Works in progress (January 2021 update)

Last month I posted about current works in progress and where they stood, word count wise. Instead of copy/pasting every project I talked about in the previous installment, I am only going to spotlight the projects I actually worked on since last month.

First up is Casanova Curbstomp. In the last update, this project sat at 56,000 words. As of right now, the first draft is completed at 77,000 words. I actually finished it on New Year’s Eve. It’s currently being read by my manager and several beta readers, then I will go back through it and adjust as I deem necessary. After that…I am not sure. There’s a specific small press I’d like to send it to. But also maybe this is the book I should start sending to agents. It’s a comedy crime novel about Internet porn addiction. If you’re an agent and that sounds cool to you, hit me up.

With Casanova Curbstomp out of the way, I’ve been focusing most of my novel attention on Maggots Screaming! (The exclamation mark is part of the title.) Last month the word count sat at 25,000. Earlier tonight I hit 30,000. Last month I also anticipated the total word count would clock in at around 65,000, but after figuring a couple upcoming plot issues out, I now realize I’ve greatly underestimated the word count. It will probably be closer to 80,000 by the time it’s finished. My goal is to finish the first draft by the end of March. I’m really happy with how this one is coming. I wrote the first 15,000 words while in Detroit filming the adaptation for We Need to Do Something, and I think the immense happiness I was experiencing during that month has definitely continued into the rest of the manuscript. I’m just having a goddamn blast writing something that’s pure, unapologetic body horror.

Other things I’m working on right now, which I can’t get into very much detail on due to reasons: rewrites on a script for another one of my previously published novels; a proposal package for a book I recently pitched to an extremely cool audio company; a secret non-fiction book for Cemetery Dance; and several novelettes for Cemetery Dance for their “Be a Star” program.

Plus, ya know, a ton of freelance non-fiction. Speaking of which, here are my two most recent online publications…

On LitReactor I published an article about my recent plunge into being a full-time writer. I provided some context for why I made the decision to leave my terrible hotel job and also offered some (hopefully) handy advice for anybody considering doing the same thing. Read the article here.

Related to the previous article, I also wrote a lengthy essay for Film-14 about how I managed to get a film adaptation made for my novella, We Need to Do Something. If you were puzzled how some jerk like myself currently has a movie in post-production, then this article should help clear most of your confusion. Read the article here.

I think that pretty much covers everything. Unless you want to get into what I’ve been editing–in which case, the latest issue of my horror magazine, Dark Moon Digest, just dropped. Go treat yourself to some spooky horror fiction.

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