Wee Willie Wicked is alive and well...now back to Thomas Scopel

Last week, I put all the writing on hold and explored the idea of having a weekly webcast called Staying Scared with Wee Willie Wicked. I blogged about the first webcast on Wicked's blog.

Undertaking this effort was no small expenditure and took a full week of testing, exploring and refining. And, although I did enjoy it to an extent, there was still that nag in the back of my head that kept reminding me that I lost writing time.

Well, that week is over and everything is in place. It’s now simply a matter of maintaining (that’s the easy part) and this coming week I will cure that nag.

Right now I’m trying to pin down and organize a schedule to fit working, writing and a general life in. Rather tough, but not entirely impossible. And, considering all the technical and conceptual aspects of the effort is completed, time is now plentiful and a wonderful welcome relief. Of course, I didn’t really have to take on this venture. However, when John Raab, the publisher of Suspense Magazine, interviewed me…he planted a seed and that seed grew.

While I still expect Saturdays to be rather hectic with working, rushing home in the evening, putting on the clown face and webcasting live at midnight, creating a bevy of tired Sundays, the writing time is back.

…no rest for the wicked.

I might add that I did get caught up on a little reading though...

Stay Scared,

Thomas



By the way, like creepy stories? Are carnivals your thing? Pick up a copy of my ebook Twitch. It's only 99 cents and available at these retailers:

Amazon

Smashwords

Barnes and Noble

Staying Scared with Wee Willie Wicked

Saturday night, August 27th at midnight, Wee Willie Wicked will broadcast the very first Staying Scared webcast. Of course, one doesn't need to stay up until the witching hour to watch, each episode will be recorded for later viewing.

So, what will be included in this webcast? Basically, everything horror....that pretty much sums it up…From books to films and everything in between. If it offers a chill effect, then chances are, at one point or another, the thing will find its way to be mentioned the show. Also, I’m very open to ideas too. Tell me what you would like me to chat about. Are you a horror author with a book coming out? Did you happen to see a good horror movie? What scares you? This show is all about finding the fear. Look for the trailer below.

However, that's not all...

Each week there will be a giveaway to one lucky watcher. It might be a book or a dvd. It could be an action figure or a poster. Who knows? As long as it is horror based...anything goes. Later on this week I will tell you more about all this and what this week’s giveaway will be. But, you’ll have to watch the show for how to enter.

And, watchers will be able to chat with me during the live show. This could offer some very interesting discussions. We'll have to wait and see.



As far as writing is concerned, this month I am included in the NorGus Press Anthology Look What I Found with The Pumpkin Patch. I’ll let you know exactly when the book will be released.

And, Twitch is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble dot com and Smashwords. Here’s the links:

Amazon

Smashwords

Barnes & Noble dot com

Stay Scared,

Thomas

To Find the Wicked...One Must Travel the Scary Roads...

Last week I discussed my newly appointed all-time favorite author, Bentley Little, and the influence he had over me.

Since then, I have put behind most of his book of short stories called The Collection and am looking forward to delving into The Store. However, it isn’t his writing that is the subject of this piece, it is his lifestyle, (lack of social networking, constant promotion, etc…), that really made me think.

And so, I embarked upon a trial run to incorporate some of his philosophies. I avoided social networking and the constant promoting for the last couple of weeks.

Where did it get me?

To start with, I gained a rather substantial amount of time, more than I expected. With this time I wrote and accomplished.

·         Dreamented, a tale about an early teen boy who finds an item and its secrets.

·         I finished a better than average draft of A Lawnly Existence, a tale surrounding an old man, his Pug dog, the town’s coveted best lawn award and an ancient botany book.

·         I’ve almost finished a tale called The Sidewalk Ends, a story that explores what is beyond the sign that says that.

·         And I put down another 6k words on the novel Future Past.

So, I can truly say that the time savings was most productive and enlightening. But, although I enjoyed losing the rigors of the daily social networking grind, I did however, miss chatting with many friends, writers or not.

And then I received a comment from Blaze McRob. He agrees with letting the writing speak for itself, but if the reader doesn’t know the book exists, then the writing means nothing. And you know what, he is completely right.

What was I thinking? I’m not Bentley Little nor am I even close to his caliber in both writing and lifestyle. Although I do appreciate his philosophy and he is still my favorite writer. But, it also occurred to me that I actually enjoy doing a hundred things at one time and just the prospect of slowing down was rather frightening (probably my ultimate fear). Maybe I tried to bite off a little more than I can chew and eat slowly. That’s something I can’t do. I devour quickly. Always have, always will. Every writer has their eccentric ways and each needs to find their own, I’m no different.

Someday I’ll find the middle ground to this all and become fully content. Right now I’m still working out the bugs and those bugs are crawling all through me. I guess I’ll start picking at them one at a time. Eventually, I get them all and have my own little system. Until then, I’m getting back to normal.

And so…

* This month, Norgus Press plans to release an anthology called Look What I Found. It’s a collection of mysterious tales of discovery. My tale The Pumpkin Patch is included. The blurb is:

Little Johnny was an explorer. The Pumpkin Patch was the last thing he ever found.

Here’s a shot of the cover:

Otherwise...

* I am seeking an anthology for Dreamented (any suggestions?)

* Submitted a piece called Fear is in the Eye of the Beholder to Angelic Knight Press for the Demonic Dolls anthology.

* Editing The Daily Death: How I Killed My Co-Workers in 30 Days

* And Twitch has its first ad in August’s Suspense Magazine.

It’s available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble dot com and Smashwords.

So, until next time…

Stay Scared,

Thomas

It only took one writer to change my life...

Recently I stumbled upon a writer whom I had yet to read. Of course, I had previously heard of him and even went as far as to purchase a few of his books, which I found at various places. One of those places turned out to be a yard sale and I bought every one with intentions of eventually reading them (just as I do many books and for those who are wondering, I do get to reading them…eventually).

Regardless, this writer hit me like a ton of bricks and I am now deep under his writing spell. Immediately this writer has become my favorite and I have every intention of reading everything he has or will write. This is odd to me. I’ve never had an absolute. Oh, there are many that I truly enjoy, just none that I referred to as a most favorite. Well, that was then and this is now and I’m asking myself why?  

The answer (I think) lies with his writing style and diverse subject matter. His horror tales can be just about anything and are nowhere near limited to clichés. He has a wonderful eye for detail and finds horror in any setting, many where one would typically think horror would not be found. And, although I am nowhere near his caliber (but someday hope to be), I like to think I tend to lean toward the same type of writing in both style and content. And so, I now finally have a writer that I would like to model myself after.

Oh yeah, the writer…is Bentley Little. Currently I am devoting every waking free moment to devouring The Collection and have The Store sitting idly by awaiting my next grasp. While I have yet to explore his many works and therefore cannot cite any accurate reviews at the present, I can however, express how much this writer has affected me and can say that he is my favorite by far…lock…stock…& barrel.

And, since I’ve found this writer, I was compelled to explore his bio. It turns out that he is not a fan of either social networking or promoting (other than a latest work) and he doesn’t even have a website (with exception to the many fan sites, a few he endorses). Why? His explanation is that it takes too much time away from the writing and I have to say that I wholeheartedly agree.

Taking my latest piece, the novella TWITCH as an example, I understand what he means when he refers to the time-consuming promotion and social networking aspect, for I have done these exact same things. I have posted links in many places, discussed during a blog tour (which was most enjoyable I might add), and generally promoted very heavily. From what I understood about the book industry, this was how it was all done.

Well, not according to Bentley Little. He prefers to let the writing speak for itself and allow it to promote itself. This was a revelation to me that I may (but not completely) embrace. My philosophy has lately grown very similar and I am planning on following his lead. That doesn’t mean that I am completely giving up on Facebook and the like, it simply means that I am going to decrease the time I commit toward it and apply it to writing instead. Basically, I will always be around promoting, posting and maybe even chatting, but I suspect I will do considerably less in the future.  



So, maybe I’m turning over a new leave. I really don’t know. However, I do understand the concept and intend to at least attempt applying. By the way, I still like the idea of having a weekly webcast as Twitchy (my evil clown persona) and have every intention of still doing this. I just can’t say exactly when. Right now, I have a few short pieces I am trying to finish to submit, a novella that is at 80% and my novel which currently holds 60k words (but is simply a rough draft).

Did I mention that I work full-time? I owe, I owe…gotta pay the bills you know! Something has to give if I want to complete all these projects and that something will be the social networking. Hopefully, this philosophy will pan out and I will become nothing but a full-time writer. In the meantime, hard work, dedication and applying this discipline just might aid in making this dream a reality. I won’t know until I try. The way I see it, what’s the worst thing that could happen? I would write more tales…

The new ad for TWITCH

This is the new ad for TWITCH that will be in August's issue of Suspense Magazine.


"Twitch is a marvelous mix of awful things that include desperation, silence, darkness, fear, revenge and rape." - Gabino Iglesias, Horrorphilia.

“This story is scary, haunting and reads very fast…" - Ben Franz, Monster Librarian



And the ebook is availabe at Amazon, Smashwords, & B & N dot com for only 99 cents. It is a creepy little tale that explores a deformed carnival oddity with a dark secret. Soon it will also be available at Sony, Diesel, Kobo and Scrollmotion. Like horror and suspense? This is your rainy day read. Get it for your Ipaid, Android or Kindle. Of course it is available as a pdf too.

Today I'm finishing up a third rewriting of a tale called Fear is in the Eye of the Beholder. An evil doll tale for Blaze McRob's Satan's Toybox - Demonic Dolls anthology. Of course, my idea of a doll has a clown face. heh heh.

Stay Scared,
Thomas

August's Master Plan

Well folks, I've been away for a bit. Basically, I picked up extra hours last week and ran out of time. Now that the person I covered is back from vacation I suspect things will go back to normal. However, it will take me a few days to get caught up. I also setup a home office in order to lock myself away and be productive.

So, what does the future hold?

First off, the continuous promotion of Twitch will continue and I expect more than a few more reviews to come in. Regardless, it is availabe at Amazon, Smashwords, & B & N dot com. Soon it will be available at Sony, Diesel, Kobo and Scrollmotion.

As far as other items on my plate, there are a number that I expect to finish within the next couple of weeks.

1) Finish an evil doll tale for Blaze McRob's Satan's Toybox - Demonic Dolls anthology. Of course, my idea of a doll has a clown face. heh heh.

2) Finish and submit two other tales.

3) Finish putting together all those Daily Death tales in an ebook called The Daily Death: How I Killed my Co-workers in 30 Days.

4) Decide whether or not I am going to write a celebrity Daily Death series. It's the legal ramifications that concern me the most.



5) Create a weekly webcast featuring Twitchy (my clown getup) to discuss horror in fiction and film.

6) And, get to work on my novel Future Past which I hope to publish by the end of the year.

So, I would say that August will be a busy one and I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to it...providing no one else goes on vacation. LOL. Of course, there are those miscellanous things too. Ha Ha

So, Stay Scared folks,

Thomas