99 cent sale

  Stealing the Wrong Identity is on sale for 99 cents until Saturday. Link in right column.

#5 gets 5 stars

First review, one I like a lot. Very thoughtful.

I am not the intended audience for Deemer's books - I'm an avid reader who enjoys the depth and development of the novels I read. The short, clipped passages here are somewhat frustrating for me. In a way, EMIL'S LAST ADVENTURE reads like the treatment for a movie (Deemer is a professor of screenwriting, after all), leaving me wanting much more. But in another way, I appreciate what Deemer is able to do in just a few pages, and there's no doubt his characters come alive for the reader in just a few words.

Two things I will remember most about EMIL'S LAST ADVENTURE: 1) the Goosenecks of San Juan River, in Utah (I had never even heard of them before reading this, but the images I found on Google were so breathtaking I'm determined to make the trip!), and 2) "Song of the Turkey Buzzard," by poet Lew Welch ("Not the bronze casket but the brazen wing, soaring forever above thee, o perfect, o sweetest water, o glorious wheeling bird"). This is a satisfying and thought-provoking story that is definitely worth a read.

 Also a new 4 star review for #1.

#6

  Good progress today. May be released next week.

#4 gets 5 stars

  First review.

  Refugee #3 got 3 stars from reviewer who wanted traditional prose.

Paperback

 Publishing hard copy of #5, Emil's Last Adventure, to give as gift to a few friends. Proof arrived today. Looks good, as slim as a book of poems. My signature story.

Amazon plug

  Yesterday A. featured Whistleblower, which topped a list of recommended mystery/thriller/suspense books. A first.

Emil's Last Adventure

Officially published. Link in right column.

#5 released tomorrow

Should happen.

Interesting development

Reviewer below removed the 4 star review and replaced it with a 5.

Cravings gets first review

4 stars, "funny, bloody and unique." I'll take it.

Looking ahead

Check out the Future Stories in the right hand column ... we have no less than eight lined up for publication! Hopefully about one a month.

Next up

 Working on first by another author, Saudi Portlandia (present title, which I'm not wild  about), which will be #5 or 6, much harder to prepare than my own stories. My next story will be the first drama in the series.

Early kudos

From the early reviews ...

"This hybrid between novella and screenwriting is fantastic ... a groundbreaking new form of narrative"

"I loved Charles' writing and recommend this as a quick fun read"

"will keep you glued to the pages"

"original, fast-paced story ... a different kind of reading experience"

If we can keep this going, we may be in business.

Another 5 stars for Roswell

 See review at Amazon.

Release day

Overdrive 4, Stealing the Wrong Identity, was published today and is available for purchase. Link in right column.

#4 close

  Finished the grunt work on #4, now called Stealing the Wrong Identity. Might be ready by end of week.

The Writing Life II: First rate reviewer

The Writing Life II: First rate reviewer:

This is the most encouraging news yet because it suggests young readers in their 20s could really get behind this.

This woman has old school manners, which I appreciate. She could have posted her negative review and brought down the Amazon average forever. Instead she writes me personally with suggestions how to turn it into a, well, novelization. I respond that I dismissed that alternative because I am up to something very different. I told her what and why. She was curious enough to pass Whistleblower on to her three grown sons. All of whom loved it! "All the boring stuff is taken out!" What in screenwriting we call clutter. The meat and potatoes of the true novelist. The triumph of story over rhetoric, which is what a screenplay ends up being in the final analysis.

I am encouraged by this development. Meanwhile, the marathon, one foot after the other ... and we'll see what happens.

The Writing Life II: How I got a blank book to the top of the Amazon charts | The Passive Voice |

The Writing Life II: How I got a blank book to the top of the Amazon charts | The Passive Voice |:

Talk about the importance of marketing over content today! Sad but true.

5 stars for Roswell

"...keeps you glued to the page..."

Next three

I've chosen my next three titles, including the first by another author, a former grad student of mine, her Masters thesis script. More later.