Sunday, October 17, 2010

Haunting development

I continue to make progress on my ghost story. I've finished the first draft and am four-fifths of the way through the first revision. It's going to be relatively short -- probably no more than 85,000 words -- but it's very scary and also very sexy ... maybe too sexy. I'm still considering toning down the graphic aspects of the sex. A few scenes feel gratuitous. (But sometimes gratuituous sex is the most fun of all!)

I'm hoping to begin shopping the novel by early January. With The DW Chronicles still without a second publisher, it's going to be fun to have another player in the game.

DW will always be my masterpiece. I'll never write anything better, and hopefully it will one day get the credit it deserves, even if it is post-Jim Melvin. But like any writer who has failed to strike it rich, all I can do is keep writing.

And that's what I've done.

4 comments:

Jim Melvin said...

It may be where it ends up, somewhere down the line. I'd prefer just to wait and see if another novel does well, so that I can piggyback DW on to that. But I appreciate your comment. Thank you.

Kathy said...

Your new book sounds interesting.

Jim Melvin said...

Thanks! That's nice of you to say.

Kappa no He said...

Yeah, I have a mid grade that is dying a slow death that I just won't let go. That puppy is definitely going to piggy back any future Publisher Love.

Can't wait to read it!

Synopsis

The Death Wizard Chronicles is a sexy, action-packed six-book epic fantasy series: Book One (The Pit), Book Two (Moon Goddess), Book Three (Eve of War), Book Four (World on Fire), Book Five (Sun God), Book Six (Death-Know).

The DW Chronicles is not for children and teenagers -- or the faint of heart. But if you like graphic fantasy that is bursting with excitement yet still has a lot going on between the lines, I think you'll love my series.

In a groundbreaking paradox, the Death Wizard, a champion of good, derives his power from a source traditionally seen as negative -- death. His nemesis, an evil sorcerer, derives his power from the sun, the benevolent source of all life. Their struggle to control the fate of the planet Triken will take your breath away.

In an original twist never before seen in this genre, the Death Wizard is able to enter the realm of death during a "temporary suicide." Through intense concentration, he stops his heartbeat and feeds on death energy, which provides him with an array of magical powers.

The series also is a love triangle involving two desperate characters attempting to come together despite the machinations of an all-powerful psychopath with incestuous cravings.

Graphic and action-packed, spanning a millennium of turmoil, The DW Chronicles carries readers on a journey they will never forget.

Do you fear death? The Death Wizard does not. Find out why.

-- An excerpt from the middle of Book One can be found below.

About Me

My Photo
Clemson, SC, United States
I was born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., but grew up in St. Petersburg, Fla. I graduated from the University of South Florida (Tampa) in 1979 with a B.A. in Journalism. I now live in South Carolina near the Blue Ridge Mountains, a pleasant setting for writing, to say the least. I was an award-winning journalist at the St. Petersburg Times for twenty-five years and also worked at the Greenville News. I am married with five daughters.

The author

The author
Jim Melvin, 54, a veteran journalist, debuts as novelist.

Excerpt from The Pit

This time there were no dreams. When he opened his eyes the ruins of Dukkhatu were sprawled before him. The spider lay on her back, pierced in many places by prickly black rocks. Her hideous legs quivered, and a wet, whistling sound came from her mouth. Torg tore a chunk of obsidian from the ground, climbed onto the spider's exposed belly, and stabbed the stone into her hide, perforating her long, tubular heart. Dukkhatu let out a final, ear-shattering scream -- and went still. But the wizard didn't stop. He drove the stone into her again and again, punching huge holes in her carcass.

Her body shredded and tore apart.

Her entrails splashed in his face. But he didn't care.

Hate and despair drove his madness. When he no longer had the strength to lift his arm, Torg collapsed face-first in Dukkhatu's gore.

The wizard didn't remember standing. But at some point, he did. Then he wandered -- naked and shivering -- through and around the crumbled stone ... staggering, falling, crawling.

Tears rinsed a little of the filth from his face, but his broken body reeked of the spider's stink.

Heaps of razor-sharp obsidian were scattered among the jumble of smoother stones, as if planted there with tiny black seeds. It took all of Torg's remaining will not to grasp another shard and drive it into his own heart, ending the pain.

His life had become nothing but pain. Why breathe any longer? His endurance was gone, his hopes destroyed. Who could blame him for giving up? Not even Tathagata could ask any more of him.

What did it matter ... anyway? All things were impermanent -- he, certainly, as much as anything else. The time of his ending had come. A future lifetime beckoned.

Perhaps he would live it in a better place than this.