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Too Long Between Publications

by Richard Flores IV 0 Comments

I am starting to feel like a broken record on this blog, but each time I feel genuine in my words. But sometimes a little something comes up that really hits you. Something that sticks in your mind and puts some thing in perspective.

In just a few short weeks, the 10th anniversary of the release of my first novel, Dissolution of Peace will come to pass. I realized this when I was on Facebook’s Memories section and saw that I debuted the Broken Trust trailer eight years ago. That was my third novel. And in eight years, I’ve managed to publish one more novel.

It isn’t just novels, my short story publications have been pretty sporadic as well. And though I have one as recently as 2020, it is coming up on 18 months since that one came out. And the blog hasn’t had a new post in a year. And the odd thing is, none of it feels that long ago.

I have excuses, some of which are valid. My father did pass away in March of 2021. I’ve had a lot going on with my day job. And Factor Four Magazine did relaunch in 2022. But at the end of the day, I just haven’t been on top of my writing like I used to be. And the results are showing through as a publication gap.

And while I was pretty hard on myself about it yesterday, when I came to discover the dates, I am taking a little different look at it a day later. Today I find myself thinking about the things I have done rather than the things I have not done. It has given me a different perspective.

I did bring back a magazine I was very passionate about. I am providing a venue for other writers to sell their high quality flash fiction. I am have always been extremely saddened by having to close Factor Four Magazine, and so relaunching it has been a very crowning achievement coming out of a depression filled 2020 and 2021.

I’ve also taken charge of my time and maximized two passions I enjoy. The first is writing, the second is live streaming over on Twitch. As a result, I finished the first draft of the third book in the Serenity Saga trilogy, and I am now well over 56,000 words into my first fantasy novel. The publishing process is slower than I’d like, but I am making progress nearly every day. And with any luck I can continue to use my Writing with Richard streams to advance through the first round edits, and get these books to beta readers soon. I do need to find a new editor for line edits/copy edits, so let me know if you know someone.

I’ve also continued to shop around six short stories, three of which I wrote in the last two years. And sometimes, when you’re already down on yourself, the rejection cycle can be really hard. But I am also on the other side of this, and I understand that not all stories are rejected because they are bad. And sometimes it just takes time to find the right place for a story.

I think the next step for me is to just keep plugging away. Devote the time I need to make things happen. But also recognize my need to do other things in my life besides work, write, and stream. I need to spend time with the family, read, enjoy TV, movies, and watch hockey. It has to be okay to to do other things and to keep life enjoyable. Because even too much of the things I do enjoy can lead to burn out.

I intend to continue on my writing path, and while I can’t say when the next novels will come out just yet. I can say that I am confident a new one is on the horizon. And what may be next is to include edits and blog posts in my Writing with Richard streams.

I can’t promise what my blog posting schedule will look like. Or even how regular it will be. But what I can say is that I just have to keep trying. And that the schedule has to be mine, and not something that is either too ambitious or being done because I feel I owe it to someone.

And to the new and old fans that have been sticking it out, waiting patiently for something new, and still being happy to support what is already released, I have to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate your support always.

Stop on by on Twitch one of these days, I’d love to say hello and share in the writing conversation with you all.

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Where have you been?

by Richard Flores IV 0 Comments

I know I have been a really bad host lately. I keep inviting people to the party, but then I never show up.  I’ve been less than active on this blog and not very active on social media either. So what has been going on?

Well, I’ve been a bit down about things. I have not felt very validated as an author and have been in one of those self induced moods where I hide from the world.  But, I’ve come back out from my cave, and I didn’t see my shadow. So I think that means I am able to break down this barrier and start working on what I enjoy. And to start, I put out this blog post.

So what have I been up to?

DetCon1

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Well, lets start with the biggest of things that kept me away.  And that is DetCon1. Most of you know how excited I was about being part of the participants for this great convention. And it was really a good time.  I got to meet some great people, break down my fear of reading in public, and even got a few great compliments.

One of the things that was so cool was I got to meet, and for just a little bit, talk with John Picacio. He is one of my all time favorite artists and we talked for brief moment before he was off to do more Guest of Honor stuff.  But, he happened to know who I was.  We’ve interacted a few times on Twitter, and I guess he seemed to remember me from there.  I also attended some of his panels, including one where he broke down how he did “Girl with Microphone”, which is one of my favorite art pieces (bottom left of the picture below is my print copy which I won at the art show!).

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I also spoke to Neil Clarke of Clarkesworld at some length after one of his panels (the day before we sat on a panel together). Clarkesworld, and Neil, have been a great inspiration to my work on Plasma Frequency. And Neil was very much aware of my publication and I was so pleased to know that. He also shared some great insight with me into his own experience in the business and I was quite surprised by things I learned from him. Needless to say, it made me feel as if Plasma Frequency was doing some good in the Science Fiction short market world and I can’t wait to push forward.

Photo by Al Bogdan

Photo by Al Bogdan

I also had a panelist on my first panel tell me that I had a “Stephen King vibe” to me. I took that to be a compliment and he seemed genuinely surprised that I had not hear this before.   Perhaps that means that I am good on these panels and can be invited back for more.  I don’t believe I have signed up for WorldCon in Spokane, so I better do that now.

I had a big fear of reading in public.  I am not the best out-loud reader and I notice if more and more as I get older. I stubble over words when I read out-loud to the kids. So I was really worried.  I did have a reading, but it was late and not many people showed up.  I went last, and many people walked out during my reading. I don’t know if that was from boredom or from it being close to the end of the panel. I hope it was the later.

Plasma Frequency

Oh, this magazine of mine. It is always on the list of things that keep me from writing, but that is a good thing. We are starting year 3 with the publication of Issue 13 on September 5th. We are making some changes to the publication this year. And just like last year we are letting our readers choose half the stories we publish in the Year 2 Anthology.  You can vote on those here: LINK.

We really need the support of our readers if we hope to continue. So we are also asking for your ideas and thoughts in our survey that is just before the story voting.  We are also asking you to pick the cover artist for the anthology.  So if you have read Plasma Frequency at all, please go complete the survey.

A Day Job

So I got one of those again.  Which is good because I was out of a good paying job for sometime.  But I have one that pays pretty good now.  I am still in physical security.  The job is boring, has lots of down time, and the hours really suck.  But, I did finally get a laptop this last week.  So I can now  make use of the down time.  Can’t do much about the bad hours right now.  It is just hard on family time, especially once the kids are back in school.  But, I will make use of the downtime to get things done that need to get done.

A new cover for Volition Agent

Volition Agent eBook

So, I finally decided I needed to do something about the cover for Volition Agent.  The original cover wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t enticing buyers either. So I had Rebecca Treadway at ATRTink redo the cover.  What do you think?  I think it is awesome while still using the model and photographer that worked so hard to get me the first cover.  Also, you can now get Volition Agent on Kindle for just 99 cents. So go pick up a copy here: LINK

Family Time

So I touched on this when I mentioned the new job.  It has meant that when I am off work, I am spending time with the family. This is because I know that time won’t be around when all three kids are in school on my days off and I don’t see them. Especially since I work 18 of my 40 hours on Saturday and Sunday.  So I have been spending the time with them exploring Washington state, our new home state.

My Health

My health hasn’t been so good as of late. I am thinking my gallbladder is acting up. I was in a lot of pain off and on while at DetCon1 and lost 10 pounds in the week I was gone.  Which is odd, considering you don’t typically lose weight on a vacation.  I can’t see a doctor until 2015, unless something changes and I can get insurance before then.   That is a long story.  But I have to have them run a whole series of tests on me, because I am also dealing with some other issues health wise.  All in all I need to make sure I take care of myself.

Feelings of Failing

I touched on this at the start of this blog.  I can’t help but feel as though I am failing at doing what I love. Writing is so much fun to me, but I am just not getting the attention of readers. I recently discovered that none of my books have even broke even. And that is a bit of a sad fact of being a self-published author.  And when you feel like you are failing is can be difficult to motivate yourself to write.  So while I have a whole list above of valid reasons that kept me from writing.  This funk is the real reason.  The rest are just excuses.

So what is coming next?

Well, finally adding a laptop to the equation should help me get back into the swing of things. I will be able to get more writing and Plasma Frequency business done when I am away from home. And that is a huge plus.  It also means I will be able to finally start putting words down on the sequel to Dissolution of Peace, which is starting to be on pace to be a lot longer of a novel than the original is.  I am still trying to think of a good series title for this series.  Any ideas from my readers?

I am trying to keep my chin up.  DetCon1 was a huge boost to that.  I think once the kids are back in school, and before the Washington rain hits, I’ll take this laptop out to one of the great state parks here and use nature as my inspiration to start putting the letters on the page again.  In the meantime, I think this blog post is a good re-connection with the writing world and I’m ready to get things rolling again.

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Updates: Moving, Depression, and Failing to Write

by Richard Flores IV 2 Comments

The Bad

I Don't KnowAs a pessimist, I’ll start with the bad first.

Some of you may know from previous posts, and if you follow me on social media, that I recently underwent a major move.  I moved from my hometown of Vacaville, CA to Auburn, Washington.  I’ve rarely left the State of California for vacation.  The farthest I lived from Vacaville was about 5 years in Folsom, CA about an hour away.  So needless to say moving two states away was a big move, and a little bit scary of one too.

To top it off, I’ve gone from a four bedroom house to a three bedroom apartment.  This is another big adjustment.  I am not used to neighbors walking around above me.  Or having to walk forever to the trash.  Or even the smaller size of an apartment.  My family has had to adjust to the smaller spaces and the lack of a yard, or other things we are used to having in a house.

Family is another thing that has changed a bit.  This move was originally planned for the middle of June.  When the kids would be out of school and there would be time for my wife to transfer her job.  But my landlord told us we needed to move right before the holidays.  I had already been fired from my job.  So after a long talk with my wife, we decided that it was practical to move twice.  Once locally and then again six months later in June.  So we had to accelerate the plans.

So Amy and I drove all our belonging up to Washington.  Amy flew back to California and I was left up here alone.  I got really sick (I had already been fighting a cold).  And in the end I didn’t get anything done in the first week.  Things like getting a job didn’t happen.  Then Amy brought our kids up after they finished out the schooling and started winter break.  Then Amy went back to California.  She has to keep working down there until her job transfers, a date that hasn’t been set yet.  So I spent Christmas with the boys.  This is the first Christmas Amy and I haven’t had together in over 10 years.  Even thought one of us always seemed to have to work, we saw each other.

So it has been hard.  I have been suffering form a bit of depression and though I know that is normal, I can’t really slip past it.  I find myself sleeping late, moping around the house.  I force myself to go out, but it isn’t as much fun as it should be.  And the main thing that has suffered is my writing.  I haven’t written anything in almost a month.  I haven’t even opened any of my projects to review.

There have been a lot of delays to add to a already depressed Richard.  For example, I had planned to have responses from beta readers on Broken Trust by December 1.  All but one reader bailed out on me and hasn’t even bothered to respond.  So now I am looking for a new set of readers to look over this.  If you beta read for me, I’ll send you a signed paperback copy of the book when it is released as a Thank You gift (US Residents).  Contact me if you are interested.

Dissolution of Peace CoverThe fixes on Dissolution of Peace are still delayed by the editor.  She is doing the absolute best she can, but delays keep jumping up all over the place.  Hopefully the second edition can be released in January, but I can’t make any more promises on that.

The sequel to Dissolution of Peace is slow going.  Perhaps I should explain why.  Aside from the depression and busy life I’ve had, I am not sure I like how the sequel is progressing.  Originally I wrote the manuscripts for three novels.  The first is now Dissolution of Peace.  The second occurred after a lot of time had passed since the end of the first.  I made a decision that I owed the readers the story that occurred during this time lapse.  So I decided that was what I would write as the sequel.  The problem is, it isn’t progressing the way I thought it would.  I think part of this is my own self being critical of my work.  Depression and a lack of interest in writing anything is probably a huge factor too.

What I really needed to to was to break the slump in my lack of writing.  With all this free time on my hands, I should be writing more not less.  And I should be writing for my own sanity.  Since most of my books are still packed, I need this escape.  As I have mentioned several times over writing is my stress relief.  But honestly, it seems to be the first thing I am distracted from when I get upset.

The Good

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I’ve wanted to move to Washington for over four years.  I’m finally here.  That part I am thrilled about.  This is very beautiful country.  I love the rain, the evergreens, the natural beauty, and the state parks.  Yesterday I discovered Flaming Geyser State Park which is only about 20 minutes from me.  I think I could spend a long time sitting there writing while listening to the rivers and streams.  And I’ll be exploring some more of the State Parks later this week.  My own apartment complex is nestled in the hills surrounded by trees and it is a beautiful setting.  I’ve posted a few pictures here.IMG_20131215_090431_970

The downsizing has also been good.  I’ve managed to purge a lot of stuff I probably should have thrown out years ago.  I made a lot of charitable donations before I left Vacaville with the stuff my family no longer needed.  It has also allowed me to better organize myself since my office has to be shared with my bedroom.  And when Amy does move up here, she won’t want my office clutter everywhere.  There are a few pluses to living in an apartment too.  Things like no yard to maintain, no trash or water bills, and generally lower electric costs.  The lower rent also helps.  Unlike Vacaville, the apartment rents in Auburn are cheaper than the house rents.  And the saved money will be going into our “buy a house” fund.  Something that is on my two years goal list.

There is good news from Broken Trust.  I have cover art for the novel ready.  Mallory Rock, a great cover artist, did this cover for me.  I had a lot of trouble with this cover.  I really wanted to see certain things from it.  But I couldn’t hit the mark.  Mallory managed to hit the mark with this one.  Even thought it didn’t hit all the check boxes I wanted, it did give me what I needed.  A cover that was amazing and reflects the feel of the novel.  Don’t forget, you can get a free signed copy by being a beta reader for this book.  Read an early copy of this book, give me your thoughts and suggestions, and not only will you help shape the book.  I’ll send you a free copy, signed by me.

broken trust

Dissolution of Peace got a very nice shout out on Twitter from @CWVanderReyden.  His rave reviews of my book led to another person buying the book.  This is the first time that I have known of a direct recommendation resulting in the buying of my book.  And it was a simple word of mouth review.  I appreciate those types of reviews and praise a lot.  In many cases they can be more valuable that the professional reviewer.  So please leave  a review of my books on Amazon and Goodreads.  And tell a friend.  They can really make my day when I find out about them.twitter shout out

I forced myself to blog today.  That means I finally wrote something.  I’m hoping that means that when I am done here (and done making my kids lunch), I’ll start writing again on the next novel.  I need to crank that out and get it going for release in 2014.  I had a lofty goal of releasing three novels in 2014.  I think it can be done with how far along Broken Trust is.  But it will be a challenge just the same.  But the only way it will be done it to write.

And though my wife is not here with me, I do have the advantages of Google+ hangout to see her.  And she will be flying up to see us to the end of January.  And we will just keep our fingers crossed that her job transfer comes quickly and we won’t have to wait out too much longer.  There are a lot of couples who have to spend countless time apart, and I just have to remain optimistic that this will all work out in the long run.

And that about summarizes this move for me.  We moved to Washington to make a change that we couldn’t do in California.  And now that we have made the move, I have to remain optimistic that this was the right choice and that it will all fall into place soon enough.

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Project Announcements

by Richard Flores IV 1 Comment

As always, I have several projects going on in my life.  There are some things that I can’t wait to share with you, so I am going to give you a few updates on some projects.  I’ll ask for a little bit of your on input on some of these.  So please feel free to leave a few comments with your thoughts.  I’d love the feedback.

Dissolution of Peace Second Edition

Dissolution of Peace CoverAs most of you who follow me on Twitter and Facebook know, I have hired another editor to do over the manuscript of Dissolution of Peace and fix the mistakes that were missed by me despite my first editor’s best efforts.  I am a difficult person to be an editor for because I simply don’t get it.  There are many grammar and spelling rules that I simply don’t understand.  And even when they are explained to me a thousand times, I just don’t get it.  So even though my first editor was amazing, I still missed a lot of stuff.

I hired a new editor for Volition Agent, and I have since hired her to look over Dissolution of Peace again.  The main reason I felt compelled to get this done right away is that I got a big explosion of reviews. And, while all the reviews seem to love the story, a lot pointed out distracting grammar mistakes.  And, I listed to my readers and feel that fixing those will be a simple thing to do.  My new editor Tiffany Carrera is a great match for my books.  She is patient with me and my lack of knowledge, she deals with me constantly asking “how much longer”, and she has a passion for assisting writers with getting their work to be as perfect as possible.  Tiffany is also a prior member of the military, which is handy since I write a lot of stories with a Military and/or Police element to them.

At last update from Tiffany, she was a little over halfway through it.  My hope was to get it out by the one year anniversary of the book, but that doesn’t look likely.  Maybe by my birthday in November (feel free to send gifts) I will have it out.  I am going to ask Amazon to notify all of those who bought the kindle edition, so that they can download the updated version.  Hopefully that won’t be a problem.  But that will be up to Amazon.  Of course I will update on Twitter, Facebook, and here.

The Next Novel

I am really excited about my next novel.  I recently asked my social media followers to give their ideas on a few titles for the next book.  I am terrible with titles and I always will be.  I originally billed this as being a Post Apocalyptic/ Dystopian novel.  But I think I will cross off the Dystopian part.  In fact, it has more to do with rebuilding than any dystopia.  There are two titles out of the list that I really like.  Broken Trust and The Council’s Mistake.  I am leaning more towards Broken Trust because it plays on several levels of the story and in several different story lines.  Though the story is also propelled by several of the Council’s mistakes, the title doesn’t work for me is some way.  I would like to know what you think of the titles, let me know.

I have also put together a blurb for the book.  Tell me what you think:

Liam Fisher never wanted to be a leader.  But after finding the survivors, protecting them, and founding the city-state of Lagoon Hills; the people demanded he be their leader.  Instead, Liam agreed to sit on a Council with four other leaders, each of them with a specialty.

Together with Talya Brooks, the person who saved his life after the collapse, Liam runs the militia of Lagoon Hills.  And though it was tough early on, the people of the city now live in relative comfort and safety.

But Liam is fighting his own personal demons: The loss of his wife and unborn son. Rachel, his long lost love has suddenly arrived in the city. And a neighboring city-state is threatening war.

The people of Lagoon Hills are counting on Liam for their safety.  Can he keep himself together and be the leader everyone wants him to be? Or will the people closest to him be the greatest threat of all?

I feel like it captures a lot of the essence of this book.

So what is the next step for this book?  Well I am currently about 25% of the way through the second draft.  I don’t waste time of creating a second draft.  I mentioned before that I don’t find much use for a “cooling off period” and so I tend to dive right in.

Once completed with the second draft I will be asking for beta readers.  If you are interested please let me know.  Beta readers are a very important part of the writing process.  All too ofter I have trouble finding Beta readers, and even more trouble getting them to respond in a timely manner.  I am hoping to have it ready for Beta reading by the middle to end of the month.  All of November I will be working on NaNoWriMo, but I would like to work on Beta edits for this book in December.  I hope to get it to Tiffany in January and maybe see a release by March.  Maybe…  Anyway, if you want to Beta Read, please let me know, just make sure a November reading works for you.

Also I am looking for cover art.  Either premade or custom made.  So feel free to leave your artist suggestions too.

NaNoWriMo

I am going to make a first time honest effort to do NaNoWriMo this November.  I already know what I am going to write and I am already working on the plot points in my head.  I will be writing the sequel to Dissolution of Peace and I am excited to get this project started.  I’ve talked before about why NaNoWriMo is so tough for me.  But I really want to do it this year, so here is hoping I am up for the challenge.  I know I am excited about it.  I may actually have a title for the sequel too.  But, I am not sure what to call this series.  I need to give it a series name for the sake of my own sanity.  I have been tossing around ideas for some time now.  If you have some ideas, please let me know.  You can probably expect some other NaNo updates as November comes along.

Author Features

I’ve had a few successful author feature posts over the last two months.  I am really enjoying doing these.  You should sign up if you’d like me to assist you in promoting your works.  I have dates in November and December open for all of the feature types.  You can find out more about those by going to the Author Feature page (under contact me).

Plasma Frequency Anthology

Kindle Cover

After so much work, the Plasma Frequency Anthology has been released and is available on Amazon for your Kindle or in Paperback.  The cover art is amazing and was done by Laura Givens, who has done number of art works for our magazine.  Please consider checking it out.  The money raised from selling the anthology goes right back to the magazine.

On the topic of the magazine, Issue 8 released earlier this month.  We made some major changes to Plasma Frequency after all the knowledge I picked up at WorldCon.  We revamped the website, we revamped the magazine, and we changed how we distribute the magazine.  Working with Amazon and Weightless Books should prove to be a good thing for our publication.

We are also looking for good people to help us with our magazine.  Namely in the marketing and social media and in the need for additional readers.  If you are interested, you can find out more on our website.

WorldCon 2014

I had such a blast at WorldCon this year that I really wanted to go to London.  But, the deck has been stacked against me.  The final straw was when I found out that LonCon 3 will take place right at the same time by kids start school.  And 2014 will be my youngest first day of school ever.  Somethings are more important than conventions, and family is one of those.  So I won’t be going to London, unless something changes, but it is unlikely.

I will however be going to the NaSFIC in Detroit this year.  I am excited about going to this and have already upgraded to an attending membership.  I’ve also already submitted my participant ideas and suggestions.  The odds of me being chosen to speak on any panels is probably slim, but I wanted to try.  As many of my regular blog followers know, I have no problem sharing my opinion and giving tips and tricks that I learned along the way.

I wonder what other conventions would some of you suggest I attend?  I am knew the convention scene and only really know of WorldCon/NaSFIC.  I don’t really know of many others.  What others are great for writers like myself?  What about conventions that would be good for my to attend as an Editor for a magazine?  Let me know what you suggest.  I think I could get used to attending a few convention a year.

Other Events

What other events can you think of?  When Dissolution of Peace is ready for the second edition, I plan to contact a few local book stores for a book signing.  We have a small shop in downtown here.  I think there are some other small town bookstores around.  I don’t know how much interest a Barnes and Noble would have in me.  Any suggestions on that?  What other places might be a good spot for a book signing?  As I release more books, (maybe I will even have four out by the time I go to Detroit) I hope to attend more signings and events.  So I would love to hear your suggestions.

Narrowing Down my Ambitions

I wrote a post a little bit ago about getting focused on what I want.  And besides being so busy with all the stuff above, I have tried to limit all the other distractions.  There are people in my family who don’t seem to understand that I am working to a goal and therefore may spend a lot of time in my office.  And I think next week I will write a blog on the difficulties of choosing a “hobby” as a career. That should be an interesting post.  See you next week.

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Novel Announcement: Volition Agent

by Richard Flores IV 3 Comments
Novel Announcement: Volition Agent

If you follow me on Facebook and Twitter, you’ve undoubtedly seen a few teasing posts about my next novel project.  I’ve teased with a few hints, surprises, and more.  Well the teasing can come to an end, I have decided to finally let the cat out of the bag.

My next novel, titled Volition Agent, is a fast paced SciFi Thriller set in the near future.  The highly secretive Agency has a Volition program.  They take everyday people who are physically fit and recruit them as Volition Agents.  They are implanted with a control chip so that a highly trained “handler” can control their every action.  If a Agent is captured the loss to the Agency in minimal.  Agents are sent on missions from intelligence gatherings to assassinations.  Volition Agent followed Lexia, one of the agents.

Here is a tentative blurb:

Lexia Santarelli is part of a top secret group of Volition Agents.  These untrained, unremarkable, everyday people are recruited by the agency to be literally controlled by their “handler” through a device implanted in their necks.  It is an exciting life, and despite some of the annoyances, Lexia enjoys it.

That is until the Agency decides to let Lexia take the fall for a mission gone wrong.  Her link with her handler, Lance is severed.  Suddenly Lexia finds herself alone, unprepared, and hunted by the very people she trusted.

With few clues, minimal training, and an unlikely ally Lexia sets out to discover what really happened on that botched assignment.  Determined to set right the wrong she created, nothing can stand in her way.  Not even the Agency itself.

I have some great cover art for this novel, and I can’t wait to share it with you all.  So here it is:

Copyright 2013 Kristin Irons

Copyright 2013 Kristin Irons Photography

KIPThe cover art is shot and designed by Kristin Irons (website).  I’ve worked with Kristin before, she designed the logo for Plasma Spyglass Press. Kristin is a very talented photographer and when I explained what I was looking for she said she had an idea.  The next week was a bit of a whirlwind.  Kristin found a model, the very beautiful and talented Joy Anna, to play Lexia in a photo shoot.  She then teased me relentlessly with images from that photo shoot before showing me the image she had in mind for the cover art.  I am a very picky and hard to work with person when it comes to cover art, but she kept taking my ideas and reworking them until we came up with the cover above.  And I couldn’t be more thrilled by it.

Let me tell you why this cover is so special to me.  This is the first time I’ve had anyone “play” one of my character in any way.  Joy Anna, whose modeling pictures I had only seen briefly before this, jumped into this project head first.  I understand they captured a ton of images and I’ve only seen a few of them. As a writer, I was excited to see what might come from this.  I’ve never met, or even talked to Joy Anna but I thank her for her time because the results are absolutely amazing.

A big heartfelt thanks to Joy Anna, Kristin, and her assistant William Harris.  So many folks use stock art, or stock photos to make custom cover art.  But I have a real custom cover for this novel.  Please take a moment to check out the people that helped with this cover, give them a like, follow, or whatever else to show them some support.  Kristin Irons: Facebook, Twitter, Website  Joy Anna: Facebook William Harris: Flickr

This is the first story I have written where it had a title before I ever wrote it.  The whole idea came from hearing the word volition and it’s meaning; the ability to make a choice or decision.  So Volition Agent was an easy enough title for me to come up with.  I think it works well given the themes in this novel.

So when is the release date for Volition Agent?  One hasn’t been set just yet.  But I have a deadline of the first week of June 2013.  So expect to see it no later than this.  I hope to have it out a little sooner, but you can’t rush these things.  I’ll be sending it out for Beta Readers in the first two weeks of April.  Then my editor will get this.  I’ll be working with a new editor this time, since Robert is booked up for the foreseeable future.  As always, watch this blog, my Twitter and Facebook for updates.

I’ll leave you with a few other images from the photo shoot:

Copyright 2013 Kristin Irons

Copyright 2013 Kristin Irons

Copyright 2013 Kristin Irons

Copyright 2013 Kristin Irons

Copyright 2013 Kristin Irons

Copyright 2013 Kristin Irons

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Updates: December 2012

by Richard Flores IV 0 Comments

I haven’t done one of these updates posts in a long time, and I have some things to tell you all.

Dissolution of Peace

Dissolution of Peace CoverDissolution of Peace is doing okay will the sales.  The second two free eBook promotions did not do nearly as well as the first one did.  I think that in order to have continued success with the free promotions, I need to widen my advertising audience.  But in terms of sales it is doing okay.  Getting reviews is going slower than I thought I would.  But I have six on Amazon US and they are all 4 and 5 star reviews.  So I am more that pleased to wait if they remain so positive.  I’ve been toying with an idea to reward honest reviews on Amazon.com with some type of giveaway.  But that feels awfully closed to “buying” a review and I don’t know that I am comfortable with that closeness.  So I think for now I will stick with waiting it out.  If you haven’t got your copy, or left a review, please visit this link.  If you have thought of borrowing Dissolution of Peace via the Kindle lending library, it will only be available until January 5th.  After that, I plan to release Dissolution of Peace on Barnes and Noble for the Nook.

I have been nominated for the Preditors and Editors Readers Poll.  I was nominated last year and took second place for Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short story with my short story “Death Watch“.  This year Dissolution of Peace was nominated for best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novel.  It is currently in second place and could really use your vote.  You can vote for Dissolution of Peace by clicking this link.  Make sure you check your email for the confirmation email and click the confirmation link it includes.  Otherwise your vote won’t count.  The Polls close January 15th, so vote right away.

Daddy is Tired

Daddy_is_Tired_CoverYou have all heard me talk about my son’s picture book, Daddy is Tired.  Sales have slowed down on that tremendously and he could really use your support.  We are putting all the money in his College Savings account.  You can go get your copy, or leave a review,  by clicking here.

His book is also in the Preditors and Editors Reader Poll under the Children’s Section.  So a vote for him would be great too.  Since you can vote once per category you can vote for both of us.

Plasma Frequency

Cover PreviewBefore I started writing this blog, I accepted the last of the stories for Issue 4.  We have brought on a great Assistant Editor, Molly Moss, and she is doing a remarkable job easing the pressure on me to run this magazine.  There will be a lot of great talent in Issue 4.  And if you haven’t ready our three issues from this year, you can read them free by visiting the website.

Also, with Duotrope going to paid we are considering the idea of adding our own response time statistics to our website.  This way those that can’t afford, or don’t feel Duotrope is right in charging, can still see the same information.  In fact, our statistics will be 100% accurate because they will include 100% of our submissions.  I think it is just one more way our magazine will demonstrate that we are very much pro-author.

This is just one of many big plans we have an Plasma Frequency and at Plasma Spyglass.

Plasma Frequency is also honored that some of our content has been nominated for the Preditors and Editors Readers Poll.  Lindsey Duncan’s “Mythocraft” from Issue 2 is nominated in the Science Fiction and Fantasy short Story category.  And Tais Teng’s stunning cover art work for Issue 1 is nominated under the Magazine Cover Artwork section.  Again, take a moment to go vote for those by clicking the links.

This Year is Summary

As far as writing goes, this looks like a slow year.  I only have one short story published (you can read “Miles From the Future” here) and only two written.  But I did publish my first novel this year and put in a lot of work to get Cinco’s book out this year.  So in terms of words published, I did much better this year as apposed to 2011.  And when you factor in starting and running a publishing company, I’m actually proud of what has been done this year.  I can only hope for continued success in 2013.

Upcoming Projects for 2013

I am currently in progress on a Novel.  It is not the sequel to Dissolution of Peace (I can hear many of you groaning on that one).  It has a tentative title and a very rough release date of March/April 2013.  I plan to announce an official release date when I have the cover art done.  Perhaps around February 2013.  So look for that coming soon.

The yet untitled sequel for Dissolution of Peace is the next project in my “to-write” list.  I can’t give you a release date for sure, but I sincerely hope to have it done before the end of 2013.  Knowing how hard it is to wait for a sequel, I am trying my best to get it to you as quickly as possible.  So many people have begged me to give them a hint as to what happens next.  I really hadn’t expected there to be so much love for the characters in this book.  By far the number most comments on the novel have been about the attachment readers feel to the main characters.  I have a very deep bond with these characters as well.  They are the first characters I have ever created with any seriousness of being published.  So I really have to get back to telling their story.

Yesterday, a third idea hit me.  I’m not sure if it will be a short story or a Novel.  The idea sparked up from an odd dream.  It will also be very much character driven.  But it is still in the infancy stages and may not be ready well into 2014.  But as I play with the idea, we will see where it leads me.

Summary

Well, 2012 has been a crazy year.  I went from brand new short story writer to a novelist, and publisher, in a year.  I’ve discovered that people really do enjoy the style I bring to the pages, and I expect to gain a lot of new fans in 2013.  Of course, I have to thank all my fans that have been following me since “Death Watch” and all those that have joined me along the way.  I write for my readers, and I am always grateful I have readers.

And because I couldn’t resist ending this with a slight cliche; See you all next year.

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Dissolution of Peace – Updates, Pre-Order, Giveaways, and more

by Richard Flores IV 1 Comment

As Dissolution of Peace gets closer and closer to being released, I find myself with an odd mixture of pride, fear, and anticipation.  But all the hard work is worth something in the end.  As I see the finished project coming along, I can’t help but be happy to see so much work coming together for this project.

UPDATES

I wrote my acknowledgements section the other day.  It is certainly an optional part of a novel.  I’ve read plenty of novels that don’t have one.  But with this being by first novel, I had to write one.  I always enjoy reading other authors’ acknowledgements, and it only felt right that I put one in.  It came from my heart, so hopefully it doesn’t come across as too much.  Either way, I am happy to thank those people that helped me get this book together.

I dedicated the book to my three boys.  They are a huge part of why I followed this dream all the way to the end.  I already know who I’ll be dedicating my second novel to.

The Official Book Trailer is getting a lot more views than I expected, considering how little I have shared it.  So I assume that must mean a few of you have shared it.  Thank you.  So far those who have talked to me about it, like it.  Please make sure to hit that thumbs up button and leave a comment if you enjoyed it.

PRE-ORDER

The good news is that you don’t have to wait until October 16th to order your copy of Dissolution of Peace.  You can pre-order online right now.   Best of all you will save 25-50% off the list price.  But, this will only last during the pre-sale period.  I’ll also be signing all pre-order copies of my book.  You will see I have added a “Buy” tab to this site.  This will be a place to buy copies of my book.  If you don’t follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you should.  I’ll be sharing discount codes with my followers there through out the pre-sale period.  You can order here: LINK

GIVEAWAYS

I also have two giveaways starting:

First, if you visit my Facebook Page, and click on the giveaway icon (see the picture right).  You can enter into a raffle giving away one signed copy of my book.  The number of raffle entries you have is based on the tasks you chose to complete.  If you complete them all, you can be entered twenty times.  That raffle ends on November 1st (12:01am Eastern), so hurry to get your entries in now.  If a lot of people enter this raffle, I’m sure to do another one.  Oh, and you’ll want this giveaway code: Carlson.  It is worth one entry into the raffle.  Enter the Raffle here: LINK

The second giveaway is on Goodreads.  This one runs until November 30th.  As of writing this post, it is still awaiting approval from Goodreads administrative staff.  So if the link doesn’t work, please try again.  Enter the Goodreads Giveaway here: LINK

Another reason to follow me on Twitter or Facebook is because I will likely be announcing more giveaways on there as soon as I come up with more idea.

ATTENTION BOOK REVIEWERS

If you write book reviews on your blog/website or magazine, or know someone who does, get in touch with me.  This is another great way to get a free copy of the Kindle version of my book.  I will not pay for a review.  So if you charge for your reviews, I’ll pass.  You can go to the contact me section to contact me about a book review.  Just let me know a little about your site, and send me a link.

INTERVIEWS AND EVENTS

If you would like to interview me about my book, and other topics, you can contact me.  I’ll be happy to schedule something with you.  I’m open for newspapers, blogs, journals, magazines, Television, Radio, Podcasts, and I’m sure many other types of interviews.

If you own a Bookstore, you can contact me for a book signing.  I am already working on scheduling a couple of them to be announced soon.

PLUGGING AWAY

I want to thank everyone who is helping, and I am sure about to help, plug my book.  I really appreciate the word of mouth advertising.  I’ll keep everyone updated as the book releases.

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Updates: July 2012

by Richard Flores IV 0 Comments

July has been another busy month for me and I got a lot of things going on that needs updating.  Today I think I’ll start with the personal stuff.

I’ve decided to make my second run for Vacaville City Council.  I ran in 2010.  Though I didn’t win, I felt like I put a good run together.  Now, before you all un-follow my blog, understand I won’t be talking much about that on here.  This is my writing page.  If you care to know more about my campaign you can visit www.electflores4.com or flow my twitter account @electflores4.  I may make mention of it again but my focus on this blog is my writing.

Plasma Frequency Magazine Issue 1 Out Now!

On the topic of writing, I am happy to say the Issue 1 of Plasma Frequency Magazine is out now.  You can download a free copy or purchase the print version by visiting the website.  We have stories from O’Neil De Noux, Michael Andre-Driussi, Nyki Blatchley, Gary Cuba, John H. Dromey, Michael Hodges, Spencer Koelle, Greg Leunig, and James Valvis.  We also have art from Tais Teng, Richard H. Fay, and Laura Givens.  In this issue we reviewed To Die a Stranger by Jilly Paddock.  We also have some great advertisers.  My advertisers are what pay for the magazine.  They are how I am able to pay these authors and artists for their work.  Our Issue Sponsor was our parent company Plasma Spyglass Press.  We also had Author Robert S. Wilson advertising his excellent book Shining in Crimson.  Author Martin Vavpotic advertised his Steampunk novella Clockworks Warrior.  Nightscape Press had their newest release Worlds Collider: A Shared World Anthology advertised in our magazine.  I might add that Worlds Collider is rapidly climbing the  US Amazon Rankings.  Last but not least, Artkitty.net and Senior Beauty Consultant Alica Howell advertised in Issue 1.

Everyone from the authors, the artists, and the advertisers deserve a huge thank you.  Plasma Frequency Issue 1 is racking up the downloads.  I am even more pleased to say that people are purchasing the print copy almost as fast.  It is really great to see that people still appreciate the print edition.  I don’t make any money off the sales of the print issue, the cost covers the cost of the printing service. A big thanks go to my fellow editors.  My wife Amy Flores and my friend Lara G. Carroll have been great at helping me get this off the ground.

If you go check out Issue 1, I highly recommend you get a print copy.  But if you can’t afford the print issue or just want a sample of it.  Download the PDF.  The PDF copy is the closest representation of the print edition.  The Kindle and ePub versions had to be dramatically modified to work of those devices.  But they are handy if you’d like to take the issue along on your eReader.  Since it is free, I suggest you download both and eReader and a PDF version.

We’ve already accepted the stories for Issue 2.  We are working on Artists and have already began reading for Issue 3.  It is a never ending cycle.

My own writings:

I have good news.  My editor has told me that he will have the edits to me for Dissolution of Peace.  He has told me no later than Friday (though I hope he has them to me today as planned).  I have to admit I am starting to feel nervous about what he has to say.  This novel, these characters, and the story they have to say is very important to me.  Every character I create holds a special place in my heart, but these characters are the first I have put together.  My hope is my readers will love them as much as I do.  But, that may be a standard that is set to high.  There is a sequel planned, should my readers like it.

Yesterday I took a little breather from my writing and played around with my picture editor.  I still don’t have cover art so, I put together a little teaser for you guys in the form of part of the uniform my main characters wear. It isn’t top notch, but it was just a little something fun for you to see something from the novel.

Two of the Main Character are Officers with the Earth Security Forces.  When the world united under one government, the Earth Security Forces was put in place as the world’s sole law enforcement agency.  They police cities, military bases, protect dignitaries, and keep the world in order.  Corporal Micheal Carlson and Officer Janice Kanter are two of those Security Forces Officers.

My other writings are also going well.  My next novel is well on its way, nearly half finished now.  My short stories are still making their way around.  And everything else is going well on that front.  My time is always limited with all these projects.  But I enjoy the work I do.

I hope your own projects are moving along nicely.  Until next time.

 

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Updates: June 2012

by Richard Flores IV 4 Comments

Book Release Announcement

I am pleased to announce that I finally have a release date for Daddy is Tired, the children’s book my son and I wrote over a year ago.  On June 28th, Daddy is Tired will be officially released for sale on Amazon.com.  But, I got good news for you all.  You can order now on Createspace and get a special discount (see below).  Everything the book makes goes directly to Cinco and I really hope to encourage him to continue his pursuits of writing and the arts.  So take a moment to share the links below and share this wonderful book.  It is a great, fun early reader that I feel parents and children can relate to.  Now, a little about the book:

Daddy is Tired

Authored by Richard “Cinco” Flores V, Illustrated by Lorikitty, Authored with Richard Flores IV

List Price: $7.50
5.5″ x 8.5″ (13.97 x 21.59 cm)
Full Color on White paper
26 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0615659145
ISBN-10: 0615659144
BISAC: Juvenile Fiction / Readers / Beginner

Daddy is Tired is a children’s picture book about a dad who wants to rest while his son would rather play. Dad hopes for a little nap, but his son just wants to play.
This book was written by Cinco, at five years old, in one of his own quiet time sessions. Of course his dad didn’t get to rest either, he had to help.

Purchase Links:

CreateSpace eStore:

Use discount code: 78VZNJ65 to get 10% off.  This code will only be good until the book is released officially on June 28th, 2012.  Feel free to share the link (https://www.createspace.com/3671972) and discount code with everyone you know.

Amazon:

Click here for the Amazon Listing.

Other updates:

In other news, I have been hard at work getting the Print Edition of Plasma Frequency Magazine Issue 1 ready for it’s release.  I am working on advertising spots now, and there are still a few spots available for this issue.  We have been hard at work on the layout.  And, once the print edition is final, we will begin work on the Kindle Edition.  One great thing in the subscriptions are coming in all over the world.  We have subscribers in the US, Singapore, the UK, Denmark, Canada, and elsewhere.  So I am excited about the release of Issue 1.  Here is the cover art by Tais Teng and it is inspired by “Frequencies” by Michael Hodges.

Of course, we are hard at work on reading for Issue 2 now.  And this has left me little time for much else.  I suppose the if I wish to get more of my own writing done, I will need to seek more volunteers to help me with the reading, artwork, layout, and advertising.  All of which take a lot of work.

I still don’t have cover art to show you for Dissolution of Peace.  But, I suspect it will be released in Late August.  I plan to have an official release date in the July updates.

My novel in progress has ground to a halt.  Mostly because of all my other life commitment.  The Magazine, my volunteer activities, and my job keep me pretty busy most of the time.

No new short story acceptances to report either.

So that is the June Updates.  See next week for my next blog post, not sure what Topic I will choose though.

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Updates: May 2012

by Richard Flores IV 3 Comments

Here we are pushing the halfway point of the year.  I’m having trouble believing this fact, but unless the calendar has adapted a mind of its own, June is almost here. What is even crazier is how much has happened since my last set of updates.

I finally crawled out from under my rock and picked up a copy of The Hunger Games.  I don’t know why I stalled on it for so long.  I think it has to do with the fact that I typically don’t read books that have suddenly jumped into popularity solely for the fact that everyone else is reading them.  I have not read one Twilight or Harry Potter book.  I was over at Costco and saw a copy of it sitting on their book display.  I decided to give it a read.  I won’t go into a review of it here, there are plenty of those around, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I’ll likely pick up Catching Fire soon.  I’ve added a “What I am Reading” box to the side bar on my website, thanks to another Goodreads plug in.

There are some other books I have on my to read list:  Horror for Good: A Charitable Anthology is one of those books.  I’m not a huge fan of Horror, that has to be said.  But, I am a huge fan of what this anthology is about: giving back.  There are some big names in the Horror community that have shared their talents with the Editors for the purpose of doing good.  Put out by Cutting Block Press, they are taking net profits and donating them to The Foundation for AIDS Research.  In my opinion $5 for the Kindle version is money well spent.  I’ll be likely to order the print edition, as most of you know, but either way I can’t help but support this.  Pick up your copy here: LINK.

I also plan to read Exit Reality by Robert S. Wilson once that is released.  I don’t think an official release date has been announced yet.  Some other titles I hope to read soon: Fading in Darkness by Robert S. Wilson and Death on Zanath by Lee Gimenez.  Of course this is all money and time permitting.

Besides reading and blogging you may have heard that I am a writer.  You may have also heard some rumors about a Novel I have coming soon.  Since I will be virtually self publishing Dissolution of Peace, I hired an editor to review it.  So right now it is over at Wilson Book Service awaiting editor mark ups.  I think this is an important step serious self publishers should consider.  A professional editor is something that is lost when you self publish.  No matter how good you are, self editing is always bound to miss something.  In any case, I’m expected to get his mark ups by mid-July.  I will certainly be diving right into fixing what needs to be fixed and getting that out to you.

I have also hired the talents of Neil Jackson at Pig and Cow Design to create the cover art for Dissolution of Peace.  I’d hoped to have some cover art to show you for this post, but good art takes time (It has only been a week or so).  I most certainly will have it up for your on Facebook and Twitter when it comes out.

I do have something to share with you.  A little update and tease to novel.  Below is the blurb for Dissolution of Peace:

“The people of Earth have enjoyed centuries of peace under one global government.  They’ve made great strides in space travel and planet colonization.  The colonies on Mars wanted independence and Earth granted without a fight to preserve the peace.

 When Earth Navy Captain Christina Serenity is brutally attacked by a traitor, her life is saved by Security Forces Corporal Michael Carlson.  On the heels of her recovery, her ship is attacked by terrorists, and she is thrown into a difficult assignment.  She must chase after the only clue they have, a Martian ship called the Phobos, to find out what secrets it hides.  To make matters worse, someone still wants her dead.

 Now Serenity must trust her protection crew to keep her alive long enough to solve this puzzle while trying to prevent an interplanetary war.”

On the topic of things taking time, I realize that for… well hell almost a year now, I have been telling you that Daddy is Tired will be coming out soon.  So far I’ve been embarrassed with every false promise I have made in hopes this would be coming out soon.  As you know this is a children’s picture book my son and I wrote together, that has been at the illustrator for a really long time.   Sadly, it is now well below his reading level.  So my hopes of he and I reading it together have been smashed.  I am utterly disappointed and have tried very hard to be understanding of every delay.  I did warn her that I would like to see it done before she had a baby because life would get hectic after that.  She assured me that wouldn’t change things.  Unfortunately it has been one life event after another.  That being said, she is doing this for free.  But, I am learning, somethings are worth the price you pay.  And the Artwork will be great once it is done, so don’t get me wrong when I speak of worth, it is the delays that are maddening.  I’ll hold off on announcing a release date until I have the illustrations in hand.  While my wife and I will be happy to see it published, my six year old son probably doesn’t even remember writing it.

In other news, I’ve become involved in a project I am really excited about.  I am the Editor-in-Chief for a new Speculative Fiction magazine called, Plasma Frequency.  I am excited about this project for several reasons.  One, it is a paying market.  We are seeing a ton of new markets pop up, but rarely do they pay.  Eventually, depending on the readers and the advertisers, we plan to grow to a pro-rate market.  We offer both print and electronic forms.  We also provide something different to the writer.  We provide editor feedback.  There are two things that always frustrate me with a rejection letter.  One, I never know how far they read in my manuscript.  Two, I never know why they reject my manuscript.  Plasma Frequency‘s  editors changed that.  They are sending out letters telling authors they don’t accept just how far they got in the process and at least one line as to why the editor did not send it on.  When I agreed to this project, I built the process to be transparent.  Writers have a right to know just a little bit about what happens to their manuscript when they click submit.

Another great thing about this project is that they plan to review books that are published by Independent Presses and Self Publishers.  For now I will likely be the one to review them, but I think this is great news.  These two groups need a bit of the spotlight.  Surprisingly though, we’ve only received one book review submission.  We have received a steady stream (10-20 a day) of fiction submissions.  Artists and Books to review are just starting to trickle in.  So if you have one of those, now is the time to submit.  Our fiction submissions are open continuously.  If you don’t make the flagship issue (currently set for Sep 2012),  we will be publishing bi-monthly.

If you are a self published Author, we give you 15% off our advertising rates.  Right now these rates are already really low compared to other magazines.  But, as our readership goes up, so will those rates.  Of course, anyone can advertise (within our standards) in our magazine.  Our electronic issue is free, so we expect a lot of downloads.

For submission details, advertising details and subscriptions, visit: plasmafrequencymagazine.com

So what else is coming down the pipeline?  I have a new novel in the works, maybe I will have some announcements on that in the June or July updates.  The sequel to Dissolution of Peace is also in the talks.  I have two new short stories out making their rounds at the various markets.  And, of course, I will have my weekly blog posts for you.  I don’t have any new topic lined up, but subscribe to my blog to get alerts for my new posts.

 

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