Most likely, none of those things are going to happen, but they are still fun to think about.

It all started in the shower. I had been wanting to write a ghost story for a long time, but I just couldn’t think of anything creepy enough. Finally, in the shower, a plot idea came into my head. Exploded, might be the word. In fact, I had all the basic plot lines down in about five minutes.

I wish all my showers could be that productive.

I wrote the first draft of the book in about three months and then set it free on my writer’s group. They offered some great suggestions and then I had to set about rewriting it.

That process actually took me longer than the initial draft. I worked on it as I attended summer training for my new job as a campus minister. Every night, I set with my manuscripts and rewrote. Rewrote and Rewrote. Then rewrote some more.

Finally, I got the story into shape and started sending it out to agents. Nothing. No interest. I tried rewriting my query letter. Nothing. I did this for about seven months. I entered it into Amazon’s novel contest and didn’t even make it past the first round.

Then, some friends of mine met a marketing rep for a publishing company out of Minnesota. I sent her the manuscript and she sent it to her boss. He called me in September and expressed interest. However, he had a lot of submissions, so it was going to take some time.

The rest of the story is already known.

So, all you writers out there, keep at it. You never know how it might happen whether through a query letter to an agent or through a friend of a friend who knows someone.

It’s time to put this blog back into action. As many of you know, Brio Publishing has just agreed to publish the Bone Conjurors. So, in the weeks upcoming, I’ll blog about the process and all that. I’m really excited about it. It’s been a long hard road. Later today I’ll publish some reflections on writing this novel.

Bleakly,

J-

Writing and wanting to get published is hard. Very hard. Writers almost treat their work as their children and rejections hurt. Writing is long, tiring work. And, you get the pitying looks from people when you tell them, “so i have this novel I’m trying to publish”.

So, when I got the above from the publisher last night, it sent me into imagination overdrive. I’m nervous. Excited. Trying not to be hopeful, so I won’t get disappointed.

But, I can’t help it. There are four things I have wanted to do in this world. One: Follow Jesus. Trying. Two: Get married to a wonderful lady. Check. Three: Have great kids. Check. Four: Get a book published….

Waiting.

I have decided to put the sequel to “The Bone Conjurors” aside until I can actually get the thing published.

A new, well, sort of new, idea has really grabbed me. I have always wanted to write about the struggle of an American college student in the our culture.

So, with my usual blend of weirdness, love for long car trips, and listening to Coast to Coast AM, The Ramblin’ Road to Roswell is starting to take shape in my head.

Here is a video to get you all excited.

I took a deep breath and threw my legs over the rail landing with a soft thud on the hard rock. I could still feel the air moving around me, rushing towards the small wooden stake in front of me. Flies buzzed around the stick as if drawn by an invisible force. I couldn’t figure out what would be attracting the flies. The magic? Possibly.

            I reached down, breathed a prayer and yanked out the stake. The rush of air around me ceased and I relaxed.

            “Hurry Aidan. Bring me the totem.”

            I walked over to him and could feel the stickiness of the black paint on my hand. I looked down and realized the color of paint was a dark red.

            I knew then it wasn’t paint, but blood.

Want to know what it’s about? Try this on for size. Men in Black (or dark red). The Nothing Man. The Bell Witch. Salem, Massachussets. The Book of Hosea.

It’s called “The River of Fire.”

It has remained dormant for so long, because it was a first work. The story is good, but the writing is, well, mixed at best. I have tried to rework it and rethink the story. Nothing has really worked until I hit on the idea it might make a great graphic novel.

The story is about a shapeshifter named Archibald who turns out to be from the world underneath ours. He is here as an exile and is guarding the last king of his world. He has to figure out how to get the boy back (the kid doesn’t want to go), and fight the evil that has taken root in his own heart.

It combines a lot of things I have interests in, such as: Native American mythology, American mythology, both present day (the Mothman and so on) with colonial legends.

I’m talking to artists about how to move forward, as I can’t draw to save my life. I’m excited about this, because this book is what really hooked me into writing in the first place. It’s my first love, and I was sad when I didn’t write it very well.

Still waiting on publisher reaction for the Bone Conjurors. 

J-

I have to be honest, they have no appeal for me. But, stories about monsters, ghosts, and (maybe) zombies do.

Why? Why would a pastor with a job in campus ministry want to write about things like this? Aren’t those things silly, trivial, and a waste of time? I suppose you could make a good argument for this way of thinking if you are thinking of silly B rated movies that used to be on Mystery Science Theater. But, I hope you look deeper. I hope you realize the world of Paranormal literature, if used rightly, can reflect our world much better than some of the modern and postmodern novels that get shoved on us as good literature. And really, if you think about it, all of the stories that have stuck around for a long time (the works of Shakespeare and Homer come to mind) contain paranormal elements which have challenged us for hundreds of years.

It’s because these stories remind us that reality is not just what we see in our daily world. Paranormal stories can distrub us in ways no other stories can, because they challenge our naturalistic view of the world. They raise their fist at the very notion that our five senses can fully grasp the reality around us. And, if done very well, as in the works of Charles Williams, they can make us aware of the darkness of our own hearts.

So, I may never be able to walk the state to get a pulitzer prize. But, maybe, I can disturb your sleep a few nights…

J-

And for me, my mind misbehaves most because I live in the Midwest. Everyone thinks of us as “flyover” country, the rust belt (more Ohio, Western PA and Michigan), a part of the country that is boring, best forgot. But as you will see in my posts, the Midwest is brimming with the weird and unusual for the potential writer.

And that’s certain true for my second novel, The Bone Conjurors. The ideas for this book started to come together when I visited a little known cemetary in Columbus known as the Camp Chase Civil War cemetery. Most people in Columbus don’t even know it exists, even people who have lived here for a long time. It’s a shame because it’s a truly interesting place to visit, not to mention a bit spooky and weird. So, history, plus spookiness equals a place near and dear to my heart.

During the Civil War, Columbus was a major hub for all kinds of big names, Salmon P Chase and Abraham Lincoln to name a few. But, it was also a major training ground for Union Soldiers during the Civil War, which took place at Camp Chase.

As the war progressed, the need to hold Confederate prisoners grew and Camp Chase became a huge confederate prison. The conditions in these places where horrific, with open sewers running through the middle of the camp, wide spread deadly illness, and of course, the cold of North Central Ohio, which must have felt like Dante’s lowest circle of hell to soldiers from the warm South.

All that’s left from this prison is the cemetery, which holds over 2000 Confederate soldiers. There is also a great ghost story that goes along with it, known as the story of the Grey Lady. So, follow the link and learn more about the cemetery!

http://www.forgottenoh.com/Cemeteries/campchase.html