An update,

It's been a little while since I've posted an update on my progress with Stay the Course and, although I'm not sure anyone is reading this, I figure it's still deserved. I've added a prologue and have just about finished work on 2 chapters. I'm beginning to get back into the groove of writing, but the time management is still eluding me. Once I can get myself to work with a set writing schedule, the composition of this novel should move along rather smoothly.

Change of Plans

A decent amount of personal deliberation has led me to the conclusion that I need to focus all my creative energies on expounding upon my short story Stay the Course and turning it into a full length novel. Given the subject matter and its relevance to somewhat recent world events, I feel it would be best for this to be my first published novel. The story is one that I feel needs to be told & one that I've heard nothing but good things about; though I've tried desperately to hear the bad as progression in any skill is impossible without some sort of criticism.

I'm only in the 1st chapter of the novel, but once I'm able to get in the groove of writing, I expect things to move along swiftly. Hopefully, by this time next year, I'm able to post about my efforts in finding an agent. A synopsis for the novel will follow shortly.

As for Blood Money, it will be put on the back burner for now, but I will get back into making it a masterpiece in its own right as soon as STC is completed.

Personal bias aside, each of these novels has the ability to sell well. However, the story itself is much more important to me than the greenbacks it can produce. I've read many great novels during my lifetime, from Faulkner to Hemingway, and it's my hope that I can one day write something that people decades from now consider a classic. I believe STC can be that story.

The heart of a warrior

Also on my plate is a project I've contemplated tackling since I took Advanced Poetry Writing during my junior year at FGCU. The basic idea is a book composed entirely of haiku and tanka. It will follow a samurai during a small part in his life as he is thrust into a war whose ideals he doesn't agree with. It will be very tough to write since there are strict syllable limits on each; but it will, hopefully, make it that much better when the final draft is complete. I haven't decided on a title yet, but it will be between either Warrior or Bushido; both of which are appropriate.

Roses are red...

The chapbook I alluded to is one that is essentially complete. However, according to the Poet's Market, it is typically a good idea to send out some of your work to related literary publications in an effort to have it published and seen, not only by the people that may one day buy your chapbook, but by publishers and agents as well.

I've compiled a spreadsheet of the publications I intend to send my work to and will post here once I send it out as well as once I hear something. The title of the chapbook is Sweet Injection and covers a variety of topics from life questions to romance to death.

Novel Numero Uno

The aforementioned novel is entitled Blood Money and is the story of Brad Johnson, a Florida Law Enforcement Agency special agent, who takes on a black ops mission with the sole purpose of taking down the Franchetti crime syndicate from within the organization. To do this, he undergoes extensive physical and mental alterations to assume the life of a man named Nick Salerno, the son of a couple murdered under the direction of Franchetti himself.

Once given the opportunity to prove himself, Salerno quickly removes any doubt of his abilities by pulling a murdering a few people for the syndicate. However, wild dreams plague his daily life and give him a glimpse of the life of a man he doesn't know but, oddly enough, recognizes. With detectives in the Miami-Dade Police Department hot on his tail, Salerno draws closer to avenging the deaths of his parents, a vendetta that is more of a duty than he realizes.

There are 4 chapters completed, and the rest will follow soon. I'm anticipating around 300 pages once the final draft is ready.

Origins

If anyone out there's reading this, the blog you're currently viewing is here to serve as a chronicle of my literary career. To date, I've had poetry and prose published in the Mangrove Review as well as sports stories in the Eagle News newspaper. While it's nothing to write home about, I'm hoping that all changes soon as I'll be working diligently over the coming months to not only complete my first novel, but convince an agent to represent my work.

The goal is to have the novel finished by summer's end and an agent by year's end. I'll also be sending out some of my poetry to various literary publication in the hopes of getting my work noticed by the same people that will, hopefully, pick up a copy of my chapbook if its ever published.

From time to time, I'll post snippets of my work on here for all to see and give me feedback on. Have fun looking around here, though there's not much to see right now.