank you. For those who have reviewed the books, I thank you as well.

Before I go, have you ever wanted an autograph from one of your favorite writers? Well, now you might be able to get one, albeit a digital one. Go to Kindlegraph and browse the over 4500 titles. You may find some of your favorite authors there, including me. This is a neat idea. Though it is not a real signature, per say, it is a digital one and that is almost as good. There is a place that you can view all of your autographs. How cool is that? So click on over to Kindlegraph and see if you can find some of your favorite writers and send them a request for an autograph. It really made my day when I received a couple of requests the other day.

However, if you want a real one of mine, you have to contact me either through Type AJ Negative or Facebook.

For now, I leave you all to read, to sleep, to enjoy the evening, morning, afternoon wherever you may be. So, until we meet again, my friends…

Posted on by ajbrown

Best Foot Forward?

One thing I’ve learned in life is to always try and put your best foot forward. That can be a problem for someone like me, who can’t seem to figure out which of his feet is the best one.

Hmm… tough audience tonight.

Back in January, my book, Along the Splintered Path, was released in e-book format. It is a collection of three short stories (yeah, short is in the eye of the reader, and in this case, the stories aren’t all that short) released by Dark Continents Press. It’s a good book. No, I’m not patting myself on the back or anything like that, and no, I’m not vain enough to think that it is the be all of horror fiction. I believe the book is good. I would feel that way if someone else had written it.

The sells have been mediocre, at best, but the reviews have been great. Even the lone three star review really had nothing negative to say.

At the time of release, I was sick. Very sick. I had pneumonia and went through the editing phase coughing and throwing up and not being able to sit at my desk for too long at any given time. The medicine I was on made me hyperactive and made everything taste like the bottom of Big Foot’s foot. Don’t ask me how I know what that tastes like—I don’t. I just think I do. I had to take another type of medicine to counter the vomiting that made me sleepy, but only for about half an hour at a time. In essence, I was a sick malnourished insomniac and life sucked when I was trying to get ATSP ready to be published.

When ATSP finally came out, I was excited (although sickly). I felt it was the best thing I could put out, and at the time, it was. It may still be. I guess that means I put my best foot forward. I still have no clue which foot that was.

Fast forward to the end of February. Someone mentioned that, ‘hey man, you have a book out there, but what else do you have?’

‘Well, I have a slew of short stories at various places.’

‘Are they any good?”

‘Well, duh. Of course they are.’

‘Do you own the rights to them?’

‘Most of ‘em.’

‘Then why don’t you put another collection out consisting of previously published stories? Or maybe you can put out one of those novels you have sitting on your hard drive.’

‘Why?’

I knew the answer to that question long before it was answered, but I asked anyway.

‘If folks like your work, then they’ll look for other things that you’ve written. It will keep you in their minds, especially if the work is any good.’

Yup, that’s what I was thinking, too.

At the end of February, I started looking at all the previously published stories I have out there. I was saddened by what I found. Yes, there were some good ones out there. But the more I looked at those stories, the more I realized, no, not all of them are good. Really, not even half of them are ‘good.’

I admit, I was disheartened. Why? Because I didn’t put my best foot forward. I wanted to be published and I jumped at the opportunity early on. Maybe not the best move to make, but it’s been made and I can see now that my best foot was not put forward early on in my writing ‘career.’

Here’s the thing:

I had good ideas, not so good execution on some of them. Actually, having a few of those stories executed right now sounds like a good idea.

Wow. Really tough crowd tonight.

I had no real voice. Some of the stories didn’t go anywhere. A lot of them were all kill, kill, kill. It was sad. It really was. I got discouraged, both inwardly and outwardly.

I put the project down and worked on a novel for a very talented young lady, Belinda Frisch. While working on this novel, I came to realize that if I want to erase those bad stories, then I have to make folks forget about them.

In early April I started working on Southern Bones, only stop abruptly when I found out I would be losing my job at the beginning of June. There was a silver lining to this—the company coming in to take our jobs wanted to keep us on board, so when June came, I signed on with them and, thankfully, me and most of my co-workers still have jobs.

I’m not going to say it hasn’t been tough. It has. Any unwilling transition is difficult. However, I’m getting settled in and have resumed the efforts to put out a second collection.

Just tonight I picked the final story to go in. That is subject to change between now and when it gets formatted for an e-book, but as it stands, here is the list, in no particular order:

Chet and Kay’s Not So Marvelous Adventure
Mickie’s Stars
Not Like You
Liza’s Redemption
A Family Affair
The Burning Children (Title subject to change)
The Man at the Window
The Prophet
The Woman Who Loved the Red Stucco House
Wild Horses
The White
The Cassidy and Owen Cemetery For Almost Dead Things
Ain’t No Heroes ‘Round Here

Interestingly enough, during a huge chunk of selecting the stories for Southern Bones, I was in the midst of the personal struggle of adjusting to my new employers while still doing the same work for the same folks that I have been working for in some capacity or other for the last 20 years.

Neither Along the Splintered Path or Southern Bones has been easy. I don’t imagine the editing phase is going to be easy for SB. I honestly don’t imagine any of it is going to be easy from here out.

What I do see is putting a better foot forward. Instead of picking all previously published stories, I chose only to pick four such pieces. The other nine are all unpublished originals.

But wait, there’s more. There really is. I have a promotional already in the works. I have thoughts for a teaser at the end of the collection.

And I think you all will like it. No, not because I wrote it, but because I really think you all will like it. Most of the stories are written in that conversational style I have adapted. I’m going to be honest with you, if you want all action, all the time, this is not the collection for you. I don’t write that way. I’m staying true to myself.

I have a dilemma, though. After re-reading and rewriting all of these stories, I can honestly say I’m not sure if they qualify as horror. Sure, they have horrific elements in them, but is that enough to classify the collection as horror? I don’t know. It’s something I will have to think about over the next few weeks as I try to figure out how to place this, as far as genre goes.

In the beginning, I made a few mistakes. I thought I had put some good works out there, but I can see now that a good chunk of them weren’t all that great. In January I started on the road to get that best foot forward and I hope to continue that with Southern Bones, and then with my novel, Cory’s Way later in the year.

Yes, putting your best foot forward is important, but sometimes you have to be able to take a few well-placed steps when your best isn’t good enough or even really your best. It happens. It’s how you adjust to those mistakes that matter.

Until we meet again…

Posted on by ajbrown · 2 Comments

How ‘Bout Some News?

Good evening.

I know. I know. It’s been a short while since I’ve updated the blog. There is dust on the floors and desk, and oh my goodness, look at the caked on grime on the monitor. There are cobwebs in the corners and, ugghh, look at the crud on the ceiling fan blades.

I’m going to be sneezing by the time I get done cleaning.

This will be a short update. If you have followed the blog any length of time, you know I went through a major change, one that GREATLY affects my writing. I had to make some decisions, which have led me to some changes. There are more to follow, I’m sure.

With this change in my writing, I hope those who read Along the Splintered Path or any of my other stories, will still enjoy what I put out. The style will be the same, the character development will not change. Some of the narration will change, as will other parts that I think needs to be addressed. But the stories… the stories are the main thing and they will still be good old A.J. Brown pieces.

With that in mind, I would like to remind folks of a couple of things:

The previously mentioned Along the Splintered Path is currently on sale at Amazon for a paltry .99. That’s right. Not even a full dollar. It will remain that way for the entire month of May. If you haven’t picked up a copy of ATSP yet, I ask you to consider doing so. And, if you pick up a copy, if you would consider leaving a review, that would be great. And this writer would greatly appreciate it.

You can find Along the Splintered Path here

And then there is this:

Midnight Echo Magazine

One of my stories will appear in this publication very soon. Check out the link for a teaser.

That story is a bit taboo and I’m proud of the piece. Though I can say, I may not write another story like it—I’m not the same person or writer who wrote that piece a while back. I am a different person and writer now, but I’m very proud of this piece and this publication.

One more thing and I’ll be done.

I am working on a new collection. This one I will not be shopping around. I’m going at this one alone. It will be titled, Southern Bones, and it will consist of at least thirteen stories, most of them previously published, but no longer able to be found. However they will all be rewritten pieces. And, guess what? There will be a couple of originals in there as well.

So far, four titles have been selected:

Three Hundred Seventy-Eight
Satanas
Liza’s Redemption
Dirty Old Town

How about a little teaser? A brief portion, from Satanas, a story about a ghostly bull.

Wayne reached the fence first, hopping over the top rail with ease. Jimmy followed him, but his foot got caught on one of the boards and he tumbled to the ground. His arm snapped, the bone tearing through skin. Blood spattered the ground. He let out a string of screams and rolled around on the ground clutching the wounded arm. Waylon dove under the bottom rail, rolling to one side. He got to his knees pretty quickly and looked back.

We yelled for William to get up and run (all of us except for Jimmy, who was screaming in pain, yelled, our hearts in our throats and probably muffling our voices). Wayne stood on the lower railing of the fence waving his arms madly. He looked like a third base coach in baseball, one arm rotating over and over as if he were waving a runner to go home, go home Johnny boy and don’t stop until you’re back in the dugout. Waylon stayed on the ground, his hands in his hair as if he were going to pull all of it out. My hands were cupped to the sides of my mouth and my throat hurt from yelling so loud. My ears popped and began to ring.

William slowly stood as if he were dazed. He held his stomach, then started to run, but something was wrong. He stumbled and fell to his knees. His mouth hung open and his face had become pink. Our yells turned into screams of panic as Satanas barreled down on William, its head down, its horns outward.

William got to his feet and staggered a few feet. He still held onto one of the apples. I wanted to close my eyes. I wanted to run home and get in the bed, pull the blankets over my head and stay there the rest of spring break, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t look away no matter how bad I wanted to.

Sometimes the world slows down during events as they happen. It’s as if God is giving you a chance to do something about it, to avoid a disaster and possibly even save a life or two. Time didn’t slow down and there was no saving William. He stumbled a few feet, one hand clutching tight to his stomach. He looked up at us just before Satanas reached him. His face was flushed red and it was obvious to me he had been trying to regain his breath with little success. His eyes snapped open and I swear they came out of their sockets–in truth they didn’t–when Satanas plowed into him, its horns ripping through William’s back and chest. A spray of blood exploded from his mouth and chest and that bull lifted him high in the air…

That’s all for now. I’m going to try and get back to updating the blog on an every two to three day basis. Thank you for reading.

Until we meet again, my friends, read on, read long.

Posted on by ajbrown

Update 4/24/2012

Good morning, afternoon, evening wherever you may be.

April has been a rough month. I won’t deny that I haven’t posted near as much as I had planned, but I have been busy and, clearly, there has been a significant change in the way I view things in my life. I could talk about a bunch of things today, but I think I’m going to narrow them down to just a couple: Promoting and funny stuff.

First the funny stuff:

With all the rain we had Sunday, we stayed inside for the most part. There is this show called World’s Dumbest. Some of you may have seen this before. Bored and just kind of lazing around, we flipped on the television, scrolled through the list of shows and found World’s Dumbest was on.

And we watched it. I feel a tad less intelligent after watching it.

My son came in and sat down. It was about the time that this video was playing:

My son looked over at my wife and I and said, “They can make snow cones now.”

Yes, that’s my boy. Always looking on the bright side of things.

***

On to a little bit of promoting.

If you haven’t picked up a copy of my short story collection, Along the Splintered Path, I encourage you to do so.

The Blurbage:

Along the Splintered Path is a collection of stories written by up-and-coming horror author AJ Brown.

The Woodshed: A young man wrestles with the ghost of his past, an abusive father and a mentally unstable brother. As a last resort, he returns home to confront the evil he left behind. What he finds just may be the end of him.

‘Round These Bones: After a failed attempt at saving his marriage, James leaves the cottage get away in a huff. After skidding off the road, he is forced to find shelter from the coming snowstorm. When he falls down the edge of the mountain and breaks his ankle, the need for shelter becomes more important. James comes upon a small man made hut in the middle of the woods. Inside, he finds not only shelter, but something else…

Phillip’s Story: Down on his luck, Phillip comes into a bag of money that falls from the sky. Intertwined with the money is the story of the Williams brothers and how the money in the bag ends up falling from the sky. What Phillip does with the money could be his saving grace… or his greatest downfall.

You can find Along the Splintered Path on Amazon here

If you do pick up a copy, I hope you also would consider leaving a review. It doesn’t have to be fully detailed, just what you thought of the book, the stories.

As always, I thank you for taking the time to read Along the Splintered Path and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Do you like zombies? If so, then head on over to Tales of the Zombie Wars where my series, Dredging Up Memories currently resides. It follows the story of Hank Walker during the zombie apocalypse. You can find Dredging Up Memories here

Midnight Echo #7 is coming soon. My story Just Some Good Old Boys Sitting Around The Fire Talking *$#&# appears within it’s pages. This edition of Midnight Echo was put together by Daniel Russell and I’m looking forward to reading all of the stories in there. This is also the Taboo issue, so you can expect some subject matter that’s not your standard ho-hum stuff. You can follow this link to view the cover art and to pre-order a copy of Midnight Echo 7. Again, I appreciate any support you can lend to the small market authors and publishers out there.

Finally, but not least in my mind, is my new blog. It’s not for everyone. As a matter of fact, I believe it’s probably not for most people who have followed Type AJ Negative or my writing.

This is the blog I created about a month ago to write about The Bible and how I see it. I am a visual person and when I read I visualize things in great detail–a lot of this detail I try to leave out in my own stories, but in my mind where the stories develop, they are always there.

If you have followed me for any length of time, then you will know about what happened on March 21st of this year. You will know that I have had a change–a significant one–in my life. The thing is I can’t keep that change out of my writing and away from my blogs. So I created As I Sow It, for those who want to read less about my writing and personal life and more about things of The Bible. No, not religion–The Bible. It is as I see it and today I posted the first real blog post. It is called In Difficult Times.

For those who don’t care much for God and The Bible, this is not something you probably want to read (however, I encourage you to consider reading anyway). Out of respect for my readers, I will try not to have too many preachy type things on Type AJ Negative. I can’t guarantee there won’t be some, but not as many as could be.

Thank you for reading. As a writer, without all of you, my stories would have no meaning.

Until we meet again, my friends…

Posted on by ajbrown · 2 Comments

Horror? You Don’t Say?

What makes a horror story?

Yeah, I’m just coming out and asking. Just get right into the thick of it, as some editors say.

What constitutes a horror story? Why are certain stories considered horror as opposed to thriller or drama or any other genre/sub genre?

Are monsters needed, such as Frankenstein, Dracula, zombies, werewolves, the blob and so many others?

Does there need to be an abundance of gore and dismemberment, as seen in movies like Saw, Friday the 13th, Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street?

Does everyone need to die, as in all the movies I just listed? Not that everyone dies in those movies, but a lot do. Is it necessary?

Or could it involve the everyday events of life? A kid beating another kid to death with a baseball bat? A man beating his wife and children to show them who’s the boss (and worse yet, killing them if he so felt inclined)? An act of terrorism, such as what happened on 9/11?

Or maybe, could it be the subtleness of death alone? Someone dying of Cancer or the debilitating Lou Gehrig’s Disease (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)? Or what about dementia or any other mental disease?

What is horror to you, the readers as well as you, the writers?

I think horror doesn’t necessarily have to be scary, but it can have horrific elements to it. Those elements often bring about that tremendous emotion of dread, something we horror writers shoot for.

Take Stephen King, the most well known horror writer of the last forty years. Sure, he has stories like It, Needful Things, Carrie, Salem’s Lot, Cell, The Dome, and many, many others. But isn’t he the same guy who wrote stories like Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, Rose Madder, Apt Pupil, Cujo, and Big Driver among others? None of the stories in this last list are supernatural or have monsters in them (that is, monsters per say. As to what monsters are, there are very real monsters in all of those stories).

In my collection, Along the Splintered Path, there are three stories, only one of which is truly horror for what horror is. The other two could be considered not necessarily horror. Both stories have horrific elements to them, but I’m not totally positive I would say they were ‘horror.’ Yes, I used that word or a variation of it several times in this last paragraph.

If you ask me (and I know you aren’t, but…) the elements of horror are in every day life. Even literary writers are getting in on it, though they would never admit it. Boy meets girl, falls in love, but girl doesn’t love boy so boy kills girl, stuffs her in a footlocker and tosses her in the lake. That, my friends, is horror at its core.

If you turn on the television or read the newspaper, there’s something horrific happening every day.

Tornadoes ripped through Alabama last year, killing 239. We’ve seen the images and from what we’ve heard and read, we can piece together the last moments of many lives. There may not have been any monsters or murderers involved, but the horror was there.

How about the massacre in Norway on July 22nd of 2011 where 77 people were killed? Again, we’ve seen the videos of teenagers running for their lives, some of them bloodied. We’ve seen the images of bodies on the ground and the portraits of those who died. What if that had been a book instead of real life? Would it be considered a horror story or just another literary work?

What about the Tri State Crematory incident from 2002 where, instead of cremating the bodies of the deceased, they dumped over three hundred corpses in woods or stacked in sheds and the families were given nothing more than concrete dust instead of the remains of loved ones? Surely, finding the bodies would have been unnerving for anyone.

I could go on and on all day, citing examples of things that I would consider horrific, even in its subtleness. Amelia Earhart’s disappearance as an example. Wouldn’t her story–the actual disappearance–and what happened to her be both fascinating and chilling? Not to beat a dead horse, but what about the sinking of the Titanic? Or the San Francisco earthquake and fires of April 18th, 1906? Over 3000 people died that morning.

I’m a writer. And as I’ve perused over my stories through recent years, I’ve noticed more and more that I’ve pulled away from the monsters and more toward the realistic horrors of this world. Of the last 100 stories I’ve written, including two novels and several novellas, 39 or them had zero monsters, ghosts or supernatural elements to them. Those stories all are rooted in the real world we live in, yet even they, for the most part, have horrific elements to them. I call those RLHs, or Real Life Horrors.

So… what do you think? What constitutes horror for you? I hope for some reader participation here and I look forward to seeing what everyone thinks on this.

As always, thank you for reading.

Until we meet again, my friends…

Posted on by ajbrown

My Wife Believes In Me and Other Notes

My wife believes in me. I’m not sure why, but I’m not about to asks questions. I just like the fact that she believes in me. She keeps me going, keeps me smiling—and for those who have known me for a long time, you know I’m not a big smiler, but when she’s around, the smiles are, too.

The old saying is something like: ‘Behind every successful man is a great woman.’ A lot of men will argue that, but the smart ones won’t. I’m not successful and I’m not all that smart, but I have a great woman and she doesn’t stand behind me, she stands beside me.

If not for my wife, Catherine (though she prefers to go by Cate), I would have quit writing a long time ago. No one has ever encouraged me the way she has. No one else has said, ‘keep going,’ or ‘you’ll get there one day.’ No one else has had to listen to me talk about it as much as she has either. I’m surprised she hasn’t started charging for advice. Five cents, please.

For all you male writers out there, if you have a wife who supports your efforts and stands by you even though you absolutely drive her bonkers with your constant chatter about writing this or that or the other (and we all know there is a LOT of the other), tell her thank you. Because, whether you believe it or not, the support your woman gives you is worth more than any book contract you can sign.

So, to my wife, Cate, thank you for always supporting me and putting up with my constant writer’s gab (and all my other issues as well).

***

Recently, this article surfaced out on the blogosphere:

Q&A Why Write Amazon Reviews

Let’s couple that link with this one:

Amazon Reader Reviews: 12 Things Everybody and His Grandmother Needs to Know

Both of these articles are about doing reviews and why readers should do them.

If you will allow me, I would like to quote something from the second of these two links:

It… means that Amazon reviews, which were only mildly significant three years ago, now have a make-or-break impact on an author’s sales.

Yes, the reviews (or lack of) on Amazon have a great effect on how a book sells or even if it sells. So do the ‘likes’ and the ‘tags,’ which you, the readers can also add.

I encourage all of you out there to consider reviewing books that you purchase from Amazon. It can help the writer tremendously. Also, remember the stars thing. If you give a book glowing praise, then your star rating should reflect the same high praise. On the other hand, if you don’t particularly like a book, tell the writer why. Don’t just say, hey, this book is lousy. It sucks. That doesn’t help the writer and it only deters other readers from considering the book. Be objective in your reviews, and no, you don’t have to go full out and write an essay on the books.

It’s not all that much work and it can help the struggling writer.

Some of you may have just rolled your eyes and I bet you’re thinking, ‘this is all just a plea to get more sells and reviews.’

You’re not too far off in your assessment, but it’s really the other way around. It’s about garnering more reviews to help with sells, and not just for me, but other writers as well.

If you liked a book, or even if you didn’t like one, share your thoughts—it is more helpful than you think it is.

One caveat: If you leave a bad review, there is no reason to be mean. Be honest and sincere, but keep the meanness. Those aren’t helpful, only hurtful. Helpful reviews are the honest and sincere ones, whether they are good or bad.

Now you can roll your eyes.

I now ask those of you out there who have read Along the Splintered Path, to consider reviewing it, consider liking it, consider adding your own tags or like the tags already there.

Don’t just do it for me, but for other writers as well. We all appreciate the help.

Until we meet again, my friends…

Posted on by ajbrown

A Reality Check and A New Plan

Hmmm…

Writers. We get stars in our eyes from time to time. We see what others are doing and we think, ‘hey, why can’t I do that?’ or ‘hey, why can’t I have that type of success?’

I don’t think that applies only to writers, but people in general. However, for writers, this business is tough and it’s easy to believe that if someone else can do it, why can’t we? Sure, it has become easier to get published, with the Internet and E-books and Web-Zines. The process is so much simpler than what it was even ten years ago. We don’t need big publishers or editors to tell us whether we’re good enough or whether readers will like our work. We can do it ourselves with self publishing now.

Readers have access to all sorts of books, just by turning on their computer and browsing from the comforts of their own homes. If they have an e-reader, then they can browse pretty much anywhere there is a wireless connection. Readers don’t even have to read anymore. They can listen to audio books while driving or working out or just sitting on their couch with their eyes closed.

Yes, the world of publishing has changed. Those changes are good and bad, but that’s not what I want to talk about today.

Just for the record, I’m in a relatively good mood. I’ve been listening to Third Day all morning and I’ve been developing a plan for a new e-book collection.

Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Let me back up.

Last night, I was a little down. I’m not going to lie. I was down because the sells of my e-book collection, Along the Splintered Path weren’t all that great for the first quarter. The free download period was great–1400 downloads in that five day period. The sells, not so great. The negative to this is the sells were, as I’ve mentioned twice and this will be the third time, not what I thought they would be. But there are at least 1400 people who now have Along the Splintered Path on their Kindle or computer. That’s a positive in my… err… book. No pun intended.

The way I see it (and believe me, I struggled yesterday seeing it this way) is that the e-book has the potential to garner at least 1400 new readers. And I’ve always said I want readers. Sells would be nice, but without readers, you don’t end up with sells.

It’s a pretty simple equation really: Book + Readers = Sells.

Before I go any further, I would like to thank those people who bought Along the Splintered Path. I would also like to thank those folks who downloaded it during the free promotional week. It’s not lost on me that over 1400 people thought enough of my book, to purchase or download it. Thank you. Sincerely, from the top of my heart.

[[Side Note: I’ve never understood the whole bottom of my heart thing. I would think the most gratitude and love would come from the top of the heart. What’s left over was at the bottom, kind of like backwash in a cup. Yeah, yucky. I know. End Side Note]]

Here’s the real problem: I’m relatively unknown. Very few folks know about me and if that’s the case, then the readers aren’t going to be there and if those readers aren’t there, then neither are the sells.

1 Book + 0 Readers = 0 Sells

So, being down a little, I talked to Tracie McBride (a wonderful writer and really nice gal). We chatted about the business and she stated something I had thought and even read a few times at various web sites and forums: If you have a book out and people like it, then they might look for other things you’ve put out. That’s not how she said it, but I can’t remember it word for word. What it boils down to is if you want to try and get your name out there, then one e-book isn’t going to necessarily do it for you. You have to have a slew of things out there, places where readers can find your work.

You know, she’s right.

When you’re a virtual unknown, even in today’s world of e-books, you have to make your mark and for genre writers, such as myself, you have to really put yourself out there.

So…

Today I have begun the process of putting out a new book.

What? For real and for true?

Absolutely.

But, A.J., your sells haven’t been all that great.

Yes, you are correct. However, as a writer, I have to develop a fan base, no matter how small or large it is. If one reader out there likes my work and wants more of it, then I am obligated to that one reader. I hope it’s more than one, but if it’s not, then I want to entertain that individual.

I’ve said before that I wish to put out a collection titled, Southern Bones, and starting today I will be perusing my stories, both published and unpublished to find between eight and ten pieces to put together in an e-book.

I’ve already talked to a very talented artist about creating the cover. Just watching the way his eyes seemed to dazzle when I told him what I wanted made the blood flow a little faster. It got me excited, the way a new book by my favorite author does. Or the upcoming Lord of the Rings LEGOs.

There are a couple of other things up my sleeve, which is funny, since I rarely ever where long sleeves. But I’ll save those for when Southern Bones is closer to being released.

For the record, the stories that have been previously published that end up in Southern Bones will be reworked and probably overhauled before appearing in the e-book. In some cases, that complete rewriting will lead to much better stories.

Stay tuned. More updates as I go through the process of selecting stories and putting the collection together.

For now, I’m going to remind folks about Along the Splintered Path. This three story e-collection was released in January by Dark Continents Publishing and can be found at Amazon here.

Pick up a copy, give it a read. If you have, please leave a review. It is much appreciated by me and all the voices in my head, including Herbie.

Right now there are no stars in my eyes. Only reality. There are things I want to accomplish in this business. In order to do so I have to think reasonably and I have to get more work out there. I’ve always told folks, the only way to get better at something is to work at it. The same goes with sells of anything. If you want it to do well, you have to put it out there.

That’s part of the plan, at least for now.

Until we meet again, my friends…

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Posted on by ajbrown

Along the Splintered Path–Free?

Just a quick note today:

My three story collection, Along the Splintered Path, is currently free at Amazon (and will be for the next five days). If you have wanted to pick it up, but haven’t been able to afford it–trust me, I know how money is tight these days–then now is your chance to get it free.

No money down.

No money later.

No money period.

So… browse on over to Amazon and get your copy of Along the Splintered Path.

Did I say it was free?

Yup, it is.

Check it out here: Along the Splintered Path

I have a favor to ask of all you fine readers. If you wouldn’t mind hitting that ‘Like’ button on the Amazon page, I would appreciate it. I recently heard that ‘Likes’ and reviews help you get better backing and a better push from Amazon. I don’t know how true that is, but it can’t hurt, right?

Also, if you have the time and the desire, would you mind leaving a review? Again, I would greatly appreciate it.

Just in case you haven’t heard, Along the Splintered Path is currently free at Amazon.

Don’t walk.

Don’t run.

Just browse over to Amazon and pick up a copy.

Thank you, very much, for your support and I hope you enjoy the read.

Until we meet again, my friends…

Posted on by ajbrown · 2 Comments

Where Did That Come From?

As a writer, I like when someone comments about one of my stories. I also like when I make someone wonder about me.

One day last week, a young lady that works for the same firm I do was getting on the elevator with her friend. I got on behind them. Normally (like there is really anything normal about anything I do anymore) I would joke around with them and tell some tale about elevator etiquette. Before I could do so, the young lady–we’ll call her V–said to me:

“Can I ask you a question?”

In my experience when a female ask that question, I am either a) in trouble or b) about to be in trouble.

“Sure. I may not have an answer, but I’ll try.”

She scrunched up her nose and her upper lip curled up on one side. It was a really good Rocky impersonation. “Where did that dark side come from?”

I knew what she was talking about, but I tried to play dumb, which for me isn’t that hard and it’s really not an act.

“What are you talking about?”

She shook her head. “Come on. The book.”

“Ohhhhhhh… yeah, I’ve always been like that.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. I’ve always liked the darker things.”

And that’s the thing: I work with people every day. Most of them have no clue I’m a writer. For the most part, I keep the two separated, simply because I write horror and a lot of people view horror writers as twisted, demented people who should be locked up in cages in someone’s basement. Oh wait. That’s not right, but they do think we’re twisted and demented–how else could we come up with the subjects we write about?

The answer to that last question is… ummm… real life gives us most of our subject matter, but that’s for another day.

The point is: most of the people I work with know me as a nice, helpful person (for the most part. Sometimes the niceness goes right out the window and I revert to my normal persona). So, when they read something I’ve written, it opens their eyes… or maybe it scares them a little. A few even view me differently now.

I’m okay with that.

V said, “I was reading and saying, oh… oh my…”

What V was referring to is my short story collection, Along the Splintered Path, three stories about splintered lives. She mentioned the second story in the book, ‘Round These Bones. She said it was disturbing.

There you go. I succeeded at my job. The story was intended to be disturbing and if I managed to make one person feel that way, then it was a job well done.

As writers, that’s what we want. We want to hear from people. We want to know that something we wrote did what it was supposed to do. We want to know that the readers enjoy the stories and we want to know when it made them cry or if it made them angry or sick to their stomach or even made them smile.

I’m happy with V’s feelings on the book. It did what it was meant to do.

If you would like to check out Along the Splintered Path, just go here.

I would love to hear your thoughts on it. Pick it up. Leave a review. Writers really do want to hear from the readers. It helps us figure out what we are doing right and it helps us to know what needs to be fixed.

If you pick up the book, maybe you’ll look like this person (her name is Gina and yes, this was used with permission) while you’re reading it.

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I thank you, now, for reading, not only Along the Splintered Path, but also Type AJ Negative.

Read on and your thoughts are always welcome.

Until we meet again, my friends…