aroslav: Blog

Milestones take a different shape for different people. Some of them may seem insignificant, but be meaningful just the same. This morning, I woke up to the discovery that Living Next Door to Heaven 2 had just achieved a voted score of 9.00. That is likely to be a short-lived achievement. With 2350 votes tabulated, you'd think it was fairly stable. But based on the algorithms used at SOL, the 2,351st vote that is less than a 10 will drop the score back to 8.99, where it has been for most of the past three or four years. Still, it's the first time I've had a story score a 9.00 and I'm damn happy about it.

And in the vein of Living Next Door to Heaven, I'm continuing the release of the individual books in the series. This morning, the third book in the LNDtH1 series, Foolish Wisdom, has been released on bookapy. Creating the 2nd edition releases in this series has given me an opportunity to once again sweep the text for errors and come out with a much more attractive final result. No doubt not perfect, but the best yet.

In the meantime, I'm continuing to write, even as Team Manager: SWISH! is posting a chapter every three days. This week, I finished writing the new Wayzgoose fractured fairy tale, Jackie the Beanstalk. It's now gone off to my fine editors and I hope to begin posting here by the end of the month (July).

Remember The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends? Please tell me I'm not the only one old enough. They were on American TV from 1959-1964. This show featured such memorable characters as Boris Badenov, Natasha Fatale, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Dudley Do-Right. And one of my favorite segments, "Fractured Fairy Tales." Perhaps that is where I first learned to take story concepts and themes and totally munge them up to come up with a different take on the situation. (Note my do-over stories, Damsels in Distress stories, Swarm Cycle stories, Pygmalion stories, and coming of age stories.)

I didn't set out with a specific fairy tale in mind when I started writing Jackie the Beanstalk, other than the obvious twisting of the title. But various mythical and fairy tale creatures and adventures picked their way into the story as I wrote. I can only call this a fractured fairy tale.

No sooner had I written "The End" on Jackie's manuscript, than I opened a fresh page and wrote "Chapter 1" for the next Team Manager adventure. The third in this series is tentatively titled Team Manager: SPIKE! in honor of the beginning of volleyball season. However, Dennis is making drastic changes in his life and has been tapped to lead conditioning exercises for the cross country team. But so much is happening in the school's expanded athletic program. Volleyball, cross country, football, and cheerleading all have a claim on Dennis's time. What's left, of course, is for his girlfriends.

In the first chapter, Dennis inadvertently issues a challenge: "Let me tell you, Dave. Football is for those guys who can't keep up with cross country." I have a feeling Dennis will need to back up those words with action! This is not quite the same thing as shooting foul shots in basketball.

Of course, my Patreon $10/month patrons are reading the chapters as I get them written and have chapter one in their hands this morning.

I think that's the news for today, other than it's over 90 here in Idaho and we've already got smoke filtering into the area. I want to sit outside, but I also want to breathe. I'll have to choose one or the other, I suppose.

That joke is pretty stale, considering that today is her 85th birthday. Not quite as old as the United States, but we're all pushing it now. Hope you are having a happy and sane Independence Day holiday. It's great to have a National Holiday that is just for celebrating and not in memoriam of something or someone. I would, of course, appreciate it if people would stop shooting off fireworks in the middle of a severe drought. Or within ten miles of our pets, veterans, wildlife, and tinder.

Today, I've released book two of Living Next Door to Heaven 1: The Agreement. It's now available on bookapy.

This is the book that really sets the stage for everything that comes after and enables the communal environment that they end up with and the multiple partners with whom most share their love. And it was all made possible with an agreement that was designed to protect their chastity and reputations while allowing them to have fun and date safely. Even I did not realize what possibilities would open up when they wrote The Agreement! This second book in the ten-volume series is 113,000 words long. They get longer from here!

I'm not saying I'm getting more long-winded. But it took me more words to write each one. In LNDtH1, there are five books. I'm getting the new edition out at the rate of a book a week. Not bad. They are:
1 Guardian Angel, 103,800 words (released June 27)
2 The Agreement, 113,000 words (released July 4)
3 Foolish Wisdom, 144,900 words (to be released July 11)
4 Deadly Chemistry, 157,200 words (to be released July 18)
5 The Rock, 171,700 words (to be released July 25)

I don't have the statistics on the four books of LNDtH2. Or the last single book on SOL as LNDtH3. I will say, however, since this has come up, that if you read the first or second book above and then switch to the SOL version of LNDtH2, you will miss a whole lot of story that is still in LNDtH1.

Since I started talking about triggers in the first paragraph of this post, (Did you not understand that firecrackers are triggers?), I should address some of the discomfort readers feel with the violence in some of my writing. Living Next Door to Heaven, in fact, has several scenes of intense emotional impact--whether you have known triggers or not. Very little--but some--is played out on-screen, but is talked about. Attacks by bullies, hit and run, accidental pregnancy, murder, revenge, domestic abuse, fire, tornado, campus shooting, vengeance, attempted murder, heart attack, Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Twin Towers, death of pets, anger, rage, heartache, love, lust, joy, peace, and good meals. One person was even 'triggered' because a black person went on a date with a white person. The LNDtH saga (1,2,3) is over 1.2 million words. I haven't even attempted to code it with all the possible things that might trigger a person.

Team Manager: SWISH! is an order of magnitude gentler than LNDtH, but there are still some gut-wrenching scenes. Rape is only talked about as part of a person's healing process. Yet it is deemed a severe trigger for some who have apparently experienced it. I'm sorry.

I suppose some have never experienced any of the above and simply see it as shocking and unnecessary. For me, it is a part of life and may be one of the reasons I live my life in relative isolation, purging myself of the demons that are still in the back of my mind. As Nikki said in Deadly Chemistry, "Why do I write? To keep the fucking creepy things away."

I still hold to the basic premise of nearly all my writing: "You can't really know what happily ever after is, if it's been happily ever before." If you don't believe in the obstacles my characters need to overcome, you really won't believe in their happiness when they come out victorious.

In no way is this meant to minimize your feelings, triggers, or objections to either action or scenarios in what I write. I simply want you to know that I face them as well and that is what makes my writing come alive. I don't write for a living; I write to live.

In celebration of its second place finish in this year's Clitorides Classic Award, I am re-releasing the entire series of Living Next Door to Heaven in eBook form. Note that the SOL version simply lists LNDtH1, LNDtH2, and LNDtH3. 1 and 2 are way too long to release as a single eBook. LNDtH1 is well over 587,000 words and LNDtH2 is comparable in length. So, LNDtH1 was released as five eBooks.
Guardian Angel
The Agreement
Foolish Wisdom
Deadly Chemistry
The Rock

LNDtH2 was released as four eBooks.
El Rancho del Corazón
Hearthstone Entertainment
Becoming the Storm
Heaven's Gate

And LNDtH3 is simply one volume.
What Were They Thinking?

So, over the next few weeks, I'll be releasing the second edition of the entire series as eBooks on Bookapy. The versions on Amazon and Barnes and Noble will also be updated. I'll release them as I get them formatted and ready to upload. I expect the first five to all be ready within two weeks.

Today's release is Guardian Angel. It is now available on Bookapy! It has been uploaded elsewhere, but may take a day or two before it goes live.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Names of people and places in the released version are different than those in the serial on SOL! I know this. I have to live with it, so do you. When I originally wrote it, I hadn't thought of ever releasing it commercially. I used names that were too close to real people and places. The second edition eBooks all have the commercial release names and not the SOL names.

WHY DON'T YOU PUT THE NEWEST VERSION ON SOL? LNDtH1 has been downloaded 1,163,194 times as of this writing. Many readers have an emotional investment in the names as they first appeared here. Keeping it consistent is not worth the amount of flack I would take from changing them. And keeping a second version going is just too much difficulty. I want to write new things, not spend all my time reworking old things.

In other news, I'm staying safe and cool in this unprecedented heat wave. The past two days in the Pacific Northwest have seen temperatures well over 100 degrees. It looks like we'll get a bit of relief today in some areas. In others, it will be over 90 for the next week at least. Remember to stay hydrated and as cool as possible.

Hope you all have a safe and sane Independence Day and Canada Day holiday. In respect for our veterans, pets, wildlife, and forest fire dangers, please find a way to celebrate that does not involve explosives and sparks! Enjoy!

I'm a bit on the late side for posting on a Sunday, but my daughter arrived this morning and made Fathers' Day brunch for us. Then we spent the better part of the day talking about life, wedding plans, writing, movies, and TV serials. It was a great way to celebrate being a father. I hope you have had a good day, too, whether you are a father or not.

Turns out that I've been watching a lot of quest-based serials on Netflix. Shadow and Bone, The Untamed, and most recently The Shannara Chronicles. Those are the top of my "Continue Watching" list, but there are probably a dozen others. There's a reason I've been watching so many quests.

Jackie the Beanstalk.

I'm ten chapters into writing this new story and half the time I'm laughing. The other half, I'm thinking "How do I get her out of this one?"

Jackie is a fresh high school graduate, still in her cap and gown when she is given the keys to her grandfather's 1968 Ford Fairlane 500 Fastback 390. Jackie, her Aunt Misty, and her dog Roadkill jump in the car and take off following an old fashioned TripTik map into an alternate dimension. In this new dimension, Jackie is a Warrior Wizard encountering robbers, mountain monsters, ogres, rival clans, obstreperous customs officials, a stowaway princess, an adopted bobcat kitten, werewolves, ghosts, giants, and dragons--all on her way to rescuing the Sovereign's kidnapped son. As she travels, she discovers her magic powers, and the powers of all the weapons she carries--her cap and gown, honor cords, stole, basketball, and things she picks up along the way--including a pocketful of magic beans.

Probably not a children's story, because there is some language and adult jokes, but a fun read for adults who like to read YA novels. I'll release it as a Wayzgoose story sometime in July. I expect to finish the first draft in the next couple of weeks!

That's life in this corner of the world. Hope you are all well!

It's so beautiful out here! 77 and bright sunny skies. Of course, that means it will be 85 by late afternoon and might not be as comfortable, but for now it's perfect weather to lounge naked under the canopy.

I'm blown away by the sales of my new eBook, Team Manager: SWISH! I know that for some, 500 sales in a month is routine. An acquaintance of mine is on the NYT best seller list all the time. One of his distributors recently sent him a plaque celebrating his 250,000th sale through their stores. Of one title. I celebrate where I find cause. Even had a martini a few nights ago--first alcohol in four months. Wasn't nearly as good as I remembered.

So, I chose a different way to celebrate this week. I released Team Manager: SWISH! as a paperback. I wasn't intending to because just printing a paperback this size (590 pages) is costly. But I decided I wanted a copy for myself, so I put it together. It's on Amazon for $19.99 because that's what you party like when you're my age. If you'd like a signed copy, you can direct your inquiry to me. Price in the US will be $30. Not sure about elsewhere because I don't know how much it costs to ship to other countries.

I'm nearly finished with the sequel, Team Manager: SPRINT!, and have put it in the hands of my capable editors. They've been supplying me with a lot of ideas for the next volume, and I'm compiling notes. I'll probably start working on it early in July.

In the meantime, as if I don't have enough to write, I've been captured by a fantasy idea that I've started make notes on. The idea is gelling, but still in an unstable state. Here's what the pitch is.

Jackie the Beanstalk
A new high school graduate, tall skinny Jackie is surprised by her grandparents' gift of an unusual car. Her Aunt Misty and dog Roadkill jump in the car with her for an impromptu road trip that leads Jackie to the rescue in ever-increasingly bizarre circumstances. Is it all real? Or is Jackie hallucinating being a Warrior Wizard in a strange parallel universe?

I see this one as being humorous, very light on sex, and just plain fun, both to write and to read. I don't expect it to be an epic. Just a little something to fill the time while I'm developing the next biggie.

Guessing that's about everything for this week. Carry on.