TheDarkKnight: Blog

I don't usually do this, but I thought I would let folks know that my recent sickness and lethargy are over, and my keyboard is humming again. Hmm, maybe I should have that checked out.

Anyway, the next chapters of both "Daisy and Me" and "Cassie" are moving along nicely, and I have two new stories that I'm just getting started on. I know, I know, trying to juggle that many at once only slows me down, but it's how my mind works.

Maybe posting this will make me work harder and faster, so I don't disappoint. We'll see.

I've been under the weather for a week or so, but I finally found enough energy to finish the first chapter of a new story. So, come take a look, and see if you like my new enchantress as much as I do.

BTW, I think "under the weather" is a stupid expression, but everybody knows what it means.

For those that care, another chapter of "Daisy and Me" is coming.

Thirteen months ago, I started posting on SOL again after a ten-year absence. In that time, I've written 18(!) stories, some with multiple chapters. I'm feeling a bit burnt out, which isn't surprising. I'm almost 81 for fucks sake. I still have lots of ideas to develop, but I'm trying to force myself to take my time in finishing them.

Don't worry, I'm not going away, just slowing down.

That last sentence made me think about some of the plane crash videos I've been watching lately on YouTube (don't ask). One of the things a lot of those accidents have in common is when a plane goes too slow, it stalls, and BANG. So, that might be a good reason for me not to slow up too much; I kinda want to keep myself airborne.

Sometimes I get the feeling that I'm writing the same stuff over and over, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Here are the scores of my most active posts, based on weekly downloads:

6.99, 6.86, 7.09, 7.00, 7.80. 6.81, 7.01, 6.67, 7.18

So, at least I'm consistent. I guess I've found my lane and should stay in it, even though it can be frustrating. The last time I tried something different, a no-sex, horror story, it bombed, at least based on downloads and votes.

When I think about some of the real authors that I like, John Connolly, John Sanford, Riley Sager, Michael Robotham, for example, "staying in their lane" seems to work for them, so perhaps I should forget about experimenting and just do what I seem to do well, even though occasionally I get the urge to let my secret 'Stephen King' persona out.

Well, this is weird. I didn't expect a no-sex, horror story to be very popular, and I was right about that. 'Spiders' has only had a little over 350 downloads so far. The really mysterious part is that it doesn't have enough votes yet for the score to show. I don't remember ever having a story sit there for four days without getting a score. Not sure what that means - do people download it, start reading it, and just bail? Come on, readers, give me some feedback, even if it's a 1 or 2.

On a happier note, this morning I hit 500,000 downloads! It had been my goal to get there before the end of the year, and now it's not even Halloween. A small yippee! for me. I'm not embarrassed to post that, because we all know that the main purpose of blog posts is ego-stroking.

Now that I've got my horror story out of my system, I'm working on the next chapter of 'Daisy and Me', and a new story with NO teenagers, but plenty of sex.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled reading.