About five pages

I don’t feel like I’ve been overly productive with the hours I get, but I think I have it figured out. I started off with Percy the Space Chimp and finished a chapter.

Then I jumped to my solo title and started a new chapter. I wound up with one page, but all total it comes to about five. It isn’t a horrible volume, but is spread between two titles.

I’ve been virtually off for months and am having a hard time getting started once more. This time, I think I have an answer.

Beginnings are tough. When I picked up the keyboard once more I started two new stories. This is different than how I usually roll. Generally, I start a second story when the other one is about half to three-quarters finished.

Maybe you guys all start strong out of the gate, but that’s not been my experience. The early chapters are where most of the fences get built, then I have to live within them.

I honestly thought with Percy already having a book it would be simpler. This theory has not proven out.

Perhaps if I had started a Hat story instead it would make a difference. I have much more familiarity with those characters, but I doubt that would make a lot of difference.

I’m also starting to question why it matters to me. People who give my stories a chance seem to love them, but it isn’t like anyone is beating my door down for the next publication. I will get these finished on their own timetables. Joke’s on them; I won’t publish Percy’s first story until they’re all finished.

A big part of this is personal enjoyment, and I have that going for me. I’m going to focus there. I’m having a good time and that matters. I’ll enjoy the process and share them when they’re ready for the general public.

Tomorrow is for the yard. I have to spray the fruit trees and do some work with the chainsaw. There probably won’t be any writing time tomorrow.

Ah, Space

I closed my iPad and looked up at Lisa Burton, the robot girl. Her long legs stretched the length of the couch in my writing office.

She looked over the edge of her Vogue magazine. “Done already?”

“I think so. It’s taking me a long time to get back into the swing of things.”

“And is it swinging now?”

“I beg your pardon.”

She covered her mouth with her magazine. “Oh! Fake blush, sarcastic embarrassment. Is the-story-working?”

“I think so. I reached the end of the second chapter.”

“Kind of light by your standards.” She swung her feet to the floor and slipped them into her heels.

“Okay. I get it. I did some on Saturday, and a little more today. It feels good. Want to read it?”

“I already did. Robot girl, remember? What’s with all the relationship angst? Seems like you just got Percy and Buffer together and he’s being kind of a jerk.”

“He’s supposed to be a little bit crusty. Any derogatory term kind of sets him off, even if it isn’t directed at him. He’s a Space Chimp, Buffer used the term monkey against someone else. Get it?”

“Yeah, but I’m kind of shipping them.”

“Really? Why?”

“They aren’t exactly Beth and Rip, but they could be. If Percy were Beth and Buffer were Rip.”

“I have no idea what that means.”

“You really need to expand your horizons. Maybe something on the Hallmark Channel.”

“No. Not my style.”

“Well you created this mess. Readers are going to be feeling the same way.”

“Crap. That’s bad, right?”

“No. You’ve learned many things since I went to work here. Maybe this is one more lesson for your personal growth. They’re both broken people. The deck is stacked against them, and yet they persevere. They aren’t even the same species.”

“I covered that with his genetic build in book one. He’s got a large portion of human in him. I don’t see it as a problem.”

“It isn’t. It’s working, but what are you going to do with it?”

“No idea. Maybe a roller coaster of some kind, metaphorically. I was just excited to get him back into space. He’s showing kindness in mentoring a new pilot.”

“That’s why I think you’re on to something. He’s crusty, but he has his moments. She’s tough enough to put up with his crap, but she probably has to line him out once in a while.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll dwell on that during my commutes next week. I’m also worried about getting to some adventure PDQ.”

“You’re only two chapters in. You reintroduced the characters from the first book, had some drunken debauchery, had a fun bit with the girls picking on Leo. Percy is in space. Adventure will come.”

“Yeah, Percy is in space. Fun things happen when he’s back in space.”

Trying to shift gears

I’ve been realistically away from the keyboard since April. I managed to dabble here and there, but really haven’t gotten any quality time since then.

Last night I ordered all the interior graphics for the next book in The Hat Series. I’m having to financially parse this stuff out, but can’t release one of those without the little cartoons. They’re part of the shtick, and some of them lead to some fun gags. The series wouldn’t be the same without them. Which brings us to today.

I always try to have two books in progress at any given time. The one I dabbled at seemed to move ahead in fits and starts, and has a healthy start considering everything else I was doing. Today, I decided to look in on Percy the Space Chimp.

When I left this one, I only had half a chapter written. It’s the second book in a planned trilogy, so this part was dedicated to reminding readers who the characters are, and what they’re supposed to be doing. Might not be completely necessary, but I feel better doing some of that.

I wound up finishing the chapter, but it only came to eight pages. I try to get my chapters to be around ten, but it isn’t a hard rule. Some are longer or shorter as the story demands.

Book two is always challenging, because it’s where the bad guys win, or at least make massive progress on their agenda. My characters aren’t front-line soldiers by any means, and are kind of goofballs. They operate in the backwaters of the galaxy, but with more of a spy kind of mission.

There’s going to be a problem with them not personally witnessing the devastation that’s about to happen in the civilized portions of the galaxy. I’m really struggling with this. I feel like I’ve written myself into a corner in some ways. They can turn on the news or something, but it could be a structural problem with them not being present.

I keep telling myself they will make a difference by doing what they’ve been assigned. (Frodo never took part in the huge battles, but played an important role.) Death in a fighter isn’t the only way to serve, and their mission is important.

Their personal struggles are carrying me along right now. Two are disabled veterans, and have massive skills as warriors. They struggle with the viewpoint of what they are doing being somehow less. They’re older now, disabled, and probably wouldn’t be accepted back in the fleet anyway. This kind of thing is interesting, and some readers like those personal demons.

I managed to get through half of chapter two. It feels unworthy to me somehow. Old What’s Her Face has to work this weekend and it’s the first time I’ve had the house to myself in a long time. I should have accomplished more. Still, maybe that’s what it takes to get back in the swing of things.

I think I’ll have a coffee break then take another stab at it. If it isn’t working, I’ll look in on the other story for a while.

Next adventure

I’m writing this on a Thursday night. This is because I have to drive to Nevada after work tomorrow. I don’t want to be dark, because I’ve been moderately successful maintaining a Friday post.

I woke up this morning from a reasonable dream. I could actually hear the voices as a strange caller dialed in to Night Bump Radio. This one needs some time in the fermenter, but it should make a fun bit for a future Hat tale. I need to make it more absurd, then find a way to blame Lizzie and the hat for all of it, but it’s a glimmer of something. Lorelei, the Muse hasn’t completely abandoned me this Spring.

Nevada should be my last road trip for a few months. While I still have other things going on, this might allow me to get back to my works in progress. I’m seriously debating driving tomorrow in silence. That usually temps Lorelei to ride along.

My last promotional post went live Thursday morning. I don’t know how much more I can put out there without spoiling things for those who are interested. It’s been fun chatting with all of you about the new book, and I am moved by all the sharing and reblogging that you have done.

It’s time for Once Upon a Time in the West to stand on its own now. I don’t have any extra cash to put into promotion, but might mange something later this year for it. I could do a Fussy Librarian thing in a few months. We’ll see.

I am thrilled with all the reviews. It seems like those who took a chance have really enjoyed Mari’s story. It’s time to remind everyone that the cover in my sidebar is an active link. If you still need a copy, please click that cover. (Works on computers and iPads. If you’re on your phone it might look different.)

I will have a chance to check in on Saturday, so drop me a line or two. Mom and I will just be chatting, but it’s pretty simple to check on comments.

Miss Laura #newbook

It’s time to put a little more bait in the water to see if any readers will nibble. This is a promo post for “Once Upon a Time in the Swamp.” Along her journey, Mari comes across some unusual situations and characters. In another post, I alluded to some ghosts that haunt her dreams. This is her first encounter with Miss Laura who eventually visits her dreams. I’m not a huge fan of excerpts, but can’t deny they work. Let’s all meet Miss Laura.

***

I was covered in welts. Squeezing them produced pus, and about half ejected a sliver of palmetto. I prodded the gash in my leg for pieces of wood, but wound up retching from the pain. It was hard to decide where the white dog had the most value, inside or out. Wound up being a little of both.

The skeleton stared at me from across the table. Her sleeves were torn and rat bitten. Deep slices across the small bones of each arm told a story. The black stains on her dress made more sense. Her diary told the rest. Miss Laura fled the city when the riots started. She parked at a storage place, then brought the swamp buggy out with limited supplies. Her husband, Kemba, was supposed to bring his own buggy after looting for necessities. After a week she got worried. After two, she wondered about going back or waiting for him. After a month, well. The marks on her arms.

Miss Laura’s feet were missing entirely. The work of rodents, no doubt. I might be a decade or two off, but I hoped La Serpiente brought some justice to them.

“I had those same thoughts, Miss Laura. Wound up falling off a windmill for my efforts. I wasn’t even lucky enough to break my fool neck.” I pushed back from the table, replacing her diary where I’d found it. Maybe there was something here I could use.

***

I welcome all the sharing and help you can offer with this one. Even a simple tweet might help me reach a reader or two. This is as good a place as any to talk about Kindle Unlimited. This is a program that gives readers access to our books for free. The author still gets something out of it, but the consumer gets to read for free. If you’re interested in this story, you might want to check it out for free. Did I mention it’s free for those members?

Blurb: Mari and her husband opted for a simple life as farmers. It’s been decades since the world tore itself apart, pitting neighbor against neighbor and family against each other. They were happy in this re-emerging world, until disaster struck.

Mari sets out on a solo quest to avenge the deaths of her family and loss of everything she holds dear. She’s ill equipped for the task, but seems to have time on her hands. Time alone in the wilderness to deal with her personal demons along the way.

She is helped by a few sympathetic elders and a couple of animal companions with lessons Mari can use if she pays attention. Can Mari find justice for her family?

Set in a post apocalyptic, Gulf Coast world, this is a story for fans of the old Spaghetti Westerns.

Get your copy right here https://mybook.to/OnceUponTimeSwamp

Decay as Setting #newbook

Hi, gang. Thanks for joining me for yet another promo post about “Once Upon a Time in the Swamp.” While these are completely promotional, I also want them to be interesting. A large percentage of my readers are authors, and maybe some of this can inspire your next tale.

The post apocalyptic Gulf Coast was kind of a stickpin for me. What would a failed world look like after decades? I put my effort into this, and came up with forest fires, hurricanes, rust, and more. I added earthquakes into the mix as a result of nuclear warfare that happened before this story opens.

As Mari wanders in the swampland, she spends the night in a burned out old military helicopter. She has to cross crumbling bridges, and there are odd buildings that have been repurposed by a new civilization. One example is a restaurant that is sited in a former medical clinic.

One of her friends and mentors lives in an old country gas station. During an extreme storm event they have to flee to a dilapidated concrete potato cellar.

Mari wanders to sites both real and made up. It’s a work of fiction, so I renamed a few towns based upon the people that took them over. I kept enough that someone could actually follow her journey on a map.

One of those places is a real NASA facility. It’s overgrown and crumbled now. Another one is a dinosaur park. You may have seen something similar. There is a good one along the Oregon coast that I used for inspiration. They have fiberglass full sized dinosaurs back in the forest. It was kind of fun, because Mari has no idea what they are or were.

I’m not above coming up with my own stuff, and I did in this story. Imagining the state of decay after we lose power grids, automobiles, and a lot of lives, enhanced the world Mari lives in.

This world isn’t the main part of the story, but it serves an important purpose. As Mari wanders, she reveals tidbits about what happened in the previous world. I always enjoy reading that, and assumed there are other weirdos out there like me.

If you are, or would like to be, one of those weirdos, I have a story for you to read. Tell your friends, share with your covens, drop a link at your various secret societies. I would appreciate it, and they might, too.

***

Blurb: Mari and her husband opted for a simple life as farmers. It’s been decades since the world tore itself apart, pitting neighbor against neighbor and family against each other. They were happy in this re-emerging world, until disaster struck.

Mari sets out on a solo quest to avenge the deaths of her family and loss of everything she holds dear. She’s ill equipped for the task, but seems to have time on her hands. Time alone in the wilderness to deal with her personal demons along the way.

She is helped by a few sympathetic elders and a couple of animal companions with lessons Mari can use if she pays attention. Can Mari find justice for her family?

Set in a post apocalyptic, Gulf Coast world, this is a story for fans of the old Spaghetti Westerns.

Get your copy right here https://mybook.to/OnceUponTimeSwamp

Book Review

Noelle has generously shared her review of Once Upon a Time in the Swamp, this morning. I’m spending my day flying from Savannah to Boise, and thought some of you might enjoy it. I’ll check comments when I get home today.

In an homage to spaghetti westerns such as Once Upon a Time in the West, Craig Boyack has created a rollicking, rolling, and compelling adventure in a post-apocalyptic American Gulf Coast world. I read it in one day, enjoying every morsel.

Mari and her husband and young son enjoy a simple life as tobacco farmers, in a world that was torn apart by what appears to be a nuclear war – one which destroyed civilization, leaving only pockets of humanity here and there. One day when Mari is out hunting a turkey, raiders visit their farm and murder her husband and child, ransacking the house and killing one of their bulls. When Mari returns, her world is done. When the local sheriff has bigger fish to fry than find the killers, she buries her family and decides that her future is to seek revenge on the men that cost her everything. She’s not particularly suited for this adventure, but she packs up everything she thinks she will need in a one-axle cart made from the bed of red Chevy Silverado and hitches up her remaining ox to the buggy shafts. Dirt, the ox, is a major character in the story and with his six foot horn span and recalcitrant nature, the reader has to love him.

Keep reading here https://saylingaway.com/2023/05/11/book-review-once-upon-a-time-in-the-swamp-by-c-s-boyack-virgilante-dystopian-spaghetti-western-high-adventure/?unapproved=13039&moderation-hash=072b2682547420fbc80b648d38310aa6#comment-13039

Post Apocalyptic #newbook

Time for another post about “Once Upon a Time in the Swamp.” This time I want to give you some insight into the Post Apocalyptic part of this story. This is a peek behind the scenes of this tale.

At the time I started writing this one, America was in the process of tearing herself to shreds. People were protesting everything from vaccines to elections. We tore down public monuments and went on a tirade of rewriting history. Entire sections of some cities were occupied by those who would defund the police. It was a grim time and it hasn’t improved all that much.

Obviously, this had some influence on me, and I took it out on this story. I projected what was happening into the future, and amped it up a little. It all started as special interest groups throwing tantrums. This accelerated to a point of police involvement, followed shortly by National Guard involvement. Groups paired up until we had dozens of small armies fighting each other all over the continent.

I was kind of happy with one section where a character talks about other countries sending “advisors” to America. This is a thinly veiled concept of getting military boots on the ground, and we pioneered it here. It was fun to look at other countries doing the same thing to us.

Ultimately, this led to global warfare and damned near destroyed us all. As readers you will get glimpses of this from comments the elderly make along Mari’s journey. Mari wasn’t born when all this went down.

Mari’s world is one of foraging, scrounging for things to sell, and I even came up with an odd form of currency to use. Weapons are expensive, and she doesn’t have anything suitable for her task. When she finally finds one, it’s what she can afford and nothing like a modern assault weapon.

I hope you’re all enjoying this look behind the scenes, and I think those who take a chance on the book are going to have a good time. I welcome any social media sharing, reblogs, or word of mouth you can pass along on my behalf.

Blurb: Mari and her husband opted for a simple life as farmers. It’s been decades since the world tore itself apart, pitting neighbor against neighbor and family against each other. They were happy in this re-emerging world, until disaster struck.

Mari sets out on a solo quest to avenge the deaths of her family and loss of everything she holds dear. She’s ill equipped for the task, but seems to have time on her hands. Time alone in the wilderness to deal with her personal demons along the way.

She is helped by a few sympathetic elders and a couple of animal companions with lessons Mari can use if she pays attention. Can Mari find justice for her family?

Set in a post apocalyptic, Gulf Coast world, this is a story for fans of the old Spaghetti Westerns.

Get your copy right here https://mybook.to/OnceUponTimeSwamp

Why First Person? #newbook

Hi, gang. It’s time for another promo for my newest book, “Once Upon a Time in the Swamp.” I’m trying to give everyone some behind the scenes looks at the creation of the story. I think those make better posts than the old cover and blurb only. It also gains me a few comments and I love interacting with you guys. Today’s topic is first person point of view.

One of the first things an author has to decide is how to present the story to readers. I’ve used about every method you can imagine, even second person for some of the entries in “The Enhanced League.” I always really liked first person, but it has a couple of annoying things we all have to accept. Writing this way leads to a lot of repetition of the words “I, me, my, mine, etc.” Once you wrap your mind around that, the story just flows.

This is Mari’s story, and she spends a lot of her time completely alone. That was the deciding factor for me. First person allows me to get inside her head and stay there. It isn’t the only option, I could have gone for third person with a lot of internal dialog and it might have worked. I like the first person POV and it’s not the first time I’ve used it.

Writing this way allows Mari to relay her story directly to the reader. It’s a little more intimate. I’m not big on excerpts, but here is an example I liked from the story. For context, Mari has just been injured and is taking it out on her ox.

***

“You son-of-a-bitch! What were you thinking? I saw it, too. It was a bobcat. A bobcat! What? Was he going to eat you? You take a bigger shit than that.” I went around the stopper trees to yell at him some more.

He let out the most mournful bawl I’d ever heard an animal make. That’s when it hit me. Dirt was what’s known as the “off” ox. Sunshine decided when to eat, roll in the grass, when to go to water, and when to be frightened. I wasn’t the only one who’d lost everything that day.

He stared at me down the length of his nose with his eyes flashing white. I tentatively ducked under those horns, then hugged him around the neck. “It’s okay, amigo,” I whispered. “We’ll have to look out for each other. I’m here for you now.”

He leaned into me and nearly crushed me between his horn and shoulder. When I managed to slip out, I saw blood for the first time.

***

I enjoyed Mari’s little epiphany with the oxen. He lost his entire family, too. Readers get to be in the moment a bit more with this point of view. Having Mari talk to a dumb animal feels completely natural, and I talk to animals just like she does.

If you’ve been tempted to check this story out, I’ll put all the important information down below. I’d appreciate any help you can offer in spreading the word. Social media posts, reblogs, word of mouth, even just a mention on your own sites.

Blurb: Mari and her husband opted for a simple life as farmers. It’s been decades since the world tore itself apart, pitting neighbor against neighbor and family against each other. They were happy in this re-emerging world, until disaster struck.

Mari sets out on a solo quest to avenge the deaths of her family and loss of everything she holds dear. She’s ill equipped for the task, but seems to have time on her hands. Time alone in the wilderness to deal with her personal demons along the way.

She is helped by a few sympathetic elders and a couple of animal companions with lessons Mari can use if she pays attention. Can Mari find justice for her family?

Set in a post apocalyptic, Gulf Coast world, this is a story for fans of the old Spaghetti Westerns.

Get your copy right here https://mybook.to/OnceUponTimeSwamp

Mentors, animals, and ghosts #Newbook

Welcome to another post about “Once Upon a Time in the Swamp.” These are promotional in nature, but I want to make each of them unique. Today, we’re going to talk about mentors, animals, and ghosts.

Mari and her husband were tobacco farmers before the first chapter. It was a good life and they were making something for themselves and their young son. At one time she and her husband needed draft animals to help with the work.

Mari’s husband told her all a farm needs is sunshine and dirt. When they sold their crop, they went to the auction, but could not afford all the horses and mules. They wound up with a pair of young steers that would become oxen when they completed their second year. They named the pair Sunshine and Dirt.

Poor Sunshine is one of the tragedies in the first chapter, Leaving Mari with Dirt. Dirt was the “off” oxen of the pair and never was as level-headed as Sunshine. If anything, he’s downright dangerous. This cantankerous animal becomes Mari’s primary source of travel. He’s a ton of hooves, horns, and snot with a bad attitude to be wary of.

There is another fun animal in the tale named Worthless. She is a gangly pup of a Black & Tan Coonhound. Worthless is as sweet as she can be and provides something for Mari to hang on to. She becomes like a second child, and offers some bright spots to a dismal situation.

Mari needs to acquire a few skills to pull off her mission. This comes in the form of some veterans of the previous war. One is a female recluse who saves Mari’s life after yet another tragedy. Kelilah was a scout, and her regimental badge is a huge knife known as an Arkansas Toothpick. She trains Mari in its use and gives her one from her personal collection.

She also comes across a trader named Vance Dunham. His store has many handguns and longer weapons, but Mari is priced out of that market. He consents to sell her an older revolver and more importantly trains her in how to use it. The deck is stacked against her when all her enemies have semi-automatic weapons, but it’s the best she can do.

If you’re getting the idea I was unkind to Mari, you’re right. This character has to face some huge obstacles along the way. She doesn’t always fare well, and this has an effect upon her. She’s haunted by some creepy and crazy dreams. These are filled with dead people, a skeleton, and one creepy rattlesnake she refers to as La Serpiente, who talks to her.

Towards the end, Mari is on her last nerve. There isn’t much left but her drive to avenge her family.

If this sounds like a story you’d like to dive into, I would appreciate the opportunity. Tell your friends, share the post on social media, tell your enemies if they’ll drop a couple of bucks on a copy.

Blurb: Mari and her husband opted for a simple life as farmers. It’s been decades since the world tore itself apart, pitting neighbor against neighbor and family against each other. They were happy in this re-emerging world, until disaster struck.

Mari sets out on a solo quest to avenge the deaths of her family and loss of everything she holds dear. She’s ill equipped for the task, but seems to have time on her hands. Time alone in the wilderness to deal with her personal demons along the way.

She is helped by a few sympathetic elders and a couple of animal companions with lessons Mari can use if she pays attention. Can Mari find justice for her family?

Set in a post apocalyptic, Gulf Coast world, this is a story for fans of the old Spaghetti Westerns.

Get your copy right here https://mybook.to/OnceUponTimeSwamp