Alpha Readers Assemble! I Have Finished the First Draft of Discovered!

Betrayed is the second book of the Oneiros Log, and you can read this to get ready for Discovered’s pending release.

Greetings all,

Boy do I love these sorts of posts! I am indeed happy to announce that the First Draft of Discovered is ready for any willing Alpha Readers.

Discovered is the conclusion of the Oneiros Log. I’m incredibly proud of this book and how it ends the series. My hope is Alpha Readers will help make sure that it’s every bit as special to readers as it is to me. There are several new characters to meet, all of whom are quite endearing in their own ways.

If you’re interested in being an Alpha Reader, please email me. Please understand my expectations. First, I would like to have any feedback sent to me by May 15. That gives me time to work on other things (more below) and then get right on the Editorial Draft of Discovered. Second, I’m most concerned with timeline and consistency issues. I’m also particularly concerned with how satisfying the ending is and the arc of the characters. We’re looking for things that don’t add up or don’t feel right.

If that’s you, click that link above.

While I wait, I’ll be working on the First Draft (REDO) of 1,200. I’m more ashamed it’s not already out in the world as I work on it. Yes, it needs work, but this book should have been out years ago. Honestly, I got carried away on Caught an other projects. But it’s time for that book to take center stage, and I’ll be ready for Alpha Readers somewhere around that May 15 date.

I’ll be swapping back and forth between those projects until we get Discovered out the door, and then I finally earn the right to get back to Images of Truth and finish that mammoth project. My hope is to make some headway on a lot of older projects once Oneiros Log is where it needs to be. I’ll also be starting Mercer.

As always, I thank you all for the tremendous support. I truly hope Alpha Readers are pleased with the conclusion to the Oneiros Log.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

I’ve Started the Alpha Draft of Betrayed!

 

Greetings all,

You can buy Caught (the first book in the series) on Amazon or Audible. 

Betrayed is coming along. I’ve started the Alpha Draft, which is the draft I do after my alpha reader (in this case) has had a chance to look at it.

 

First thing’s first. I want to take a moment to thank Grace for taking the time to read this rough draft and provide the feedback she did. For us self-published authors, finding readers is hard enough, let alone finding a reader who’s willing to read a rough draft.

Now is the time I take her feedback into consideration and do another chapter-by-chapter pass on the book. This cleans the mechanics of the story up, but more importantly it gives me a chance to locate plot holes and timeline issues. This trilogy spans something in the neighborhood of seven years, and there are a lot of things that happen that have to time out correctly.

The other issue is character development and plotting. Kaitlyn and Kira in particular have some critical areas of growth. There are a lot of foreshadow elements that should pay off in Discovered. So while I work on this draft, I’m looking for ways to establish critical character development aspects without being heavy handed.

I felt a touch of discouragement as I started the Discovery Draft exactly a year ago (as you read this Dec. 7). The truth is, writing is a war of endurance. When it’s not full time, you sit down and take what time you can. I’d expect to get through the Alpha Draft sometime in January. Then it’s off to Sara for the Developmental Edit. Assuming she gets it back to me in two weeks or so, I can start that draft in March. Then it goes off to Beta Readers.  They get a month to read it and provide feedback, so I should work on my Beta Draft in June. That means I get Sara another crack at it for proofreading in July, and so September or October 2020 is a likely neighborhood for the official release.

Things could go faster as I get time here and there, or they might slow down if finances make it hard to send the book out to Sara for either of her two rounds of edits. I feel confident that those dates are pretty solid.

While I’m waiting for feedback, I’ll keep plugging away on Discovered. I’m still outlining it at the moment. Using the timeline above, I think I could maybe get the Discovery Draft done around when Betrayed comes out.  My math says there will be about two months where I can’t move forward with Betrayed because I’m waiting on feedback. That’s way less certain than Betrayed’s fall 2020 release.

I know this is a big slowdown from the eight titles I’ve released in the last two years, but a lot of those releases were portions of other projects. I have other projects that are further along, but I’ve been trying to get the Oneiros Log finished for years now, and I owe it to those readers to get that finished before I start bouncing around as I’m want to do.

I promise I’m working as hard as I can, and I’ll keep putting out the best stories I can in hopes that you will find them entertaining.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

The First Draft of Betrayed is Done! A Call for Alpha Readers

Greetings all,

Happy news! I’ve just wrapped up the first draft of Betrayed! That means I’m looking for people willing to read this story at this stage and provide feedback.

Alpha Readers are guys who catch issues with events in the story. In this particular draft, I’m looking for former or current military who are familiar with close quarters battle (CQB) and other military things. If you like high-octane action, this is something you should have fun reading.

I’d need your feedback by Dec. 1. In fact, I’d like it sooner, but I genuinely try to give alphas and betas a month to read anything.

If you’re interested, please shoot me an email.

In the meantime, I’ll get back to plotting Discovered, which is the third and final book of the trilogy. Discovered will also probably be the largest book too. We meet a few new cast members and finish the evolution of this story. My hope is to finish the trilogy in 2020. I’d also like to get some smaller projects out, but I’ve been promising more from Oneiros for years now since I published Caught, and I simply owe it to those who loved the story show them where it goes from here.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Writing Update: I’ve finished the Alpha Draft of The Worth of Words

Greetings all,

I’m happy to report I’ve finished another draft of The Worth of Words.  I’d like to take a quick moment to thank my Alpha Readers: Ben Duke, Grace, and Eduardo. Your feedback was invaluable, and I’m so glad you all liked this version. Your input made it possible to take this story one step closer to being what it needs to be.

I’m awestruck with WoW. It’s a thrill to see where I was and where I am now, and stories like this help me feel like I’m on a level I hadn’t previously reached in my time being published. When I get the story out, I hope you all feel the same way I do about it.

I’ll send WoW off to Sara for a developmental edit. In the meantime, I have two new submissions for The Power of Words anthology to edit and make a decision on. I also have another draft of a previously signed author’s contribution. That’s how I hope most of February goes. I’d like to get the Beta Draft of Repressed done by the end of March.  If I maintain this pace, I should be working on Betrayed (Oneiros Book Two) in June. I’ll step away for the anthology, but there won’t be that much more once I select the last few authors and start layout and design. If you’re still interested in contributing, please feel free to send a submission. I won’t close submissions until I’m ready to go into layout and design.

I just wanted you all to have a quick glimpse regarding where I’m at in this passionate pursuit of mine. I hope to have one of my usual book reviews up next week, but the timing worked out to put this update on Wednesday.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Writing Update: The First Draft of The Worth of Words is finished! A Call for Alpha Readers

Greetings all,

I’m happy to report I’ve finished the first draft of The Worth of Words! Technically speaking, this is actually the second draft, but this is the first draft I actually let other human beings look at.

That means I’m looking for alpha readers.

Worth of Words is essentially a science fiction heist story.

Here’s a blurb for the story:

In the year 3753 on the planet of Leznova, all forms of communication are extremely regulated. Drones patrol the skies, seeking out gestures and expressions, executing punishments to any who violate the Communication Act of 3748. Every person over the age of 7 is fitted with Communications Monitor Collars, which send progressively stronger jolts of electricity into any who speak without permission. Should any wish to speak, they must purchase words at increasingly higher fees.

Ardelia Sabine wants it all to stop. She’s simply a mother who doesn’t want her daughter to be forced to stay silent. Formerly a monitor, a police investigator, she’s developed a plan to corrupt the server that regulates the policy and keeps the world silent. She leads a team of brilliant criminals, one of whom is the man she married after capturing him ten years ago. This band of thieves, led by one who used to chase them, must get into the most guarded server room on the planet. They do so knowing it isn’t likely they’ll all survive the effort. To make matters worse, a rival from Ardelia’s past seeks to make an example of her and her betrayal of the monitors. He’s fixated on stopping her, and he’s confident he’s already derailed the most critical part of her scheme.

END BLURB

As with all alpha drafts, what I’m looking for most are people who will point out plot holes and inconsistencies. I’d be very grateful for anyone with experience in writing heist stories. I’d also appreciate anyone who understands hacking to any degree, as one of the characters in the story is supposed to be a renown hacker, and I’d like to avoid looking foolish.

I’d like about 10 alpha readers. If you’re interested, please email me. I’d like to receive feedback by Jan. 5. I’ll be working on a new draft of Repressed by then, but I’d like to jump right back into Worth of Words once I finish those revisions.

I’m honestly very proud of this story. I’ve been talking about this as well as The Power of Words, the anthology this story inspired, for about two months now. I honestly believe the Holy Spirit filled me as I crafted this story. I had the idea, and once I did, I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t think about anything else until I started writing it. Then, once I started, I finished this project (20,000 words) in a very short period of time (I think it might have been less than a week).

I teach journalism. I believe in speech and the protection of the people’s right to speak freely. This story was inspired by the fear of what would happen if people in power began to think the answer to problems is limiting speech.

So what’s next for me? Well, the editorial comments on Repressed aren’t due for a few more weeks. My next priority will be reading the other contributions for The Power of Words. I’ll be making my own editorial comments on those four stories and working with other authors who volunteer to be part of the anthology.

As always, I’m thrilled to know there are so many people who are interested in my work. Each story I finish feels like its own reward, but knowing there are people who are as excited about these stories as I am is a whole new level of euphoria. Thank you.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Writing Update: The First Draft of Repressed is Finished! A Call for Alpha Readers!

Greetings all,

I’m happy to report that I finished the first official draft of Repressed. I noticed a few things that I wanted to tweak, and I always like to do a pass or two for structure and grammar, which reduced the workload later on down the line.

I’m proud of this story and how it helped me grow as an author. Mostly, I’m proud of Kaitlyn, whom I’ve been blessed to watch grow through two stories now. But there’s still some work to be done. I need some help.

For me, Alpha readers are those who address specific needs. I’m looking for plot holes and continuity errors. I’m also interested in readers who’ve already read Caught, as this is Book 1.5 in the Oneiros saga.  Please remember though, this is absolutely a YA Paranormal story. Also, this story features a character who is Muslim. I’d be very grateful to anyone of that religion if they could help me be sure I’m true to that culture, especially since this story features the need for people to be less ignorant. I wouldn’t say this story is as closely related to the region as Sojourn was, but I want to be true to it.

I posted a semi-summary for the story here.

If you’re interested, please feel free to shoot me an email. I’m asking for Alpha Readers to have this back to me by Oct. 24. I’m always grateful to those who give my work a try.

In the meantime, I have the edits for the 2nd edition of The Journals of Bob Drifter back. So I’ll be able to get that going and headed to the printer ASAP. It’s a much larger story than the others, so it’ll take some time, but it’ll be worth it to have the control I’ve lacked so far.

The edits for Bob mean The Worth of Words is going to wait a bit longer. If I’m lucky, I’ll get Bob edited before the Alpha Readers for Repressed are done. If that happens, then I should be able to take another swipe at WoW after I do the Alpha Draft of Repressed. I SWEAR, I mean stop start working on Oneiros 2 as soon as I can. My hope is to start that in a few months.

All of your support means a lot to me. Even as small as my little corner of the world is, every person who sends me an email or message means everything to me. I can only hope that I continue to provide you stories that keep you engaged.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Sojourn in Despair: The 1st Draft is Done!

An incredibly rough and unfinished sketch of Elele. This image is property of M.L.S. Weech.

I’ve been talking about my progress on this project since my first blog post. I was lucky enough to be invited to participate with some amazing authors in an anthology. I finished the discovery draft of Sojourn in Despair over the holidays, and I just wrapped up what I call the first draft.

What this means is it’s finished, and it’s in English.  I feel very good about it, and I think the story itself is fantastic!

What’s next though is something big. I always try something different every time I write a project. I’ve always had AN alpha reader. Ben is my best friend and brother in law. He reads EVERYTHING I write (poor guy).  But I expanded my alpha reader pool to a few others.

Alpha Readers to me have always been people I can go to with questions about concepts or ideas. I don’t know the first thing about a lot of things, so I find alpha readers who are knowledgable in some way about some aspect of my story.  This story’s topics are: The Jewish religion, mathematics, and evolutionary theory.

That said, if there’s someone out there with a PHD in either math or evolutionary theory, I’d appreciate an email in that regard. I’d be overjoyed if someone with expertise in those areas could give this a glance and make sure I don’t look foolish on a scientific level. I have one alpha who’s looking at it for math, but no one to look at the science of this planet or its species.

As of now, I have five alpha readers. Each bring something unique and specific to the table.  They’re all offering invaluable feedback that I’ll put to use in my second draft (the draft before it goes to the editor for developmental review).  Two of those alphas are our very own Jenn Moss and Quintessential Editor. So if you’d head over to their sites, give them some likes, shares, and follows, I’d appreciate it as they’re REALLY helping me out.

I just wanted to share my joy at this most recently finished project before I start my next one (because that’s sort of what I do).  What’s that you ask? The layout and design of The Journals of Bob Drifter so I can re-release that book at a lower price with another edit done.  I’ll keep you all posted.

Thanks for checking in and all the support you’ve shown me. I hope you’ll all preorder Caught or snag a copy of it Jan. 28!

In any case, thanks for reading.

Matt