A 5-Star Review for Repressed!

Greetings all,

This review has actually been waiting a bit, but with all the news I’ve had lately, it just took this long to post it.

Did I mention that Betrayed is finally out!? I’d be grateful if you gave it a try.

Anyway, I’m happy to share this five-star review that was posted on both Goodreads and Audible.

As always, I humbly request that you leave a rating and review on any of the books of mine that you’ve read. It really does mean a lot to me.

In other news, my 2021 April Book Cover of the Month poll is still up. If you like books, click on over and support your favorite.

As always, I’m so honored that anyone chooses to take time to read something that I’ve written.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Where Do Ideas Come From? One Nut’s Point of View

Every now and then, one of the students at the Defense Information School where I teach will approach me to write a feature about my writing. I typically get the same sorts of questions, and one of the more common ones is about where I get the ideas for my stories.

I have to admit that this is a very hard question for me to answer. You see, I have ideas all the time. I’m more baffled when people tell me they have trouble coming up with ideas. That gave me the idea (see what I mean?) to do this blog you’re reading.

For me, ideas are very natural. Even when I was trying to think about what I was going to blog about today (I spent about five minutes thinking), I was more considering options than I was trying to think of just one.

Idea Generation Method 1: Let your life inspire you. This is probably my primary method. I have a very active imagination, so when I see something, I sometimes take it to a fantastic degree, and that leads me to a story idea. Bob Drifter came to me while watching my dad and his dog interact. There are some other childhood trauma things I won’t get too far into, but I’ll only touch on them by saying there were people who left my life, and I had trouble dealing with it, so I created this world where souls were passed on. This isn’t remotely Biblical, and I acknowledge that as a Christian. However, it was a lovely thought for a 17-year-old who wanted to feel more connected to the people around him. I really loved the idea that people can leave pieces of themselves to other people they’re close to, and, in a way, we do.

I’m struggling between going into where the ideas for all my books came as examples of this process and offering other methods. I’m actually articulating this so you see how my mind works as well. So the happy medium is to give you another example of letting life inspire you before moving on to other techniques.

Stealing Freedom came to mind when some riots were happening a few years back. The details are fuzzy in my memory, but what I remember is a person drove a car into a crowd. There was a lot of debate about protesting and how people respond. I worried that people would start to discuss “limiting” free speech for the “protection” of others. I had a mental picture of a little girl wearing a shock collar. Then I thought about one of my sisters being that girl’s mother. “She’d burn the world down before she let that happen,” I thought to myself. And there it was, the opening chapter to a new story.

The method (if I try to explain it) is to look at something happening in the world around you and then try to add fantastical elements to it. You can try it now. Look at one thing that happened to you today and then apply some strange or even just ridiculous element to it. Then start trying to come up with ways to rationalize that element. This will form a situation if not a full blown story.

This is easily my primary method for coming up with ideas, but there are others I’ve either heard others talk about or offered to others.

Idea Generation Method 2: Combine and Twist: What are your two favorite books? If you were going to write fan fiction and try to combine these worlds, how would you do it? If you can follow this line of thought, you’re halfway to coming up with an original story. All you need to do then is come up with your twist. Ask yourself what you can do to put a new spin on the two worlds or magic systems. Because almost all of my stories were used with the above technique, I can’t point out any one of my own stories. Neither can I name a Combine and Twist story I’ve seen off the top of my head. So we’ll have to come up with something together.

I love Dragonriders of Pern and Wheel of Time. What if owning a dragon gave you powers, but your will was always at odds with the will of your dragon? (I actually love this idea, but I promise I have enough books to write). Let’s go with this a bit further. Say we live in a world where dragons exist, and a select group of people could mentally connect with those dragons. However, if one took over a dragon contrary to one’s will, they’d have to constantly maintain control of the bond lest the dragon take over the human’s mind. That gives me an idea for a main character. What if my main character had the idea to find and bond a dragon who actually agreed with his line of thinking. How much more powerful would both become if they worked together rather than engage in a perpetual mental battle for access to the powers the dragons provide? If you like that idea, feel free to write it. Just give me a nod in your acknowledgments page (and maybe buy and recommend a guy’s books?).

Idea Generation Method 3: Fix A Broken Story: What’s the worst movie you’ve ever seen or book you’ve read? Why was it bad? I’m actually currently reading the worst book I’ve ever read (I feel obligated to finish it). Now, I have that opinion of this book because I’m at a loss as to how I would even go about fixing it (it’s that bad). But, this is a great way to come up with ideas. I actually do have a personal example of this. You see, I don’t really like YA fiction. I think that there are some very overdone aspects of it that just make it predictable and unrealistic. When I had a life inspiration moment for Repressed (people were debating the right to let others legally immigrate), I knew that Kaitlyn (originally from Caught) would be perfect for that situation. However, Kaitlyn only fits two of the list of things YA characters have. She was (she’s 19 now as I’m writing the end of Oneiros) young, and she’s a compelling character. I didn’t like the stories of the young girl who meets a dangerous boy and falls in love trying to change him. That’s putting it mildly. I’m not at all against people meeting and falling in love. I’m not at all against young people of either gender wanting to find love. What I hate is what I see as the glorification of toxic relationships.

So that’s the part I changed. Instead of a girl meets bad boy plot, I had a young girl who was driven to a different goal. Can YA be about young people learning about themselves rather than falling in love with the worst possible person? The plot and writing of Repressed was easy after that.

So those are three things you might try if you’re struggling to come up with ideas, but I leave you with a different challenge. Is it possible you don’t actually struggle coming up with one idea? When I talk to students, the struggle they have is that they’re waiting for that “perfect” idea. I don’t have that problem at all. My recommendation more than how to find ideas is this: Once you find an idea, write that book. It doesn’t have to be the greatest book ever. It doesn’t even have to be that good an idea. What doing this does is train you to ideate and then create. This way, when you do have that one great idea, you’re already practiced at writing and developing it. Don’t get stuck. Don’t wind up never writing anything because you’re chasing after a better idea. It’s a fool’s errand. I sincerely hope each idea you have is better than your last one, but that doesn’t actually mean the first idea was bad. So have ideas and then write them. Practice that positive habit, and you’ll find a whole bunch of books you’ve written ready to evaluate when you’re done.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

I’ve finished the Beta Draft of Betrayed! Anyone interested in being an ARC Reviewer?

As you can tell by the headline, I’ve sent out Betrayed to Sara for proofreading, and I’m hoping a number of you would be willing to be ARC reviewers.

Betrayed is the second part of the Oneiros Log Trilogy (Repressed is more of an out rigger novel).

Here’s a small summary/blurb:

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They were captured and tortured until their minds finally Broke, unleashing the latent powers inside them. The six members of Oneiros spent more than five years content to build their life together and use their gifts to help people. The government has other plans.

The nation some of them served, the nation that failed all of them, is about to betray them. These two forces collide in a war that will have deadly consequences for both sides. How will this declaration of war affect the team?

Former friends stand on opposite sides of the battle lines. Loyalty prevents them from finding common ground. Loyalty will be one’s downfall.

The peacemaker suffers silently, hiding a secret that threatens them all.

The violent beauty suffers from a past that will change all of their futures.

The young protege hopes to become a hero but doesn’t know the pain all heroes face.

The leader is falling, completely unaware of the corruption to which he’s succumbing.

Their creation broke them. This war will shatter them, and the secrets it reveals will change the world as everyone knows it.

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Caught was a horror story with a twist of action. Betrayed evolves into an action story with a bit of horror. If military action with psychic powers are up your alley, I think you’ll enjoy this installment of the trilogy.

My goals: What I truly hope is to find 50 dedicated reviewers, but given that I don’t have 50 reviews total, that goal would unlikely (but amazing). So instead, I’m setting a (far more realistic) goal of 10 ARC reviewers. I’m looking for ten (or more) volunteers to receive a PDF version of the story and prepare a review for the day Betrayed goes live (currently scheduled for April 1, which gives a reader plenty of time). If you’re interested, please don’t hesitate to email me.

A note: This is an un-proofed draft. That means you’ll probably note typos I haven’t managed to polish out yet. While I don’t expect this to be riddled with issues, I will remind potential readers that this is the draft I finished before sending it to my proofreader. If you care to make note of them and tell me, I’d be grateful, but that’s not the need I’m trying to fill. Sara is great at what she does, and she’ll help me get Betrayed cleaned up before it goes to market. Sending the un-proofed draft to ARC readers just allows them time to read and me time to do the other things an independent author has to do to prepare for a book launch.

While I wait for edits (and hopefully reviews), I’m already toiling way on Discovered, the last book in the Oneiros Log. I’m a little more than halfway done with the discovery draft, and I’m pretty happy with how it’s coming out. It’s still very optimistic to think Discovered will be out in 2021, but I fully expect it to be out before 2022 comes to a close. That’s my main priority. If I do finish that draft, I’ll go back to Images of Truth, but I’d say it’s unlikely I’ll write another 50,000 words in a month. For those keeping score at home, you’re right. Discovered is by far the biggest of the three main books. Caught was somewhere in the neighborhood of 80,000 words, and Betrayed was just about 60,000. Discovered looks like it will land in the 100,000-word area. This is because I’m tying up all the plot lines and making sure fans of each character get a satisfying conclusion for their favorites.

As always, I’m so grateful to all of you who support my work. It’s amazing to think I’ve been at this for six years! I’m always working to be a better writer and a more successful business man. I can’t do either of those things without God allowing and your help. Thank you!

Thanks for reading,

Matt

I’m About to Start the Beta Draft of Betrayed: A Thank you to Beta Readers

Greetings all!

I’m happy to report I’m about to begin work in the Beta Draft of Betrayed. This will be the last content draft and the last set of revisions. After this, I send it out for proofreading and then polish it up for publishing.

I’d like to just take a moment to thank my beta readers!

First up is Bia Bella Baker, author of the HECCTROSSIPY series.

Next up are Tamy and Don Way. I actually met them outside an Ikea, and they’ve been supporting me and my work ever since.

I just want to thank them for taking the time to read Betrayed and offer feedback. The good news is they all liked it! Yes, they all had constructive feedback that I have to comb through and consider as I do this final draft.

I’ll say this much, Kira has been a challenge to write, and she’ll be challenging. Her arc is powerful, and I’m of the opinion that if I don’t get it right, the series will suffer greatly. I’d argue the next most important arc is Kaitlyn. Dom and Sal aren’t nearly as challenging because they’re more simplistic in nature.

I’ll start work on that early next week. While I was waiting, I got some more work done on Discovered. I’m just a bit over halfway done with the discovery draft of that story, and it’s looking solid.

I’m doing everything I can to get Betrayed out as soon as I can. It’ll take me at least a month to finish. Then I’ll need to give Sara time to proofread it. Then I have to apply those edits. So I’m hoping for a February or March release date. While Sara proofreads Betrayed, I’ll switch right back to Discovered, so it shouldn’t be nearly as long a wait for that book as it was for Betrayed.

Again, I just want to thank my beta readers and let you all know where I’m at. I can’t thank you all enough for the support you give. I hope you choose to stick with me and continue to enjoy my silly little stories.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

More Reviews, Even A Few International Reviews!

Greetings all,

I’m once again blessed to be able to share reviews with you. These reviews are particularly close to my heart for a few reasons.

First, I have my first international review. Over at Audible.co.uk, I have two reviews.

Kathrine Leach left this short and sweet three-star review for Caught:

“good story”

“It took a while for me to get into this book but once I did it was quite good. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.”

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D M Reynolds left this very kind four-star review for Stealing Freedom:

“Disturbing”

“This story is soooo plausible given our current reality. A true dystopian tale for our times. It explores – lightly – the extremes of censorship and expression. At the same time, it’s an action-packed cheer-for-the-robbers kind of adventure. Much of the world is essentially the same as ours (which adds to the plausibility). The cops are hot on the trail of our heroes… and yet nothing is quite as it first appears (just like a good heist movie!) Enjoyed this story. The length and narration both suited it very well. I received this audiobook for free in exchange for a fair review.”

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It really means a lot to me to see that my work is starting to spread. Not only that, but people (at the very least) liking it! I also got some new reviews on the U.S. version of Audible.

Adam Bogovich left this five-star review for Stealing Freedom:

“Short and to the point”

“We start our journey 5 years into a dystopian society. You meet some rebels who you don’t get to know too well, but pretty well for the time allotted. The plan that unfolds is pretty clever, and i feel like if there was more time to build on the world/characters, the twist wouldn’t have been surprising; so it all works out. Other than that, the narrator was great as well! I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.”

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I’ve saved the most special set of reviews for last. Theres a philosophy I hold to as an author:

The first sentence you write determines if the reader will finish the page. The first page determines if the reader will read the first chapter. The first chapter will determine if the reader finishes the book. That book then becomes a promise. “If you liked this book, you’ll love my next one.”

The reviews from Shawna that follow are a beautiful representation of how true this is. They also represent everything I strive to do for readers and as an author. Shawna, if you’re reading this, thank you so much. Please see just a bit more at the bottom.

She first listened to Caught:

“Different and amazing!”

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review. The title first caught my attention – I am a sucker for anything Greek Mythology related. Oh dear author, you know my heart’s true love and you don’t even know me. The book started a bit slow. I wasn’t sure where it was going at first and then I started piecing it together as I went along. It suddenly picked up and Oh boy! I love the plot, the premise and everything about this book. It is strange, different and creepy. I really could not stop listening to it. The narrator was absolutely perfect and had amazing pacing. I was not disappointed at all by this book in any way.”

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This book became my promise (from my point of view) to Shawna. I’m thrilled that she liked Caught. I’m so happy that it was good enough for her to decide to try more of my work. Then she listened to Stealing Freedom:

“Great story”

“I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review. I do not like multiple narrators. In this instance, they did okay and I was able to listen all the way through but the double narrators did ruin my enjoyment a little bit. I am going to find an ebook copy of the book instead and pretend the narration did not happen. This was a great story which has a very real feel to the premise. You can definitely see this happening in the future…..No unauthorized communication and strict punishment for breaking the rules about communication. It was very chilling to think that even right now, we are slightly limited on our freedom of speech. Is this a glimpse of the future?”

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This review alone is flattering. I wanted (in this case) listeners to truly ponder what a world without protest or free speech would look like. She next read Sojourn in Captivity, and left the first review I’ve had for that title on Audible.

“Too Short!”

“I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review. The only thing that displeased me about this audiobook was the length. I wish it was longer and that there was more to it. This is the second book by this author that I have listened to in the last week and I am starting to believe that I need to write this name into my favorites list. I love magic, fantasy, faeries, werewolves, vampires etc etc. This book was right up my alley and I absolutely loved it. I hope the author will continue with this because sign me up! Lots of action and adventure and well written. Even though it’s a short book, pick it up! You will not regret it!”

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Don’t worry Shawna, I have an entire series planned for that universe (an entire universe) and Elele is one of several main characters. There’s a lot more to see there. This was just designed to introduce you to her.

Now we get to the part that’s especially rewarding. Check out this review she left for Repressed!

“Hooked on this author!”

“I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Ok Weech, you got me. I am yours. This was a shorter book but the third that I have listened to by this author and I am now setting up an amazon alert for this author. You have won my heart. I may be older (I will not state my age because it is embarrassing) but I do love me some YA. This was written slightly different to the previous book, Caught, because it was geared towards a different audience but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I do wonder if the author is going to have 2 different types of books for this series: YA and adult? Either way, I will definitely be reading all there is to come.”

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I must respectfully disagree, Shawna. It is I who am yours. In choosing to read my work, you’ve made me your author. You’ve made my stories something you value, and that is a blessing I cherish. It is a gift I mean to care for. It’s my duty to never disappoint you or break the loyalty you’ve given me. Should I write something you don’t enjoy, I hope you’ll forgive me and allow my next book to set things right.

Being an author (as a business) is about loyalty. Every reader offers you their time. The author’s responsible for rewarding that time with entertainment. I can only hope that more people will try my work and feel the way that Shawna did. I hope she’s tried The Journals of Bob Drifter, and loved it. I hope she’s one of the first to pick up Betrayed, and I hope it answers her questions (and leaves her with a whole new list of them).

Reviews like this make hours and hours of writing, proofreading, designing, and formatting worth it, and I can’t thank all you readers enough.

Thank you!

V/R
Matt

I Have Finished the Developmental Draft of Betrayed! Any Interested Beta Readers Out There?

Greetings all,

I’m happy to report that I’ve finished the Developmental Draft of Betrayed! Obviously I’m far behind my publishing schedule, but I am still working to write and publish stories I hope you’ll all enjoy.

Betrayed focuses far more on Dom and Kira than Caught did. If you read Caught carefully, you’ll see little breadcrumbs that I left for you that will make Betrayed a bit more satisfying. There are indeed more of those breadcrumbs in Repressed, but that story is really more to show how Kaitlyn has grown and what her motivations are.

Where Caught was a horror mystery with action, Betrayed is much more action oriented. Caught was probably 60-40. Sixty percent Wes Craven and forty percent Tom Clancy. Betrayed is probably 20-80 in the same ratio. There are some elements of horror and dream sequences, but the book drives more into the action and the characters.

Remember, Oneiros was always (and remains) my origin story to a superhero universe. Betrayed is the book that sparks that flame.

Here’s a vague book blurb:

Oneiros has been operating for more than six years. They’ve worked quietly to complete all the missions police were unwilling or unable to take on, but all of that is about to change.

Zac Kingsley, a soldier with the Army’s most secret military unit, receives orders to destroy Oneiros. He’s a brilliant military leader, and he was once Dom Moretti’s best friend.

Oneiros must now defend themselves against the government that made them, the government that betrayed them.

Old friends become enemies; current bonds are tested, and a new threat reveals himself.

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If that description catches your attention, you’re in luck! I need beta readers! Beta reading is a bit more work than alpha reading. Beta reading is where I’m looking at the finished product the same way I review any story. I want to see through the readers eye to make sure the plot twists are believable and satisfying. I want to make sure the story moves at the right pace. Those who agree to beta read will, of course, receive special thanks in the book’s acknowledgement section.

If this sounds like something you’re interested in, please email me. Because I want to publish this as quickly as possible, I’m asking any beta readers finish reading and providing feedback by Oct. 25. That basically means you’d have to read and respond to about one chapter a day.

In the meantime, I’m back at work on Discovered (the end of the Oneiros Log). I still have about half of it to write (my completion percentage is based on chapters that I’ve outlined). I’d love to finish the Discovery Draft of that before I get the feedback for Betrayed, but that’s currently more of an ambitious goal than an expectation at the moment.

I hope some of you (I’m hoping for 10 beta readers) are willing to help me make sure Betrayed is a great story, but I’m already grateful to you all for the support you’ve shown me over the years. I’m going to keep working on writing great stories with sympathetic characters.

Thanks for reading,

V/R
Matt

Reviews! So Many Reviews!

Greetings all,

I’m just simply amazed at the number of reviews I am lucky enough to share with you. I’ll articulate how this was made possible in a future blog (I’m doing more research on that). For now, I have several reviews to share with you.  Some of them are only on Audible, and I don’t know how to link to just those reviews, so I’ll just copy-paste them in their entirety here. Then I have another review for Caught I’d like to spend a bit more time discussing.

First, let’s look at several new reviews for the Audible version of Stealing Freedom.

Five Star Review from Anne-v:

“Wonderful novella!

Loved it! Loved the originality. Loved the characters. Loved the writing. Loved the story. Loved the narrator.
I’ll devour everything from this author. It’s that good.
Give me more!! I want a prequel and a sequel.
This is a future world where speaking has been deemed “dangerous” to established order. Speech is only allowed per word purchased. A mother risks everything to allow her daughter the freedom to speak.
I was given this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.”

 

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Isn’t that great?!

I mean, I don’t even know what to say! This is the kind of review every author dreams of, and I’m so grateful to Anne for leaving it. Bless you!

Five Star Review from Dee:

“Great listen!!

I enjoyed this listen very much!! In the beginning, it’s hard to know where this story is going. The writing is incredibly well-done and the world-building was exceptional, albeit scary.

That ending was inventive and quite frankly, mind-blowing.

The narration kept pace with the other worldliness of the story. Love it!!!”

 

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Again, this is a very kind review. I put in a lot of effort for the endings of my stories, so any time they get compliments, I’m particularly pleased.

Five Star Review from B VanDyk:

“I absolutely loved this sci-fi

I thought the premise of this future was fantastic. A great heist style story against an oppressive regime.
Thinking of the current culture to extrapolate to this end was an awesome commentary. I’m looking forward to more from this author!

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review.”

 

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All I can say is, “I’m happy to provide more!” All these reviews are so kind, and I’m so blessed and happy that people like Stealing Freedom. Honestly any rating and review is nice, but when they’re this kind, how can I not appreciate it that much more?

That brings me to this four star review for Caught:

The reviewer once again (she’d listened to Stealing Freedom and was kind enough to try another of my stories) left a review on both Audible and Goodreads.

This review is awesome! Now, is it as complimentary as some of the above reviews? Maybe not, but it’s so insightful, and I wanted to talk about one specific segment. You can read the whole review through the above link, but I wanted to focus on one part.

“The premise is very interesting, however, I was disappointed that this was book 1 of a series. This shares a lot of good elements from books like Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, and with 1 tweak (the death of someone), this would have made a great stand alone. As it is, and someone survives that shouldn’t have been allowed to, there will clearly be a book 2, and said character will be back.”

Later she says, “Also, the charm of this book is largely rooted in the dreams and the experiments. Without that mystery, I imagine sequels will basically be the A-Team with powers.”

I’m in no way about to “respond” to this review. That’s bad form. Her opinions are hers, and I value them. The interesting thing is that she would have liked Caught better if it was a stand alone.

Here’s why that’s interesting: I originally intended it to be a stand alone.

I’d just finished Bob, and I really needed something light, fun, and fresh before I started on another ambitious project.

So then, I spoke with others in the business. If you look at my work, you’ll notice I barely hold still. Their advice was to generate books in a series to build a following. That advice made perfect sense to me.

Before you go too far, I’m not saying I invented Betrayed and Discovered just to pander to an audience. Yes, my goal was to provide people who like Caught more stories from that world, but it wasn’t just for that reason. I was speaking to my brother about some of the things I knew.

In once scene in Caught, Steve (one of the main characters), notes Kira (a secondary character in that book) has more reason to hate the general than anyone else.

My brother asked me why. When I told him, he loved the idea. I’d just filed the detail away as part of the world building and history of Kira’s character. But I wasn’t planning on going back to those characters for quite some time if at all. Once I told my brother that spolierific detail, he urged me to write that sequel, and that demand, combined with the advice of self-published authors I respect, led me to go ahead and write the other stories.

Oneiros Log, even Caught as a stand alone, was always designed to be my super hero universe origin story. I love X-Men. I think the Avengers movies are great! But I’m frustrated at the lack of other super heroes. In my opinion, you’re either an X-Man, an Avenger, or a member of the Justice League. Everyone wants to write for those series. I wanted to create something that at least has a fresh perspective on supers.

But I think Brook makes a very valid and fair comment, and I felt that was a great point. I’ve often said I would go back and write several books in one universe if I had it all to do again. I’d still publish Bob. I’d still publish Oneiros Log (at least Caught). But I typically write the stories that are most energizing to me at the time.

It’s a interesting challenge to be an author who is a discovery writer at heart trying to make sure he’s building an audience. I made the decision to move forward with the rest of the story (which is way more about Kaitlyn and Kira), but it’s interesting to see someone feel the way I felt about Caught. I can only hope that the rest of the trilogy (and Kaitlyn’s little side story) are entertaining enough to justify writing them.

I thought about adding this information. I truly, TRULY, hope that this isn’t seen as a rebuttal to Brook’s very kind review. It was a wonderful review. It was a thoughtful review.

But I though that keen observation demanded an open and honest admission of my original intent and how I came to change my mind.

I’ve never had so many reviews to share at the end of one week, and I’m humbled and honored to have these to share. I can only hope and pray that the reviews keep coming.  I just want to offer my most sincere appreciation one more time to all of these reviewers. It’s my hope that the reviews inspire more people to give my work a try.

As always, thanks for reading,

Matt

 

 

 

 

 

Writing Update: How are things going?

Greetings all,

Even by my standards, I’ve been behind in my social media updates. Plus, it’s been a little while since I gave an update on the projects I’m working on.  This felt like a good time.

Betrayed: Book Two of the Oneiros Log is still with Sara. I’m still not sure if I’ll jump on this when she sends her feedback of if I’ll finish this draft of Discovered first. The further along I get in that draft, the more likely I’ll finish that before I start revisions on Betrayed. I’m still hopeful for a 2020 release on that, but there are just so many factors that go into it these days. This is still my primary writing project though.

Discovered:  I’m all but 50% through the discovery draft of the last Oneiros Log book. It’ll be the first saga I finish and publish, so that’s super exciting! I expect things to slow down just a bit since I’m in the real meat of the plot. Things can expand and contract too as I draft this story. We meet at least five new characters in this, and I’m working to make sure the plot lines are well woven.  I’m pretty happy with how this draft is going. I am aware of a few things that’ll need work in revision, but I think this is a nice start.  It’s currently about 35,000 words. That feels a bit short to me. I anticipate the complete story to be somewhere around 90,000. One reason for this is because my percentages are based on chapters written rather than word count. It’ll definitely be the largest book in the trilogy (or quadrilogy if you count Kaitlyn’s little outrigger story, Repressed). But all of these stories were meant to be fast-paced pop-corn movie type books.

Images of Truth: This is officially Book On in the Perception of War series. Elele’s story, Sojourn in Captivity, was more like a prequel novella focused just on her, but it does introduce one of the many planets and alien species in this universe. Before I started work on Discovered, I was about 53% through the discovery draft of IoT. I still feel like it’s fantastic, but it’ll need some careful revision. This will become my main priority once I finish Oneiros.

So that’s just a quick update on my current workload. I think things are going nicely. I’m thankful for all of you who are reading and offering encouragement. It’s a real blessing just to be able to write and publish books. Of course I hope to make this my occupation, but even this is wonderful.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

 

A 4-star review for the Sojourn and Repressed combo paperback!

Greetings all,

    It feels like it’s been forever since I was blessed enough to share a new review, but here we are!

One reader was kind enough to share a 4-start review on Goodreads for the Repressed/Sojourn in Captivity paperback. I’m always thankful for people who take the time to provide feedback. She mentioned she’d like to see more for Elele, and I promise, more is on the way. I will finish the discovery draft of Images of Truth as soon as I finish Oneiros Log. If you’re a kindle reader or a KU reader, you can read either or both of these stories. Repressed is here. Sojourn is here.

I was also happy to see a 5-star rating for The Journals of Bob Drifter! There wasn’t a review to share with you all, but I’m more than happy for the rating.

As always, I’d like to humbly ask that if you’ve read one of my stories, please take a moment to offer a rating and review on Amazon, Goodreads, or both. They really do give me a boost, and they are helpful! A lot of people use them to decide if they want to buy it or not.

Thank you for reading,

Matt

Soundtracks for My Books!

Greetings all,

I’m still plugging away on Discovered’s outline while I’m saving up money to get Betrayed edited. Since I’m such a fan of music, I thought I’d do a little exercise where I picked out title soundtracks all of my books.

The Journals of Bob Drifter: “Off He Goes” by Pearl Jam.

 

So one thing that I don’t do very much is pay attention to lyrics, at least not where soundtracks are concerned. I think it could be a bit boring to narrate a novel to music anyway. What I listen for is for a song to match the feel and tone of one of my projects.  I love this song, and I think the tone is perfect. I like the sound. I like the tempo. I’d be thrilled if Bob were to be made a series (not a movie!), and this song were selected as a title soundtrack.

Caught: “This is Our War” by Halocene

 

So this is a band I’ve been meaning to endorse for a while. Honestly, in my dream scenario, Halocene does an original song for Oneiros, but this song is pretty close to what I’d want. I honestly think the lyrics match up okay too (but don’t hold me to that). This song has the change-up in tone and emotion that any soundtrack song for Caught would have to have.

Repressed: “Eighteen” by First to Eleven

 

 

So yeah, I’m double-tapping this, but the song works, and I really do like it. The tone shift from Caught to Repressed is something I went into with open eyes, and I wouldn’t change it. This song has that coming of age feel, and Repressed is more or less a coming of age story. Kaitlyn has some ways to grow, but the woman she becomes at the end of this saga is one I’ll love for as long as I’m alive. So this little Y-A, female-lead story has a song that’s more or less an anthem for such a mindset. It’s not where Kaitlyn ends, but it is where she was at that time in her life.

Sojourn in Captivity: John Williams, please compose the soundtrack!

 

Perception of War is my Space Opera, and I can’t imagine a space saga ever happening without John Williams composing the soundtrack. Perception of War isn’t as romantic as Star Wars, but I’d trust Mr. Williams to apply the proper mood to each scene and nail a great opening credits song.

 

Stealing Freedom: The Pretender by Foo Fighters

 

So this is probably the one I’ve thought the least about. I’m not even sure why. But when I thought about what I would want if Stealing Freedom were made into a movie, I thought, “What band do I like no matter what mood I’m in?” Answer: “The Foo Fighters.” They always rock out, and this song fits wonderfully.

What are your thoughts? Are there any songs that you think would go well with one of my books?

Thanks for reading (and listening),

Matt