Behind-the-scenes book talk with a bestselling author and his unicorn. Join 6000+ readers of my 150 books as I share stories behind the stories, unbox the creative process, and lead a disobedient "artisan author" movement to treat readers like rockstars and make the book world suck less.
Desolate, liminal, unanchored, and unreal
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Writing has always helped me to clarify my own thinking. Even back in school, I used to write essays with that in mind: Rather than writing what I believed about a topic, I wrote in order to discover how I believed. Last week, I talked about vital it is for me to set the mood for a book before I begin writing it. I knew that was true last week ... but writing it down for you rammed the concept home. And so this week, when I began writing a brand-new book, I put higher priority on mood-setting than usual. I chose a music playlist, found some mood-matching imagery to look at while I write, and wrote down a few words that felt like the right tone for the new project. Those words were: Desolate, liminal, unanchored, and unreal. Yeah ... this is going to be an interesting book. But as interesting as it is, the book in question is brand-spankin'-new and won't be out for months. On the other hand, the book that got me talking about the importance of mood -- Winter Break -- is coming out in under two weeks: on the day after Christmas ... or "Boxing Day" if you're cool enough to know that phrase. I should probably tell you what Winter Break is about, right? All I've done so far is to give you its mood -- which should tell you a thing or two about just how important MOOD is in the first place. Here's Winter Break's frozen-to-the-bone teaser:
In deep enough snow, nobody can hear you scream. After a semester of college, Miranda is free of her parents: mom’s obnoxious helicoptering and dad’s sometimes-violent alcohol problem. They've got a solution for the separation, though: This winter break, they've rented an isolated cottage for the family to reconnect. For Miranda, it's the opposite of a vacation. The timing is terrible. her boyfriend has been ghosting her, and her best friend thinks he's cheating. A coming blizzard means that once she arrives, she can't leave. Some creep's been texting her disturbing photos she doesn’t understand. And worst of all, her folks are acting strange. They're hiding something, and Miranda has no idea what it is. What Miranda discovers at the cabin will leave her gasping for breath, giving "surviving winter break" a whole new meaning. This book is full of twists and turns. It uses a "right up to the cliff" approach to storytelling, which means that just after a huge WTF is revealed, I back off and show you a new side to the same story from another character's perspective instead of answering your burning questions. (In fact, I anticipate many people being pissed off at me as they read Winter Break because the mystery persists right up until the end. Until the final act, you're going too be dying to know the answers.) Winter Break is available for preorder right now at its lowest price. It won't get cheaper than it is right now, and the price will go up shortly after launch. So, you know ... if you want to get it, you should get it now. ** Grab your copy of Winter Break here so that you'll have something chilling and desolate to read on YOUR OWN Winter Break. **Trust me: It's perfect for reading next to a fire, glad you're not trapped in bloodshed and madness like Miranda and her unhinged parents. Happy reading! P.S: A few people asked if this book would be available in paperback and/or sold direct from my JohnnyBTruantBooks.com website. The answers are yes and yes, but not until the actual launch date on December 26th ... and yes, I'll tell you when they're available. I'll also be able to offer print and direct-from-store preorders in the future, but I couldn't get it together in time for this release. |
Literary As F**k
Behind-the-scenes book talk with a bestselling author and his unicorn. Join 6000+ readers of my 150 books as I share stories behind the stories, unbox the creative process, and lead a disobedient "artisan author" movement to treat readers like rockstars and make the book world suck less.
Hey there, and Happy New Year! I always like the week between Christmas and New Year's. It's a pleasant "dead zone": halfway on vacation (my kids are home, and that means slacking off to do stuff with them) and halfway working (because I love what I do and don't like to be away from it for long). Writing-wise, I've been playing with a brand new book over the past half-and-half week. Or, rather: an existing new book. If you're a die-hard, you might remember that earlier this year, I tried to...
That's the last line of the first chapter of my new claustrophobic thriller Winter Break: "And the floorboards are covered in blood." I've dropped the complete first chapter below for you: a sample of the ill tidings to come in my heroine's snowbound week from Hell. Enjoy. /// THURSDAY AFTERNOON My phone dings with a new text just as I hit my first patch of black ice. The sound is like a warning: a scream announcing danger. The little car’s wheels spin for half a second — not even long enough...
Hello! I'm going to keep today's message short. If you're a household that celebrates a holiday this time of year, you've got a lot more on your mind than my silly little emails. I'll try to respect that. (Note, however, that that's not stopping me from sending one. Because tradition or something.) This afternoon, I'm going to be selling books at an artisan Christmas market on the big central lawn at the Hill Country Galleria in Austin. Should be cool. I've only sold books in person once...