Category: Creativity

First Draft of The Matriarch III is Complete! #amwriting

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Creativity, Existentialism, Horrificus, Literarian, Paranormal2 Comments

TheMatriarch3WorkingTitleLogoSmall58,800 words written in 48 days completes the first draft of this third book (out of a planned four-book series). Now it’s time for a well-earned step away, letting the words settle on the page for a bit before trading “good enough for now” up to “as near to perfect as any mere mortal can hope to be.”

Like the first two novels, I have strived to infuse as many human elements as possible into this vampire story. There are plenty of individual elements, but to bring the adventure to life, the risks and the rewards, you must also show love, hate, fear, surprise, betrayal, jealousy, and all the rest. Plot is what happens to our characters; story is how it affects them.

Coming soon: the official title, the actual cover, chapter teasers, and the publication date! As always, there is plenty more information and other goodies at Cedarcrest Sanctum.

I cannot wait to show you what I’ve been working on!

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Much Ado About Vampires: Writing The Matriarch III

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Creativity, Existentialism, Horrificus, Internet, Literarian, Paranormal2 Comments

Whether you love or hate the Bard…or vampires.

TheMatriarch3WorkingTitleLogoSmallWhen I expanded my stand-alone vampire novel into a book series, it required me to re-envision the first novel as “part one” to create a story progression (don’t you hate when a great story falls apart at the end?) I tried to think of The Matriarch as a trilogy, but it was going to take four books to get to the ending I wanted and wrap everything up with a bow.

This meant each self-contained novel – intended to be enjoyable unto itself – had to seed the entire arc to show the main character progression, especially in her capabilities and the challenges she would have to overcome. Those knowing the story line of my current work in progress, the untitled third, have dubbed it “Shakespearean” in reference to characters withholding critical information that escalates the situation. The Matriarch: Guardians did this, too, but to a much smaller degree.

It’s a classic and flexible trope: if Boy-X would have just told Girl-Y about Suitor-3, Villain-Z wouldn’t have tried to kill Girl-Y over the perceived slight from Boy-X. Then there’s my favorite: the character who knows everybody’s secrets but keeps them to manipulate others and/or just enjoy the show. If we would all just learn to talk to one another, we wouldn’t have to go around threatening to kill everyone…I know, I know: where’s the fun in that?

The first draft of The Matriarch III is nearly complete! I credit Linda S. Cowden with the title of this post; I love my wife!

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Novel Writing – My Process: Motivation

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Creativity, Internet, Literarian1 Comment

TheMatriarch3WorkingTitleLogoSmallNovelist Tim Waggoner was asked by one of his creative writing students for tips on “how to stay motivated to write.” I offered this suggestion:

On the subject of motivation in writing (when you can’t seem to get it done), I try to boost stimuli: read, walk, travel, explore, and above all TAKE NOTES. Being a writer means you’re always thinking about how to describe something, do something, or how things happen. And when you’re neck-deep in a project, you never know what little tidbit will solve that problem you’re working through. Don’t be afraid to step away from the pencil or keyboard and let your imagination be inspired.

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Novel Writing – My Process: Plotting

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Creativity, Existentialism, Literarian1 Comment

BookhouseIn a discussion of Stephen King’s book On Writing, he claims he doesn’t see the value in plotting. This is what I had to say on the subject on the eve of the 2014 NaNoWriMo:

Whenever I write a short story, I often envision it as a single scene or chapter with a single point of view. When I scaled that up to writing a novel, I treat each scene/chapter as a separate short story, giving it a beginning, a middle, and an end. To find those scenes, I usually start at the end, then work my way backwards to figure out what scenes I need to get to that conclusion; my first scene is often the hardest to decide upon: what is the perfect spot to jump into the story? I also imagine specific scenes – money shots – to act as way points to work toward while filling in all of the missing pieces.

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The Matriarch III: First Draft Begins November 1st #amwriting

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Creativity, Horrificus, Literarian, ParanormalLeave a comment

The Matriarch III (working title)

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Wary of a future misunderstanding, Janiss Connelly pays a surprise visit to an immortal residing in the state capital of West Virginia. The Charleston vampire isn’t amused, a slight that puts the residents and staff of Cedarcrest Sanctum at risk when their administrator abruptly goes missing.

Forced to endure a nightmare scenario, Janiss must embrace the potential she has both envied and feared in order to survive – even as a hidden foe takes advantage of the perfect opportunity.

The tetralogy continues…
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To Say or Not to Say Ello…That is the Question

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Conspiracies, Creativity, Existentialism, Internet, Management, TechnologyLeave a comment

ElloCaterpillarLabyrinthThe new social network gathering the requisite amount of buzz this…year? Month? Week? It’s called Ello, as in something that cute little caterpillar from Labyrinth would say.

Why is the buzz strong with this one? This is a quote from their manifesto:

Your social network is owned by advertisers.

Every post you share, every friend you make, and every link you follow is tracked, recorded, and converted into data. Advertisers buy your data so they can show you more ads. You are the product that’s bought and sold.

We believe there is a better way. We believe in audacity. We believe in beauty, simplicity, and transparency. We believe that the people who make things and the people who use them should be in partnership. We believe a social network can be a tool for empowerment. Not a tool to deceive, coerce, and manipulate — but a place to connect, create, and celebrate life.

You are not a product.

Sounds good, but it’s still in beta, search is buggy, no IOS or Android mobile app yet, blah blah blah. This same idea, by the way, is what’s made WordPress such a strong web platform (and this website is hosted on it along with all of my other websites). As I’ve said many times over, when ANYONE creates a social network that can give people a better experience than Faceybook, so long, Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (no thanks to all those game requests).

By the way, I’m @thinkingskull over at Ello.

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“MEET MY MAIN CHARACTER” Blog Tour!

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Acquaintances, Creativity, Horrificus, Literarian, ParanormalLeave a comment

I have been nominated by action/sci-fi/horror screenwriter Eric Ian Steele from Manchester, England to join the “Meet My Main Characters” blog tour. Today I will be telling you a little about the protagonist of my vampire thriller series The Matriarch.

Matriarch3DBoxCover2013OctWhat is the name of your main character?

Her name is Janiss Annette Connelly, formerly a college senior with one semester to go before she would begin student teaching, marry, have children, and live happily ever after…all of which changes after running afoul of a vampire named Ian Chrisman.

When and where is the story set?

It is set in and around Glenville, West Virginia and at my alma mater, Glenville State College. The story takes place in modern-day, but the roots of the story are steeped in the local ghost story of Sis Linn, a woman who was brutally murdered a century before and was interred in the old city cemetery on the actual college campus. Her murder was never solved, setting up the gray area in history where the story takes place.

What should we know about the main character?
Continue reading ““MEET MY MAIN CHARACTER” Blog Tour!” →

So Good, It’s Spooky!

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Creativity, Horrificus, Literarian1 Comment

Exit35“Spooky” Spencer Lawson’s birthday is September 13th, so happy birthday, kid!

The Spooky Chronicles was my first foray into writing for profit – because film critique pays nothing in the way of actual coin. I’ve written five books thus far, and the series in general has been fun to write and fun for fans to read…and yet, many don’t know that the author of The Matriarch series (that’s also me) has these other books out.

For those neither happy with zombie kids or Appalachian vampires, dark fantasy is coming your way soon…!

Continue reading “So Good, It’s Spooky!” →

“The Decapitator” from The Matriarch: Guardians is complete! #VWSG

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Creativity, Existentialism, Horrificus, Literarian2 Comments

This is what happens when you give a couple of Texans a description for a new kind of vampire hunter weapon: they build one, and the case it comes in.

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The modular fauchard, aka “the decapitator.” Designed for ghouls to subdue and/or destroy neophyte vampires. Not recommended against elder immortals with a true understanding of their power. This weapon is featured in The Matriarch: Guardians.

Special thanks to Dragon’s Fire Forge who hand-forged the blades, created the connecting polearm and stake tips (mmm…steak tips). Box, “Osage Orange” stakes, and leatherwork by Tobin’s Turnings. These folks really outdid themselves, didn’t they? Here’s the original text this was taken from along with a hasty sketch I cobbled together:
Continue reading ““The Decapitator” from The Matriarch: Guardians is complete! #VWSG” →