Behind the Scenes of THE FRACTURED STATE SERIES: PART ONE

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Fractured State coverWith the release of FRACTURED STATE less than a month away, I thought I’d give readers and fans a look behind the scenes at the creation of the near future, dystopian world supporting the story. As most of you know, I spend a considerable amount of time envisioning and creating the worlds behind my fiction. The process is time consuming, and if left unchecked, can take on a life of its own. I know this from experience. When I started to create the world for my first novel, The Jakarta Pandemic, I reached a point, long into the early stages of development, where I asked myself: “When are you going to actually start writing the story?” I didn’t have an answer, which in itself was my answer. It was time to quit researching the world, describing characters on notepads, creating maps, developing timelines—AND TIME TO GET DOWN TO BUSINESS. I had spent months world building, when I could and should have been writing.

With that lesson SORT OF learned—a few times, I’ve developed a rough world-building process that gets me started and keeps me on the right track.

IMG_13421.) Creating a world to support a series requires me to create a ALTERNATE HISTORY, or in the case of Fractured State, a FUTURE set 20 years from today. Either way, I start out with a TIMELINE OF EVENTS. This is outside of the story plot. For the Fractured State series, I started in 2016 and envisioned the world, national, state and personal-level events that would land the reader on page one. As you can see, this sheet has endured coffee and beer stains, many on-the-fly changes and an accidental “throw away” since I created it in early 2015. It rarely leaves my side while I’m writing.

2.) For the kind of deep background and expansive geographical reach involved in writing a series like Fractured State, I find the use of MAPS to be invaluable. I create them throughout the entire process, starting with big picture world building maps down to individual scene orientation maps. Every complex, action oriented scene likely originated with a sketch.

IMG_1343
First map created
IMG_1344
Map of California’s present and future energy sites
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Motel scene in Rogue State (Book 2)…little spoiler.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.) Whether based in the past, present or future, I also create lists and descriptions of the organizations involved in the story. Past and present is easy…a few clicks on Google and you have a nice organizational chart of the CIA. Future requires a little more work. In Fractured State, I envisioned San Diego County as an entity that effectively absorbed every municipality throughout the current county, providing town administration, resource management, leadership and police functions for the entire geography. San Diego County Police Department (SDCPD) officers patrol the streets of Chula Vista, CA, south of San Diego, just he same as the streets of Carlsbad, CA—40 miles away.

In Fractured State, Nathan Fisher, the story’s main character, works as a water reclamation engineer at the San Diego Water Reclamation Authority, an entity that does not exist today. Since water reclamation is a critical part of Californian’s lives in my story, I gave it an organization separate, but subordinate to the existing Water Authority. Of course, in the resource stressed world of Fractured State, both authorities serve under the San Diego County Resource Authority. Yeah, I have fun with this stuff. Sorry to put you to sleep!

4.) Throughout the creation of the TIMELINE, MAPS and boring ORGANIZATIONS, I’m constantly researching topics related to the big picture to generate new ideas, validate previously envisioned plot points or expand the story.

lake meadFor Fractured State, I spent a lot of time studying WATER sources in California, the rest of the southwest and the Great Plains. While the events in my story are purely fictional, the historic, ongoing drought in California and the U.S. Southwest is REAL. Frighteningly real. California’s current drought started me on the path to writing this series. The more I researched, the more I knew I had the background for an incredible story. What if the drought continued for another 20 years like many climatologists agree is possible? AND what if the effects of the drought were intensified by corrupt group of greedy industrialists and enforced by a ruthless mercenary army on their payroll? Secession? Mayhem? All of the above.

Check out some of the original bookmarked links that I used to get a feel for the drought issues facing California and the nation. It’s scary stuff. All of it. I just listed them as LINK. Click on any or all to give yourself a fright.

LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK.

ORDER FRACTURED STATE TODAY!

READ BEHIND THE SCENES PART 2, PART 3, PART 4 and PART 5

Diversification in the new Indie landscape

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

2015Without borrowing too many of the themes expertly highlighted by my esteemed colleague, Russell Blake, in his recent flurry of end of the year, must-read posts (The New Landscape and 2015 Predictions), I want to take a few moments to explore a critical strategy for navigating the new Indie publishing landscape. Diversification.

There’s little doubt that the e-book landscape has changed. From the weakening impact of popular promotional services (if you can even get selected for one of the major services) to a softening of the traditional Indie pricing advantage, most Indies (big and small) have reported a decline in e-book sales and revenue. The launch of Kindle Unlimited remains a key suspect in 2nd half 2014 declines, ironically affecting authors that had taken steps to shield their book portfolios from Amazon by taking their books out of Kindle Select. This is the kind of irony that leaves nobody laughing.

For ebooks, 2014 yielded a seismic shift in the Indie landscape, with after shocks that will be felt long into 2015. 

What can an Indie author do to prepare for 2015? As I sit down to create my 2015 business goals, I look back at 2014, and wonder how I can replicate the year’s sales numbers? Financially, 2014 represented my best year as a writer, and it had little to do with ebooks. That’s not exactly true. It had less to do with ebooks, and more to do with treating the novels as fully exploitable property. It also had to do with seeking completely different opportunities, some of which represented a bit of a risk. 

Before I talk strategies, here’s a brief recap of the basic numbers, which you might find surprising. I certainly did:

Ebook unit sales were down 28.7% in 2014, over 2013—With the addition of 4 relatively successful titles!

Income across all sources was up 51% in 2014 from 2013.

This may have you squinting, because it came as a surprise to me. I knew e-book sales were down, but I hadn’t assembled the full financial picture. This is clearly a business performance I would like to repeat. What did I do differently in 2014, and how will I proceed in 2015?

– I raised the prices of all of my titles, and saw an immediate impact on revenue without a drop in units. I had always hovered in the $3.99 range, with $4.99 the going price for a new release. I bumped that up a dollar in each category. Nothing earth shattering, but it made a difference. I don’t know if these prices will be sustainable in 2015, with the advent of subscription reader services and lower priced “big name” offerings. See Russell Blake’s New Landscape post for an in-depth look. I’ll be watching this aspect closely.

– I started a real mailing list. Prior to going full-time as a writer in the fall of 2013, I handled this task miserably, collecting emails myself. I had “calls to action” at the end of my novels, but they were about as compelling as a cold hamburger. I signed up for MailChimp  and tripled my mailing list using basic strategies found in various Indie help guides. This allowed me to sell a lot of books surrounding each new release, at a good price. When you see over a thousand people on your mailing list click your pre-order link, that’s a good feeling. I sorely wish I had taken this more seriously from the beginning. I’m constantly looking for ways to improve sign-ups. In 2015, I will be giving away free books for readers that sign up.

– Switched Genres. Actually, I went back to my original genre—post apocalyptic. My first novel, The Jakarta Pandemic, launched my early writing career. I wrote four books after Jakarta, all in the covert operations thriller genre. The books fared extremely well from 2012-2013, allowing me to quit my day job, but 2013 marked the beginning of huge resurgence in post-apocalyptic books, particularly prepper-themed books like The Jakarta Pandemic. I started writing The Perseid Collapse Series in late 2013, publishing 3 books in the series in 2014. Trust me when I say, GENRE MATTERS. As a small example, my paper sales are up 210%—all in the post-apocalyptic realm—and the numbers represent 6% of my overall sales. As you can probably guess, I will not stray far from the post-apocalyptic genre in 2015.

– Audiobooks saved 2014. I sold more than 9,000 audiobooks in 2014, most of them in the post-apocalyptic genre, and most of them through pay-per-production deals through ACX. I can’t understate the importance of analyzing your genre and seeing if audiobooks are profitable. My thriller audiobooks (Black Flagged Series) are on a 14 month investment recuperation schedule. I can live with that. My goal is to create viable, long-term income streams. However, my post-apocalyptic (PA) audiobooks earn out within a month, sometimes less than that. Another strong argument for sticking with the post-apocalyptic genre. I won’t hesitate to produce all of my books in 2015.

– Loans through KU/KOLL up 107% over 2013. Not just from Kindle Unlimited. Loans early in the year were strong, though the total numbers were clearly bumped by KU. To date this year, I’ve seen more than 10,000 loans, 60% under KU. Kindle Select has been a benefit for 2014, however, I’m constantly analyzing the landscape, and here’s what I’ve seen and done.

Loans for my Black Flagged series have always lagged behind my PA work, and after a brief Kindle Unlimited boost, they dropped significantly with overall e-book sales in October. My PA work held steady. That gave me enough of a push to take the series out of Select and widen distribution. I’ve heard nothing but good things about iBooks and Kobo, and these rumors proved true. The numbers haven’t reached the break-even point compared to Select, but the trends are positive, and I don’t think this will be a decision I regret. With that said, my post-apocalyptic books will stay in Select for now.

– Kindle Worlds. This has been the biggest surprise of the year in many ways. I started out writing one novella for Blake Crouch’s Wayward Pines world. Blake reached out to me in February 2104, asking if I’d be interested in writing in his world—how do you refuse one of your favorite authors? You don’t, especially if you love the Wayward series as much as I do, and found yourself in between projects. I took two weeks to write a 23K world novella, discovering a story arc for a three novella series. I wrote the next two installments in August, once again taking a break between novels. In October, I was contacted by Kindle Worlds and asked to combine the three into an omnibus, which they’ve featured prominently on the Kindle Worlds page.

Shortly after that, I was asked to write a novella for A.G. Riddle’s Atlantis World, which I published in early December. To date, I’ve sold close to 5,000 novellas through Kindle Worlds, establishing a new, unexpected income stream. Sales have been steady, tied to the success of the original series. Not a bad deal at all when your novella shows up on the first or second page of “also boughts” of books consistently ranked in the top hundred paid Kindle titles.

This is my ultimate diversification story. Not only do I receive numerous emails from Blake Crouch’s fans, who have found my work through the novellas, but I’ve managed to strike an incredible deal. Through working extensively with the excellent folks at KW (one gentlemen in particular), I successfully pitched my series as one of their worlds.

On February 3, 2015, The Perseid Collapse Series launches as one of their Kindle Worlds. This would never have happened if I hadn’t decided to take a chance on Kindle Worlds. I’m not telling everyone to run out and write in Kindle Worlds, but I took a chance on this, and it paid off in a way I never expected when the journey began. It’s hard to beat that, but I’ll offer a few more areas to explore.

– Foreign Translations. I’ve dabbled unsuccessfully in this for a few years, but finally managed to attract the attention of Amazon’s foreign translation unit, Amazon Crossing. My first novel will launch in Germany on January 6, 2015, and I hope this represents a new frontier for my books. I’m waiting to see how this novel fares in the German market, and will evaluate the possibility of paying for the translation of follow-on novels. It’s an expensive venture, one I’d prefer to leave in Amazon Crossing’s hands, so I hope Die Jakarta Pandemie does well enough to attract another offer in 2015.  

– Live Connections. I attended two conferences this year. BEA in New York City and Bouchercon 2014 in Long Beach. At BEA, I met several fantastically helpful authors—all several stratospheres more successful than Steven Konkoly. They’ve all helped me in 2014, one of them in particular. I don’t want to name names, but TR gave me the idea to pitch my series as a Kindle World, and she’s been instrumental in pursuing the foreign translation market. Not only did I meet authors, I had the pleasure of hanging out with the talented crew behind the scenes at KDP, Createspace, Audible, Kindle Worlds and Amazon publishing imprints. I fully intend to repeat this circuit. 

– New Series in 2015. Can you guess which genre? I plan to write a three book series in 2015, leaving room for other projects. I don’t know what these projects might be, but that’s half the fun. I’m good for about 450K words in a year, so that leaves me some wiggle room, if not an entire fourth novel.

WHAT AM I MISSING? What are you planning to do differently in 2015, or the same? 

 

 

Eight Tips for New Writers…of any age

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

This post is dedicated to a young gentleman named Noah (10 years old), who is writing a science fiction story about the future of mankind. His father, an avid reader and fan of my books, asked if I had any tips for his son. I decided to compile a short list of advice that might inspire and guide a young writer, realizing halfway through— that this is the same basic advice I would give to a new writer oftyping-test any age.

Good luck, Noah, and all of the new writers out there!

1. Eat lots of vegetables and don’t talk to strangers…sorry kids, a few parents paid me to put this here! By the way, this advice applies to adults more than children.

2. Keep a notebook for ideas and spontaneous writing.  If an idea or scenario strikes, starting writing—even if you have no idea where this story will go. If the story doesn’t progress beyond a page of notebook scribbles—no worries—it might be the seed of a great story later. As a writer, the junk drawer doesn’t exist. 

3. Write every day. Just a little. OR a lot! If you don’t feel like writing “in a story,” create a character, or draw a character or scene. Continuously create!

4. Do a little research into your story. Feel like a professional…under supervision. Lots of wrong turns to take on the internet…even for adults.

5. Let everyone know you’re writing a story. Seriously. Bottling up or hiding your work is the best way to ensure that it never sees the light of day. People like to read, and they like to read stories. The more people who know you’re a writer, the better! You’ll build an audience of supporters early.

6. When you find a story that you continue to write, it’s time for a plan. Nothing fancy or complicated, just a quick spin beyond what you’ve written. Where do you see the story headed? How do you think it will end? Who are the characters? Can you create a timeline or progression of the story or world you’ve created? This shouldn’t feel like work…even when it’s your job (like mine).

7. Take one series you’ve seen on TV/Movies and read the books. Compare the two in an essay. What did each do better? Worse? As a writer, you want the reading experience to be the better experience.

8. Read as much as you can. This isn’t original advice, but I can’t understate the importance of reading. Novels, essays, novellas or short stories. Exposure to the written word is an essential building block for a writer. Did that sound too obvious? Here’s the thing—I had no idea this was true until I started writing in my late 30’s. When you read, you absorb without studying. You casually examine story telling styles, grammar, sentence construction, plotting…all without spending a second in the classroom. I’ve taken one writing class in my life, a semester of Creative Writing (at the U.S. Naval Academy), but I’ve studied writing, without knowing it, for my entire lifetime.

9.) Always Remember—there are worse ways to make a living! 

Working on Vacation…

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

In my dream office.

It’s pretty hard to complain about bringing work along on vacation, when this is your early morning workspace. While everyone else snored away below deck, I sat here and typed away to the sound of distant lobster boats, seagulls and the occasional splash of a frolicking seal. I can’t begin to explain how productive this time was for me. 82K words into Black Flagged Apex. I can see the finish line. I just need about three more weeks out on Casco Bay to finish it.

Standby…Standby…BLACK FLAGGED is a GO!

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

UPDATED  11/13/2011: Thank you for a great launch week! So far, the total raised for the campaign is $253.50. Simply fantastic. I am extending the matching donation campaign one more week. All proceeds from sales for this next week will go to the Disabled American Veterans organization, and once again, I will match them. Spread the word! Early holiday gift? 

Purchase from all sources here: www.blackflaggedseries.com

After some masterful stalling on my part, Black Flagged is now available and ready for public consumption. Only one year after my first novel, The Jakarta Pandemic…not bad for a part-time writer? Now that I have settled into a regular writing routine, the next one will come quicker.

What’s new about Black Flagged? This time I did it right from the start. My first novel was a learning experience across the board. A good story from the beginning…but I had to relaunch the book at the start of the summer, with professional editing and a real cover (by a real artist). My sincere thanks goes out to everyone that somehow overlooked the editing issues and enjoyed the story…or just didn’t say anything. At this point, with 101 reviews on Amazon, and countless reader emails…my skin is pretty thick, and I take feedback to heart. So please don’t hesitate to let me know what you think…good or bad.

With Veterans Day right around the corner, I am launching the book with a special campaign to raise money for Disabled American Veterans. If you plan to order a hard copy of my book, please consider taking a few extra steps to order the book from the special links listed in the BOOK STORE to the right, or at the appropriate button on the each book’s individual website. I’m doing this for both books.  Learn more here.

If you’re new to Black Flagged, here are a few links to bring you up to speed, and give you a taste of what’s in store, if you decide to take the plunge.

Character Teasers

Black Flagged Website

Prologue Sample

More Samples are available in the SAMPLES section to the right.Grab a copy and sit back for a gritty, non-stop ride through some shadowy places, where trust is a hard concept to sell, and the term “economy of violence” is the key to hour by hour survival.

OFFICIAL BOOK TEASER

Book One of the Black Flagged Series.

A graduate of the Department of Defense’s experimental Black Flag program, Daniel Petrovich carries a secret he’d rather keep buried. A secret his government has hidden in the deepest vaults of the Pentagon. Unfortunately for Daniel, some secrets carry a debt that can never be repaid, and certain acquired skills will always hold their value. Someone is trying to raise Black Flag from the dead, and bring Daniel back with it. Someone who knows all of his darkest secrets.

In exchange for the promise of a clean slate, and a chance to keep the life he has built with the woman he loves, he agrees to carry out one final mission. Now Daniel has an even bigger problem. The assassination of Mohammed Ghani, a wealthy Muslim importer, wasn’t the uncomplicated mission he had been promised.

Seven other prominent Muslim businessmen are killed on the same night along the East Coast, suddenly extinguishing Task Force HYDRA, the most significant counter-terrorism investigation in recent FBI history.

Daniel’s life is about to disintegrate, as he becomes the focus of a relentless FBI manhunt, and the target of a vengeful CIA agent. To survive, he’ll be forced to release a dark side he fought for years to keep suppressed. A dark side with few boundaries, and even fewer loyalties.

Find a Niche, and Expand It

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

In today’s fiction market, you either need a sizable backlist, a ready-to-go fan base, or a traditional publishing deal to come out of the gate bursting with sales. Your Twitter following of 800 other authors doesn’t count as a launching pad, either. The most common problem for new authors, is the search for readership. Unless you’re writing to fill your own bookshelf, you share the same dilemma. I know…we all have an incredibly interesting, unique novel, ready to unleash upon the unsuspecting world…but so does every other writer reading this essay. And this is just the tip of the iceberg! The key term here, is “unsuspecting world.” I’m fairly confident the world will push onward in blissful ignorance of your book, if you don’t find a way to start a small fire. You need to find a niche, and expand it.

I’ll be blunt with my story. I published The Jakarta Pandemic in October of 2010, and had no clue what to do with it. I was just glad to have finished it. Three years of disorganized part time writing, and now what? I had no marketing plan…or concept. I had started research into the traditional publishing world, but quickly came to the conclusion that this would be a long process. Fine, except it bothered me that friends and family couldn’t read the culmination of three years’ effort, and might never read it, if I waited for a New York deal. So, I uploaded my book to Kindle, Nook and CreateSpace…and made the big announcement to friends and family.

I had a modest burst of sales in October and November, which tapered off as I exhausted my supply of friends and family (thank you for the support!). A few reviews on Amazon followed (I recognized the names…thank you again!), and then it all fizzled. To be honest, I didn’t expect anything different. I started writing query letters to literary agents, but felt dirty each time I wrote that little personal note in there…you know, the one that lets the agent know that you did about two minutes of “in-depth” research into their background. I wrote seven queries (5 e-mail and 2 paper) before I read Joe Konrath’s blog, and said “screw this.”

Something very fortuitous occurred around the same time. Previously, I had decided to classify my book as a thriller (accurate), and weakly pursued the thriller market on a few web forums. If you haven’t figured it out, there are a lot of thrillers out there. Labeling your book a thriller is like selling grass seed and advertising the color. No shit, it’s green. No shit, you wrote a “thriller.” But I was a first time author, new to the writing world, and thrillers always top the best seller lists. Dominate the lists, actually. My wife showed me an article that proved it.

So, what knocked me out of this “thriller” silo? I received a 5-Star review from someone that lauded the survivalist aspect of my novel. He liked the thriller aspect of the book too, and said “move over Robert Ludlum.” Over the top for sure, but I could tell that the survivalist aspects struck home the most with this reader. My book does have a strong survivalist and prepper theme, so I started to wonder what I could do with this. I did a little research into the survivalist community.

I found one particular forum that dealt exclusively with survival prepping and related topics. They had a lively fiction/story-telling thread, so I joined the forum, introduced myself, and committed to releasing my entire novel (one chapter at a time). I was warmly welcomed, and kept my word over the next four to five months. Many readers couldn’t wait for the next installment, and purchased hard copies or e-books. Reviews poured in, and the book started picking up steam on Amazon. Of course, I made sure that the search terms reflected survival, so other like-minded readers could easily find it. I had found my first niche. My book’s thread is still in the top ten viewed story threads on this site.

As my Amazon ranking climbed (modestly), I started to pick up more readers, from a wider spectrum. Out of nowhere, I was contacted by another author, to participate in a Post-Apocalyptic (PA) blog tour. Uh…I suppose so…never really thought of my book in this genre. Really? A book about a devastating pandemic? WTF was I thinking. I eagerly agreed, and started joining PA forums everywhere. Unbelievable. These were truly my people, for this book. A dedicated crew, like the survivalist/prepper group, Post-Apocalyptic readers devour everything written in the genre. I started this in mid-February, and pushed heavy through March. It is no coincidence that my sales jumped from 160 in January, to 645 in February…to 1400 in March. My Amazon ranking (overall Kindle store) dipped into the 800’s. The good old days. I had really found my true niche, and a supportive group of hard core readers.

I have a new book launching in late October, and I can’t wait to see how the two will synergistically work together. I don’t have thousands of readers eagerly waiting by their Kindles for this book, but I do have a sizable core of ready readers that will immediately buy it, and probably review it. There are also over 9000 people (total downloads) out there, who have read my work, and might look me up again, when they’re searching for something to read this fall. Now I just need to work on a niche to go with my “backlist,” and give prospective readers a reason to gravitate toward the Black Flagged series.

Black Flagged Character Teasers

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Enjoy this sneak peek at the key characters in my upcoming release, BLACK FLAGGED...available in mid-October. The final back cover blurb is also ready. Thanks for the input, everyone.

FINAL BLURB

You can always check out a sample of Black Flagged here:

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Three of Black Flagged

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Daniel Petrovich

Who is Daniel Petrovich? Very few people know the real truth behind this question, and Daniel likely says a little prayer every night wishing each and every one of them a fatal heart attack. In Black Flagged, the reader will meet Daniel behind a sleek, brushed metal desk, buried in MBA level work at Zenith Semiconductor. He’s been hiding here for a few years, trying to forget the past, and build a new life with the woman he loves.

Unfortunately for Daniel, some secrets carry a debt that can never be repaid, and certain acquired skills will always hold their value, even in a down economy. Daniel Petrovich will be asked to perform one last mission by his former mentor, General Terrence Sanderson. It’s an easy job for a highly trained operative like Petrovich…a simple killing, right across town, and all in the name of national security. With the promise of a clean slate, Daniel agrees. What could possible go wrong?

Special Agent-in-Charge, Ryan Sharpe

As the Agent-in-Charge of Task Force HYDRA, Ryan Sharpe just received the worst possible news imaginable. All eight of HYDRA’s investigative suspects were murdered last night, literally leaving the FBI with a dead investigation. Someone just put Al Qaeda’s domestic funding network out of business, without any warning, and the FBI doesn’t have much time to figure out why. Ryan Sharpe will lead Task Force HYDRA into a frightening day, focusing on the nebulous organization behind the killings, and desperately scrambling to seek answers. Nervous about the possibility of an impending terrorist attack, pressure from the Beltway puppetmasters will mount on Sharpe, forcing him to adopt tactics not found in the FBI’s operational rule book.

Karl Berg, Assistant Director Counter-Terrorism Center, National Clandestine Service

Karl Berg has been around the CIA long enough to have a “friend” in nearly every dark shadow cast by the U.S. government…and oddly enough, most of them owe him a favor or two. Karl is a player within Langley. Long ago a foreign operative himself, he’s not afraid to bend the rules, or manipulate the scenes for the CIA’s benefit….or his own. While the FBI desperately chases its own tail from Maine to Washington D.C., trying to uncover the true agenda behind the sudden murder of eight suspected Al Qaeda financiers, Karl will stumble upon a ghost from the past. A ghost that will ignite a thirst for revenge that can only be satisfied with blood. Berg is about to call in a few big favors, and ignite a deadly rampage with the D.C. Beltway.

Brigadier General Terrence Sanderson, U.S. Army (retired)

General Sanderson is exactly the kind of soldier you want on the front lines of the war on terror, watching over us long after we’ve tucked ourselves safely into bed at night…unless you have a problem with the trampling of the Geneva Convention and most laws, international or domestic. Disgraced into retirement after the operational details of his controversial Black Flag surfaced on Capitol Hill, Sanderson is back, and he’s not about to let the Pentagon, or a few government agencies stand in the way of his time-tested brand of patriotism. Backed by a wealthy, hidden cartel of “Patriots,” and some…a lot of blood money “confiscated” during Black Flag’s operational heydays, the good general is about to set in motion a series of events that will leave the FBI, CIA and most of Washington D.C. speechless.

Special Agent Justin Edwards

Movie star handsome, Ivy League educated, born to wealthy parents; Justin Edwards is a rising…well, maybe just a star within the FBI. What’s not to like about Justin Edwards? Most agents find it difficult to look beyond his perpetually elitist and arrogant attitude, and all of the female agents are tired of trying to get him to look above their chests. Only family connections have stemmed the tide of his misogynistic conduct, and kept him in Bureau for this long.

Justin’s not a complete loss to the FBI. He’s a solid investigator, and in the aftermath of the HYDRA murders, he finds himself bathed in foul breath and distasteful cologne…cramped into a briefing room at the dawn of a very long day for the FBI. Under protest, he accepts his assignment to lead the on-scene murder investigation of Mohammed Ghani in Maine. Feeling that he should have been assigned to a more important, cosmopolitan location, Edwards goes through the motions, unaware that he stands at a deadly and violently unpredictable crossroad. One that will define his future at the FBI…if he survives.

“Your’re gonna need a bigger boat”

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

And I’m not talking about trading in my Sabre 28′ for a Pearson 34’…though an  extra six feet would make all of the difference on our two-week trip up the Maine coast. Always a thought I suppose.

No, I’m talking about one of the greatest lines in movie history, delivered flawlessly by a terrified Roy Scheider. Oh, it’s such an awesome scene! Take a few seconds to refresh your memory. It’s a classic, from a timeless film: “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

Timeless, because every year we try to sit down and watch this movie as a family, and every year we get about twenty minutes in before pulling the plug on the idea. It has become a family tradition during Shark Week...to almost watch Jaws. We usually pass on St. Patty’s Day, forget Cinco De Mayo, lazily throw out plastic eggs at the last-minute for Easter, and this year as you know, we bagged on the Fourth of July fireworks. But we never miss Shark Week!

I can’t remember how old I was when I first saw Jaws, but I can confidently say that it scared the shit out of me. The movie did, but the whole fear of sharks on open water never took root…until much later in life. I grew up in northwest Indiana, and saw the beach maybe four times a year. Lake Michigan. No sharks in fresh water, so I never really connected with this fear. My wife grew up in Buffalo, and probably had the same experience. Terrifying movie, but who cares really? Right?

I started to develop a fear of the open water during my brief stint in SEAL training, at the BUD/S compound in Coronado. More specifically, during open ocean training. I remember paddling exhausted, well past the surf line, and seeing a four-foot long shark break the surface right next to our rubber boat. It panicked four sturdy SEAL students, including myself, in broad daylight. I remember saying to myself something along the lines of “Son of a bitch! We swim out here too!” From that point forward, I wasn’t very keen on the idea of swimming off the Coronado beaches as a BUD/S trainee, I didn’t even like splashing around inside of the surf line. Remember what you learned watching Jaws! Most attacks occur in under two feet of water, less than ten feet from the shoreline. I think I’ve heard this fact reinforced on The Today Show, so it must be true.

I sat down yesterday, with a little spare time on my hands to finish this blog post. Nobody was home, so I put Jaws back on. I didn’t get much writing done. I love that movie. The characters are fantastic, the music is unforgettable…the whole concept is sheer genius. I never really payed too much attention to the setting until yesterday, and now I know why my wife gave me “the look” Sunday night, as we started watching. The opening scene is scary enough, but it wasn’t until a little later that we both had that gut reaction to turn the movie off. I finally know why.

The setting looked way too close to the places we visit in our sail boat! Holy crap they look the same.

Quaint islands and seaside towns. Calm, uncrowded beaches…the beach at Amity Island looked like any of the beaches we visit within 5 minutes of our house. We decided that if we ever want the kids to jump off the side of our sailboat into strange waters, this was not the best movie to show them. To confirm out decision, nobody put up a fight…and these kids can fight if they don’t agree.

I took theses pictures at various stops. You might recognize them. My daughter is in the water at Diamond Cove, a popular island stop not too far from our marina. These are the memories I’d like the kids to have. Fun in the water. Let me worry about the sharks…and I worry, you should see how fast I get out after diving headfirst into the water to cool off. Irrational, but I’ve seen Jaws too many times.

In case anyone is interested, our next family movie is Poltergeist…another classic! I’m actually not kidding.  Maybe they won’t want to watch TV after seeing it…can’t be a bad thing, right? “There here.” I can’t wait…and I’ll never go in the basement again. Damn these movies!

These blogs are all about fun and sharing. Thank you for reading a ‘#100blogfest’ blog. Please follow this link to find the next blog in the series: http://martinkingauthor.com/blog/7094550076

What a character would do…

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Or rather be caught dead than doing.

Character development is a complicated aspect of writing. Like in our own lives, a glaring inconsistency draws a ton of attention, especially on paper (or e-ink).

This post was long overdue, and a minor criticism at my last writers group meeting motivated me to tackle the subject. What was the criticism? My protagonist, male…a former deep-cover operative, pulled a bottle of Riesling out of the refrigerator to share with his wife. Apparently, men don’t drink Riesling. Not even in 2005. And I thought it would go nicely with the Thai food they were eating. I was a little defensive, maybe a little hurt…I like Riesling (not a first or second choice, but it does pair well with spicy food). Alas, everyone agreed that a beer was more appropriate. This is a character compromise I am more than happy to make…if only this was their only suggestion about my new story, Black Flagged. PREVIEW.

This is a pretty minor criticism compared to some of the critique I have received over the months regarding the protagonist of my first book, The Jakarta Pandemic. Alex Fletcher, decorated war veteran, and former Marine Corps officer, grates on some peoples’ nerves! Who has the most trouble with this character? Conservatives. Alex takes a few jabs at Fox news, here and there. And, he’s a vegetarian that has installed solar panels on his roof. He also keeps his guns responsibly locked in a safe (until there is a definable danger), and doesn’t immediately kill any potential hazard to his family with extreme prejudice. I have also been accused, in a few of the reviews, of pushing a liberal agenda through this character. Huh? Did I mention that Alex is pro-choice and supports gay marriage? No, I didn’t…so I though I was safe from the appearance of political partisanship in the book. Apparently not. Probably a little naive on my part. One reviewer, who loved the story overall, said that the “author was conflicted,” because I created a character that didn’t comfortably fit into ANY political classification. I’m actually proud of that.

Still, all of this raised some awareness about character actions, and I do keep this in mind while writing my next book. I have dozens of characters, all with their own thoughts and rationales for what they do. Once again, I miss the good old days of The Jakarta Pandemic. It’s pretty difficult to keep a character “in line” throughout a 300-400 page book, so this will be one of the primary focuses that I assign to all of my pre-readers (those that will read the first edition before it goes to print), writers group and EDITOR (that’s you Felicia).

Keep my male characters away from ANY drinks that come with a pink umbrella!

More Excuses…two of them

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

I have become really proficient at coming up with excuses not to write…don’t worry, I’m “running” out of them. So here is my dilemma and a possible solution:

I used to write in the evening, after everyone “sallied forth” to bed (including my beloved), however, I recently started to run in the morning…and if I stay up past 10:00, I will not get up in time to run, fix breakfast for two fully competent kid (get it…they can make their own breakfast), pack lunches/snacks (another thing they can do) and watch a few minutes of tragedy or “men behaving badly” on the Today Show. Of course, “the crew” does not retire for the evening until 8:45, and my spirited daughter can be heard running back and forth, or bouncing on her bed until well after 9. She stays up later than my wife on most occasions. It doesn’t leave me with a lot of time.

Running in the morning, which at first seemed to be another hindrance, may turn out to be my savior. I run every other day, but still wake up rather early on non-run days (especially during the summer months). I think this will have to be my new writing time. A fresh cup of coffee, hopefully a cool breeze blowing through the office…and compete silence in the house for a few hours. This will have to work for me, or it may be a long time until you see a finished copy of Black Flagged. The Plot Chart is staring me in the face.

As a side note. Through Amazon sales channels, I noted that 10 copies of The Jakarta Pandemic were purchased (at the same time) through the expanded sales channel option (used by bookstores and vendors to purchase at wholesale prices). What does this mean? I can only assume that a bookstore purchased enough copies to stack them on a shelf. I really wish I knew where. Keep your eyes open, and if you see copies of my book…please let me know, I’d like to personally thank them (and sign all ten copies).

The Culprit

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Not sure how this will look on my blog…this is my first mobile posting. The vessel in the picture is the reason I have written a grand total of two pages in two weeks. Painting, waxing, buffing, varnishing, washing…more waxing. Leaving town for Memorial Day weekend didn’t help either.

Vessel Name: Dolci (Italian for candy or sweet). She certainly is a sweet boat, and well worth the distraction. Thanks to April showers, she’s almost three weeks late reaching the water. Today is the big day.

One more excuse for a low word count…but can you really blame me?

The structure of a plot…

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

My new novel’s Plot Chart

Or what I like to call…Order out of Chaos. I recently submitted this picture to my writers group, with a short explanation of my “to be discussed” submission (Chapter Three of my next novel Black Flagged). As a joke (a dry one), I told them that if my explanation was confusing, then they should refer to this plot chart, which would clarify things. They got the joke, and everyone that responded, kindly informed me that they couldn’t read the chart, which was my intention…I can’t give away the entire plot that easily.  I figured that only someone with a relative or friend working in a CSI lab could turn this into a readable image. They knew that too. Joke’s on me.

I often get the question, how do you even start writing a novel?

That’s the easy part (or maybe the hardest for some). You take a story idea brewing in your head, and start to craft a scene. Then you start writing. Does it have to be the beginning of the story? No. In my opinion. Once you get to writing, you’ll know soon enough were the scene fits. This is where you start to develop a problem. You really need some form of structure in order to continue. Even if it’s a simple notebook outline.  I should come to a SCREECHING HALT at this point. I can feel the heat on the back of my neck. Yes, many writers start with the structure before writing. Characters. Places, Everything. You can buy software to help you craft everything before you write a word, or you can borrow a book that gives you the framework for creating basic story structure. This approach is pretty common.

And, I don’t think I’ll ever really do it that way. I like to get the concept of the book formed in my head, and start writing a scene or two…but very soon after, the over-organized, ex-military side of me needs to start working on the details of structure. It really gnaws at me. I scribble a comprehensive outline in my notebook (15-20 pages), leaving room for additional information. I like time lines to be accurate, so I always start a historical time line of events. I start a character info sheet…nothing too fancy (names, basic info, description). I have to stop myself at some point and get back to writing. I love details, so this can become an over-consuming task.

Once the writing flows again, I will turn to something like the Plot Chart once the plot lines start to confuse me. Chapter Five for Black Flagged. Once I started involving multiple government agencies, with their own interests and action…I had to switch from the notebook to a large visual device. I used a similar device for The Jakarta Pandemic, but not for the plot. You’ve already seen my neighborhood map (added to the book at the request of readers), which helped me keep track of over 30-something households in the story. I created this pretty quickly, once I couldn’t visualize who lived next to who on Durham Road. Overall, The Jakarta Pandemic’s plot line was simple. Most of the story took place inside the neighborhood (one house mainly) and stuck to the protagonist’s point of view.Easy…I miss those days.

I don’t have this luxury in Black Flagged. I have FBI agents, CIA managers, covert agents, private security contractors/assassins, pentagon officials,  rogue generals…and they’re all pursuing their own agendas.

I better make a readable copy of this chart ASAP…my daughter has a bad habit of “helping” me by putting her crayola markers to creative use!

If you haven’t read the prologue to Black Flagged, check it out HERE: PREVIEW.

Updates to The Jakarta Pandemic…

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

On April 28th, I alluded to some changes by unveiling The Jakarta Pandemic’s new cover. One month later, The Jakarta Pandemic is officially DONE!!! I know, the book was “done” in late October, then again in November…I think I substantially changed it every month since it was first launched.

I really mean it this time. I’m through tweaking this book, and so is my editor. I can’t thank Felicia (editor) enough for convincing to make some necessary changes to the format and content. I am extremely pleased by the final product…enough to leave it alone, which is big for me.

What major changes can you expect to see in the latest revision?

First, the book is about 25 pages lighter than before, thanks to some aggressive editing of “long” news segments and a few scenes that really didn’t propel the storyline. STREAMLINING. Almost all of these cuts came from the first third of the book, which is good news for readers…the nasty pandemic induced mayhem comes quicker. I love story setup, so it was tough to part with some of this content, but I firmly believe the words were not sacrificed in vain. A moment of silence please.

Second, I changed the tense from present to past. Actually, my editor did this…she’s still probably suffering from verb tense PTSD.  Prior to giving the “go ahead” on this change, I sampled a few chapters of converted manuscript (compliments of said editor) and was surprised by how much I liked the past tense version of the story. 95 plus percent of stories are told in the past tense, and though I might have argued you to death three months ago about my decision to write the story in present tense…I was sold when I read Felicia’s converted version. Plus, I wasn’t the one that would have to change every verb in the 400 page story. Amazing how my attitude changed. Seriously though, it is a major improvement.

I also included a preview of my next novel, BLACK FLAGGED. No, it’s not a NASCAR novel…I haven’t gone completely mad. Black-flagged is a term used in the espionage world to describe an agent or operative that is to be interrogated and summarily shot if captured. In the preview, you’ll be introduced to the main character of the book, during a time in his life when he might have prayed for Black-flag treatment if captured. If you thought The Jakarta Pandemic was a dark, gritty read, you will thoroughly enjoy my next novel…whenever I finish it.

If you’ve already read The Jakarta Pandemic, don’t get upset…you can check out the preview here: PREVIEW

Pass the word. Now is the time to download or order your copy…before I jack up the price (I’ll blame it on gas prices, or the cost of produce at Whole Foods).

Six months into self-publishing, and what have I learned?

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Everything…from the ground up. Uhhh.

I’d like to sit here and tell everyone that I’m always a “do it yourself” kind of guy. I framed our attic for its eventual transformation into a beautiful 800 square foot home for my son’s Xbox 360 (that’s about sums up its purpose now). I even did all of the trim work, built shelving and helped paint (I hate painting). But I didn’t mow my own lawn last year. Why? Because I’m not obstinate when it comes to the do-it-yourself mentality…and when a good price comes along, I’ll let someone else breath noxious fumes and spend two hours on a lawn that’s going to brown up in August anyways (no matter how much water or fertilizer I pour onto it! Even The Lawn Dawg couldn’t prevent that). It doesn’t look like I’m going to win the noxious fume argument this year. My wife wants to direct this money elsewhere, which is fine…I really don’t mind mowing the lawn. So, what am I talking about at this point?

Self-publishing. I get a lot of inquiries about my experience, from other aspiring writers and curious friends. The question I get from everyone is: “Did I choose to self-publish?”  Yes and no. If my first query letter to a NYC agency had been received with a warm welcome and a huge advance on royalties, I’d probably be scoffing at self-publishing right now. How dare these so called “writers” publish their own material, without the nod of the traditional literary institution. I fired off about seven letters in total, before I decided against continuing to prostrate myself to “the industry.” Once again, I wasn’t opposed to the concept of a lavish check, in advance of my certain bestseller, and I’m sure there’s a number out there that would convert me immediately. We all have our buy off amount.

What did I do differently than most of the aspiring writers that send hundreds of letters a year to agents? First, I quit sending letters. I’ll tell you why shortly. Second, I self-published The Jakarta Pandemic for the Kindle, NOOK and as a paperback…before I started sending letters to literary agents. Now, for the hardcore pursuers of a NYC literary agent, this is tantamount to committing writer suicide. Tainted! No agent or publisher will touch you now that you’ve had the audacity to self-publish your CRAP, without them. And that’s the key to it all. Without them. I’m not going to reiterate what a million other blogs have repeated, but the traditional publishing industry has a vested interest in scaring aspiring self-publishers. Just like real estate agents have no interest in you putting a “for sale by owner” sign in front of your house. Imagine if Stephen King took his business “in house.” It doesn’t cost very much to put a quality book on the market yourself. Good editor, good cover artist…a few more bells and whistles. With Stephen King’s name…the books will sell. You get the picture. Imagine if this became the standard across the literary landscape. It’s a post-apocalyptic tale for publishers. So, don’t you dare try to self-publish.

Why did I quit sending letters? I started reading blogs and articles by authors that have successfully navigated the self-publishing world. I didn’t reach this decision by myself…I’d love to say I did, but that would be dishonest. The more I read about the declining traditional industry, and the rise of the self-publishing realm…the more I wanted to give this a go on my own. Their words appealed to the deep rooted part of me that didn’t like to beg (the industry) and the visionary side that said “I can find readers for this book on my own.” I liked the idea of having complete control of my book, a larger share of the yet unseen profits, and the challenge of learning some new skills, like how to create a website, start a blog, and market my book. If I had a million dollars, I would have hired some help from the star…I’m practical. Since I didn’t have a large book launch budget, I found my own way.

More and more authors should be finding their own way. The traditional publishing world is in jeopardy, and they aren’t taking as many chances on new authors. It’s simple financial math for them, nothing personal…Borders is closing stores everywhere, local shops are scraping by (if they’re lucky). People aren’t buying as many physical books anymore. Blame the economy…OR blame E-readers, but make no mistake, E-readers are here to stay, and they’re proliferating at every turn. iPad 2…3 coming soon? Kindle for $114. I bet it goes for under a hundred this next holiday season. Every electronics company has a version of an e-reader. Hell, I’ve had people read my book on their iPhone! (I felt like sending them a free copy for the effort…holy cow that would hurt my eyes).

New authors will still get through, but not as many. Every time I walk through Borders, I see more books by the same, financially sound names. I don’t blame the industry, but I’m not going to lock my novels in a vault and wait for an agent to take a chance on my book. I’ll take my own chances. So far, nearly 4000 readers have taken a chance on my book.

If you’re interested in reading more on the topic of self-publishing, you need to check out Joe Konrath’s Blog, A Newbies Guide to Self-Publishing. He predicted the rise of Self-Publishing years ago…and turned his back on the traditional publishing industry. He’s gruff and tells it like it is. His blog archives motived me to keep the rights to my books…for now. Coincidentally, I just read his most recent post, and he also predicts the under $100 e-reader by Christmas. I swear I wrote this minutes before I read his post.

Some changes afoot…

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Artist Jeroen ten Berge created an incredible cover design for The Jakarta Pandemic. Check out his write-up of my novel…along with more of his influential design work. 

Jeroen ten Berge

Eagerly awaiting my 40th…

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

book review.

I turned 40 at the end of February, and the event was anti-climactic. I didn’t feel the decay of old bones, or slight degradation in my eyesight. One more candle, and a wonderful family birthday party. I was spared the surprise, “this is your life” event that I’ve seen unfold for other quadragenarians.

My book turned 30 last week, which kicked off an exciting flurry of review activity. I had high hopes for the 30th review…looking for a reason to celebrate. The title of the review? “Wow…this book.” And not in a good way. A one-star 30th birthday review for The Jakarta Pandemic. The review was quite lengthy for Amazon, and had nothing good to say. The only positive? I could tell that the reviewer hadn’t read the entire book, probably not more than 30 pages. Needless to say, I was a little irritated. I wrote a nice response and let it go. Not everyone is going to like this book…or any book. Little did I realize that this would be the first of nine reviews written in four days. Thick skin? I would have felt better suited up in Kevlar.

Every time I checked Amazon, I cringed. I took two more solid hits, and then nothing but good reviews. I have been solidly impressed by the quality of people reviewing my book, and the readers that have reached out via e-mail. I frequently invite reviewers to contact me, especially if I see something that worries me (misunderstanding of meaning or purpose of my writing…not for pointing out typos). The reviews help shape future works, and revisions of the Jakarta Pandemic. I’m self-published, so I can do whatever I want with the book. I have a free-lance editor (who reviewed my book and responded to my request for help) working on some improvements as I type. These are all reader suggested enhancements, which will be available in new editions by mid-May (I hope).

Before I check Amazon for more reviews…Fridays always seem to be the biggest day for The Jakarta Pandemic…let me share with you an example of how not to handle a negative review. Read the string of posts, if you can. It’s cringe-worthy. Warning: Profanity.

How Not To Handle A Negative Review

Wish me luck on my 40th Review…it’s out there somewhere. Maybe it’s one of you.

Expand your reading list…

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

And I don’t mean add more books to it. Consider reading a different genre.

I learned a cool lesson the other night. I recently joined a local writing group…let me correct myself. I was finally invited to join by a friend.

I was concerned about presenting the opening scene of my new novel to the group…because it’s violent. Not overly so, for me…but I needed a better gauge of the group. I asked the host to describe the types of writing involved at the meetings, and he gave me a list. Person matched with genre.

Crime fiction- That was my friend’s work. I had already read a few chapters. Excellent.

Memoir-Huh? OK, I just read a book written by a Navy Seal…definitely memoir. Not the best book, but memoir. I know what memoir is…just being dramatic

More memoir-Oh boy. And both memoir writers are women. I’m still not too worried.

Poetic Memoir-Now I’m worried. I think I’ll definitely keep my book’s prologue on my own computer. Eight people are shot to death in the span of thirty seconds. Not very poetic. I have other chapters to share.

Literary Fiction – I was an English major. No worries here.

Young Adult Fiction – Actually, the host was wrong about the genre…it’s Middle Aged Fiction. My 10 year old son’s realm…Now I’m worried again.

I uploaded my chapter to the group’s share site, and downloaded all of their samples. I sat down late at night and started to dig into…memoir, memoir and more memoir? Had I ever really read memoir before? Not like this. I thoroughly enjoyed reading real memoir. There is something about the personal style of writing memoir that grabs me. I hope they submit more.

Same with Middle Aged and Literary Fiction. I read with my son all the time, but I don’t really dig into his books anymore. He reads silently while I read one of my books. I think I need to pick up a few of his books. Reading the sample passage brought back nice memories of a much less complicated time in my life. It was a nice break, but a lot of fun.

I read three or four good literary fiction novels each year. I’m pretty careful with these, basing my decision on critical recommendation. I can tell within two pages whether I made the right choice. I won’t read past that. I save a lot of money in Borders browsing these books for the right tone, description, and pace. Were it not for a technical problem, I would have read all forty pages submitted. As it stood, I read close to fifteen without hesitation. I look forward to reading more…from everyone.

It’s hard to read another genre, especially as a writer. I view everything through my own personal genre lens.  My current work sits squarely in the thriller camp..ala Bourne Identity.  But I have a feeling that I’m going to learn some subtle ways to imbue this story with cross genre techniques. Touches that will greatly enhance the work…or have silo-genre readers bitching. Either way, I’ll be happy to hear from them.

Sometimes I like the bitching more.

 

 

 

You Tube review of The Jakarta Pandemic

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

As all of you hopefully know, I encourage readers to contact me with questions or suggestions regarding my book, and I actually hear from some of them. Most of them are surprised to hear back from me, which I can’t believe. Hearing from readers is one of the most rewarding aspects of writing a book. It’s proof that someone actually read it, and didn’t just need to spend the remaining three dollars on their Amazon gift card. I suppose some of you will remind me of this post, when I hit the big time author circuit, and get swamped with fan mail. Back to reality Steve.

So the other day, I started a conversation with a reader from my home state of Indiana. After exchanging a few emails, he said he would do a review of my book on his You Tube channel. What? I thought people just posted videos that featured laughing babies on You Tube. I didn’t realize that some people actually used it for constructive purposes. I was wrong.  Below is the link to my first “live” review. The only thing that upsets me about this, is that I didn’t think of this first. Thanks, Hooser9mm for opening my eyes to a whole new marketing angle…and for a helluva nice review. Also, he offers a few additional videos that highlight some easy to implement, basic disaster survival strategies (for the family), which tie in nicely to the preparation strategies employed by the Fletcher family in The Jakarta Pandemic.

You Tube Review of The Jakarta Pandemic.

Realistic dialogue…

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

in 19th Century London…what a mess.

My wife is reading a very thick, fiction novel set in 19th century London, and she occasionally draws my attention to passages from the book. Yes, she interrupts whatever I’m reading to do this, and since I love both historical fiction and my wife, I’m usually game to take a look.

I’m always amazed by the richness of detail in these novels, which can at times almost appear obsessive. From the era appropriate napkin folds at table settings, to intimate descriptions of every article of clothing that adorns a character…and not just the main character, but everyone in the scene. This is one of the main draws to period or historical fiction. The details of another time. It’s an amazing feat, which must involve painstaking research, travel and imagination. As a part time writer, I’m thankful for Google and an active, roaming imagination.

The other night, she pointed out another feature of this tome she’s lugged around for a few weeks. The dialogue. I couldn’t believe it, but the author had taken pains to mimic the speech of the 19th century London too. I can barely understand some of the thicker British accents even today! I must admit that I couldn’t stand it. I was forced to work too hard to understand the dialogue, and I can only imagine that my wife feels like she’s learned a second language at this point…though I don’t hear her complaining.

I take dialogue seriously, and if I can’t follow it, or it’s unrealistic, I’m likely to tune out of the book.  In fiction all dialogue is contrived, so I use a simple strategy to test it. I read and re-read lines of dialogue out loud (I don’t do this for every line…I seem to know when the test is necessary). It’s amazing how crappy a genius line can sound when you put a voice, and some inflection to it. I’ve eliminated some stinkers this way…and probably missed a few. I still find them.

Do you pay close attention to dialogue in a story, or are you more tied to the action?

Updates!

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

I have a few exciting updates to announce:

1.)    My book has been professionally edited, so the typos and grammar errors that most of you have been so kind not to mention, should be mostly eradicated. When I get unsolicited emails from readers, complimenting the story, then volunteering to edit my next book…I know it’s time to put this in the hands of a professional. Still, I took a few readers up on the offer to sweep The Jakarta Pandemic, and they turned up enough errors (I’m embarrassed to say how many), that my editor didn’t consider re-negotiating terms in the middle of the project. Thank you guys and ladies for taking the time. You know who you are. And thank you, Noah Mullett-Gillman, for taking on the editing project. You should check out his book, Luminous and Ominous, another recently released Post Apocalyptic tale.

2.)    Noah also recently hosted Post Apocapalooza II, a series of interviews with new/indie Post Apocalyptic writers…and I was included in this group. The term apocalyptic fiction wasn’t in my vernacular until a few months ago, and I’m not kidding. I’ve read plenty of PA fiction…The Stand, The Road, World War Z…and I love apocalyptic movies, but I classified my book as a thriller/horror novel. Noah contacted me regarding this interview series, and I did a double take…it was really so obvious, I almost laughed. I wrote a book about a pandemic that will likely wipe out over 700 million people, which certainly places you well within the PA genre. Thanks again, Noah. Check out the Post Apocapalooza II. Several writers are featured, and their books range from pandemics to zombies, to biblical prophesies…back to more zombies.  You can read an excerpt of my interview below…regarding zombies.

NOAH K. MULLETTE-GILLMAN: “If a world-wide zombie outbreak occurred, what would you do?”

STEVE KONKOLY: “I’m not worried about this one, because I think at this point we should be well prepared for a zombie outbreak. Hundreds of films, dozens of books…even an instruction manual for surviving a zombie attack (thanks to Max Brooks). Human awareness of zombies is at an all-time historic high, so I can’t envision a scenario where an outbreak could spiral out of control. Unless it was an infection like in 28 Days, and then I would barricade myself and re-read Max’s book, over and over again.

Did you ever notice how people fall victim to zombies (slow moving type) at the beginning of most zombie movies…like they have no idea what they are confronting. We watched The Walking Dead this fall on AMC, and I turned to my wife at one point and said, “I guess this whole genre is predicated on the concept that nobody has ever heard of a zombie before.”

3. I added a prologue to The Jakarta Pandemic, to give the readers a glimpse into the future of the disaster that unfolds in suburban Maine, when the Jakarta Flu is in full swing. The story takes a little time to gather steam, as the groundwork for the epic disaster is carefully put into place, so I thought that the addition of a prologue would give readers some reassurance that they are in for a thrill ride through panic-stricken suburbia.

Jakarta Pandemic New Prologue

Enjoy!

Don’t characterize my characters…just yet.

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Good plot. Immersing detail. Popular genre.  Quick tempo. All the trappings of a worthy read…right? While these qualities in a book might draw you in, and keep you there for a spell, nothing, in my humble view, detaches the reader quicker than hollow characters. I’ve read the reviews (not on mine thankfully…yet). “Cardboard, one-dimensional, flat, undeveloped, unrealistic…” The list goes on.

Unrealistic?   Now this description captures my attention the most, because it reminds me of something Stephen King said about writing good stories. I am paraphrasing at my worst, but he said something to the effect that an interesting story pits normal people against extraordinary circumstances, not extraordinary people against normal situations. Realism defined? I don’t know, but I like reading stories about characters that have to struggle to overcome an extraordinary problem. Is James Bond one of these characters? At first you’d probably say “no way!” I might agree, but I’d argue that he is an extraordinary person pitted against insanely extraordinary circumstances. It’s the same formula, just presented in a higher octane fashion, which is why it works…more so in the recent Bond films.

Ever read a book where the protagonist is an unstoppable, unbeatable hero? Mentally or physically? It’s fun for a while, but falls flat very quickly, because ultimately, there is no real drama. You know the protagonist will come out on top. It might be fun getting there, but on some level I get bored…really quickly. If the protagonist’s success is in question, or he/she takes a beating along the way…even though I still suspect, or know it’ll turn out alright, I’m pulled along.

Another aspect of a realistic protagonist is their moral stance. I think a little moral complexity is critical for a realistic character. We don’t all help old ladies cross the street…sometimes we’re in a hurry and don’t want to stand two more places back at Starbucks. Sorry. Moral complexity can vary across the spectrum, which can become confusing, so traditionally, we think of categorization in terms of good vs. evil, or some form of this. It’s a simple recipe for conflict, which usually drives a story along.

In my first novel, The Jakarta Pandemic, the moral ambiguity was a little hazy. The structural “good guys vs. bad guys” dichotomy was fairly simple to process, and I’ve received little feedback to suggest otherwise. However, since the book’s release, I still eagerly wait to hear from the camp of people who think that Alex Fletcher was a terrible person, and could not associate with them at all. I built a subtle stage for this into the story (maybe not so subtle), and so far, nobody has walked up onto it for a solid rant against them.

My next story won’t be so easy for most of you. Although most of you will like the protagonist from the start, and turn the last page with the same sentiment intact (mostly)…the ride may leave you with an uneasy feeling. You might find yourself not so eagerly clinking champagne glasses with this character, as you sail away into the sunset.

What kind of protagonist keeps you reading a story?  What kind makes you toss the book aside?

Enduring the next epic disaster

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Does the current situation in Japan qualify as an “epic” disaster?

I don’t know, but the unfolding drama at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant will cast the final vote.  All eyes are focused on the crisis, but what exactly are most of us seeing…and learning?

As a writer that recently launched a novel centered around an “epic” human disaster…The Jakarta Pandemic, I saw frightening similarities between the research driven scenario I had created for my story, and the media stories spilling out of Japan. I admit, there is a big difference between the instantly devastating impact of an earthquake/tsunami hit, and the slower burn of a gradually worsening pandemic disaster. However, I wasn’t thinking in terms of the immediate blunt physical impact.  I really focused on the after-effects.  Stories of evacuation, refugees, food and supply shortages…and not just for the immediate victims, but everyone ultimately affected, even as far away as Tokyo.

I especially considered the citizens forced to evacuate the 12 mile radius around the Fukushima plant.  What did they bring with them? How much did they have to bring? What about the people in the next distance ring, who were told to stay indoors? Do they have enough food, water and supplies to stay put for an extended period of time?  Or would they be forced to flee due to lack of necessities. Where are all of these people going?

I wondered if the individual families had ever planned for this type of disaster?  I know you can’t devise a plan to thwart a thirty foot high wall of water, but did people immediately head away from the coast after the earthquake? They certainly didn’t have much time to react.

I thought about the concept of what survivalist/preppers call a Bug Out Bag (BOB)…actually, they have an entire lingo (Bug Out Vehicle, Bug Out Location…etc).  A BOB is a conveniently located, pre-packed bag designed to get you (and your family) through the first 72 hours of an emergency that requires you to leave your home.  I won’t get into detail about the contents, but you get the idea.  If the tidal wave alarm sounds, or you experience an earthquake (and you live close to the ocean)…you can throw this bag into your BOV, start driving inland, and rest assured that you have the basics covered (cash, clothes, first-aid, food, water…more).

There are some basic preparation steps that can make an immense difference, whether you are stuck in your residence with no way to resupply essential items, or are forced to flee (immediately or with plenty of time)  a disaster zone.  Many of these preparations overlap, and can serve you well during something as minor as a nasty winter storm.

How much thought have you put into some of the more likely or unlikely disaster scenarios for your area?  (Even a two day power outage)

Can you see the future?

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Or the ending to your story?  I thought I could see it clearly.  So clearly, that four chapters into The Jakarta Pandemic, I decided to write what I thought would be the last chapter, or final conflict of the story.  What a waste of time.  Well, I shouldn’t say a complete waste.  I kept a few elements of the scene for the final draft, and writing in general is rarely a waste, but I took a two-week detour (yes, that’s how long a chapter used to take me…part time) from a solid writing stretch.  I’m glad that a writing genie didn’t appear and laugh at my face as soon as I finished it.  I would have been pissed.

Instead, it took me months to figure out that this chapter just wouldn’t fit into the story as written, which was fine.  Though I remember being a little disappointed, and possibly angry when I took a look at the chapter’s word count.  I learned a valuable lesson from this, and of course, probably reinforced a bad habit.  Let me explain.

The good first:

1.)  I’ll probably never jump ahead and write a complete scene or chapter again.  I’ll still wake up in the middle of the night and take detailed notes about what I might write, but I won’t spend two weeks on a scenic detour again. For those of you who have read The Jakarta Pandemic, or anyone (it won’t spoil the story), I have attached the “detour” so you can see how differently things appeared to me in the beginning.  Alternate ending

2.)  Since this was my first writing endeavor, I experienced something that I had only read about in articles and books about writing craft.  This sounds way more dramatic than it should…sorry.  I got my first, good taste, of a story and characters taking on a life of their own.  Now this may sound cheesy, but I arrived at a point where I could no longer force the characters or storyline exactly where I wanted to go.  It was still going in the cardinal direction I had chosen, but the details were up for grabs.  I no longer knew, with certainty, who would survive the pandemic?  I didn’t know which neighbors would turn out to be allies or enemies.  It was a great feeling.  Not that I had been chained to a structured plot (far from it), but I finally understood what so many other writers have described.  Like experiencing “runner’s high” for the first time, or the “green flash” seen at sunset over a calm, cloudless ocean.

As an aside, I spent two years on board one of our Navy’s finest warships and many, many days at sea…and I can bitterly report that I have never seen this mythical flash, though I’ve heard and read about it.  I have even supposedly missed it while tending to more pressing matters on the bridge (in plain view of the horizon).

The bad:

This experience reinforced my innate disdain for using an existing, planned and structured approach to writing.    I know it can help, to a certain degree (see, my own prejudice seeps through everywhere on the topic), but I couldn’t drag myself to do it for the first novel, and….you know the rest.

A good friend and writer has given me a few excellent resources, which I have reviewed, but when I sit down to start plotting or structuring…I get a few minutes into it before staring off into space.  I inevitably open the “current novel” file and start to work on the new story instead.  Admittedly, I do use a time line, lists of characters and abundant notes…but not much beyond that.

So, enough about me.  What do you do as a writer?  As a reader, what are your thoughts?

Past or Present?

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Tense.  This isn’t exactly a new topic for writer’s blogs, but it’s an amusingly controversial one.  If you Google “present vs. past tense writing,” you’ll end up in the middle of an angry battle between the fiercely entrenched forces of the past, and the anti-establishment present.  I’m not going to reiterate the arguments here, you should really check them out for yourself.  This one heats up pretty quick (Fiction Master sounded like he wanted to punch the blog author in the neck).  I think it’s fair to say that we’ll see Glenn Beck and President Obama having beers together in the White House garden before any of the “pro-past tense” folks acknowledge the possible use of the present tense in fiction writing.

I feel like I’m listening to an argument between two sci-fi fans over time travel, and I’ve heard it all before…maybe because I’m caught in a perpetual time travel loop that keeps replaying my past experiences…or I’m listening to an author tell a story, which clearly already happened, giving me the impression that I’m hearing it again.  Does any of this make sense?  Probably not, because if you’re like me, after listening to the time travel argument for let’s say…two minutes, I feel compelled to interject.  “Time travel doesn’t exist, so what exactly are you arguing about?”  The same goes for arguing that the present tense has no place in fiction writing.  It doesn’t matter whether you think it happened in the past, or the present.  It really never happened at all, and only the author holds the key to why the tense was chosen.  This is the heart of the matter, as I have experienced.

The Jakarta Pandemic started in the present tense for no reason at all.  I wrote the story solely from the protagonists view, and after writing about ten pages, the present tense dominated.  I actually had to rework the pages to eliminate the past tense.  About fifty pages later, I re-read one of my favorite writing guide books, Stephen King’s, On Writing.  At some point in there, he discusses tense, and states that present tense is typically only suited for short stories.  I didn’t remember much more than that, because I had closed the book and uttered a few profanities.  I really didn’t want to dig back through fifty pages and shift the tense back to the past, but I did…or at least I fought my way through about five pages.  It was miserable, and didn’t work for me.  For my story, it became clear that the past tense was not the right choice, and that a single point of view, fast paced story was well suited for the present tense.  Not that I haven’t received some critique.  I can live with it, because the past tense failed to propel The Jakarta Pandemic forward.

As for my new novel?  With multiple points of view, changing settings, a much larger host of characters, I naturally tended to use past tense.  I strayed back to present tense for action sequences (out of habit), but upon re-reading a few pages, it became clear that sticking to the present tense would not be a sustainable practice for the novel.  I edited about fifteen pages to conform everything to the past tense, and at first it felt like I was writing in a foreign language, but after a few pages, it flowed naturally.

I think the story chooses the tense, and not the writer.

What do you think?

Behind the scenes of The Jakarta Pandemic

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

About a month ago, I received some great feedback regarding my book.  My neighbor and I were discussing the book, and he thought that a map of the novel’s fictional neighborhood would have helped him to visualize the action in story.  A friend of his shared the same sentiment, going even further to say that he quit trying to keep it straight after a while.   There are thirty-eight households on Durham Road, not all of them an intrinsic part of the story, but most of them are referenced repeatedly.  If you read carefully, you should be able to figure it all out…just kidding.

I sympathize with anyone who had trouble geographically tracking the story throughout the Durham Road neighborhood.  As a stickler for details, I couldn’t hope to keep it all clear in my own head while writing the story, so I created a cheat sheet from the very start.  Actually, it was a poster-board, very much like the one created by Alex Fletcher in the story.  Take a look at both versions.  One is obviously my marked up, faded “cheat sheet.”  The other is a page I added to the beginning of The Jakarta Pandemic, at the request of some concerned readers.

Starting somewhere

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

How to start this blog?  I can’t imagine going wrong with a thank you to anyone who has put their stamp on my first novel.   Whether you took the plunge and bought the book, or simply passed the word on to a friend (or both hopefully), I’m humbled and impressed by your efforts.   Clearly you have all done something very right to help the word get out…sales via Amazon have steadily climbed since I uploaded the book into Kindle format.  I’m sure Amazon’s Christmas Kindle Proliferation didn’t hurt.  How many Kindles were sold last year?  iPads?

I certainly can’t claim to have pulled off a mastermind marketing campaign.   Or maybe I did, in sort of a low budget, high tech way.  Facebook, email lists, business cards (which my wife hands to everyone…she hands out ten for every single card I sheepishly offer).  I can’t thank her enough (though she might disagree).  I also started posting chapters on a fantastic survivalist/disaster preparation forum, mainly to get feedback from “the experts.”   People who really give some serious thought to modern day survival scenarios (every aspect).   I’d be willing to bet that this group spread the word far and wide.  Many thanks to the WSHTF readers…I’m almost done posting the entire novel there.

So what’s next?  Another novel for sure.   Not a disaster survival thriller, but more of a fast paced (frenetic) thriller, with plenty of twists.  I can envision a series of three novels…now if only I could start to envision my hands on the keyboard, writing the first book.  I’ve started, no worries there, and I’ve roughly mapped the story.  I just need to get serious about carving out some time.  Between family, friends, full time job, maintaining a house, TV shows I can’t miss, and exercise…what was I talking about?  Yes.  More excuses not to sit down and dig into a great story.

Before I get back into the mindset of my new protagonist…please let me know what you’d like to see or hear about on this blog.  You can post comments, review The Jakarta Pandemic…whatever you’d like.

Warmest regards,

Steven