I was interviewed by Alan R Warren on the House of Mystery Radio Show on NBC. I discuss my new martial arts horror thriller, YEAR OF THE DEMON.
Interview on NBC’s House of Mystery Radio
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Category Archives: Goals
Year in Review: 2024
Each year I create a list of goals for every area of my life. Throughout the year I work my goals, track my progress, and commit to posting my top accomplishments (and some smaller ones). I hope to inspire others to do the same.
Writing Goals
Novels/Novelas
- YEAR OF THE DEMON went up for Preorder this year in ebook and print from Crossroad Press! Audio coming soon! A mixture of horror, martial arts action, and urban fantasy, it’s sure to thrill and delight! ARCs are available for reviewers.
- BLADE OF THE VAGABOND: HEAVEN, EARTH, & WOMAN now available for Kindle! Read it for FREE with Kindle Unlimited! Originally published as a Kindle Vella novella, with the program ending, I decided to put it up on Kindle as an ebook. A paperback edition is a possibility! An historical epic fantasy set in an alternate Warring States period Japan, this novella is filled with magic, Asian mythology, and martial arts. Get your copy today!
- Submitted opening of crime novel to Black Spring’s Big Bang Prize judged by Lee Child for best opening of a crime book.
- Submitted Supernatural Thriller to the Berkley Open Submission Program.
- Published Blade of the Vagabond on Kindle Vella.
- Entered the Kindle Vella Vellys Contest.
- Received Vella Bonus.
- Year of the Demon: Read through and made edits. Approved final edits from publisher, Approved formatting for all editions. Approved cover. Sent information for audiobook narration audition. Began marketing.
- Wolves of Vengeance continues to sell and be read on Kindle Unlimited eleven years after its publication! It also received another 4-star review this year! I’m considering creating a revised and expanded edition. Would you be interested? https://a.co/d/aMXwq1f
Short Stories
- Sent a short story pitch to a top magazine.
- Had a short story shortlisted for an upcoming anthology.
- Submitted to 12 short story markets.
- Wrote one new short story.
- Edited all short stories before sending out.
Sharpen the Saw
- Attended Thrills and Chills: Writing and Selling Horror: A Masterclass with Jonathan Maberry. A fantastic class!
- Live Editing Session # 3 with Tom Bromley Reedsy’s Head of Learning.
Martial Arts
Crushing my martial arts goals in the Year of the Dragon!
Seminars
- Attended Coach Jeff Burger’s Trapping & Wooden Dummy (Mook Jong) Seminar at K.I.C.K. Karate in Salem, MA.
- Attended Drowning in Jeet Kune Do Intermediate & Advanced Training at DAMA.
- Attended Drowning in Kali Intermediate & Advanced Training at DAMA.
Ranking
- Earned Kali Level One at Derderian Academy of Martial Arts
- Earned Kali Level Two at DAMA after earning Level Two in JKD. Yes, I took two tests during the same night! A martial arts teacher I know thought I was crazy for doing two tests in one night. I am, and I was!
- Earned Jeet Kune Do (JKD) Level Two at DAMA.
Training 2024
- Another year of training complete. Hard work but still a great time with great people. I’ve found my tribe!
- Home solo training included Mook Jong, Bas Thai Boxing workouts, shadow boxing and drills, and free-weights.
- Celebrated 37 years of martial arts training!
Broadcasting & Podcasting
- Co-Hosted 50 episodes of the House of Mystery Radio Show (also on Podcast).
- Since 2021, I’ve co-hosted 398 episodes of the House of Mystery Radio Show (as heard on NBC News Radio).
- GoodPods awarded us #1 Best Crime Fiction Podcast of All-Time!
- Received IMDb credits for all podcast episodes. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16649941/
Acting
- I was part of an ensemble cast where I played Van Helsing in Dracula: Vamped Out! on the Fun Classic Reads Episode Number 8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cooBMdlRZYo&t=192s
Youtube and Social Media
Martial Arts Main Channel
I didn’t do as much with my channel this year. Between writing and martial arts training I was full out! https://www.youtube.com/@davidnorth-martino
- 26 short videos main channel.
- 6 long videos main channel.
- 37.7K Views.
- 206.1 Watch time (hours).
- +125 Subscribers.
HDaveMI https://www.youtube.com/@hdavemi6667/videos
- 5 long videos.
- 1 short video.
- 2.2k views.
- 70.4 Watch Time (hours).
- +14 Subscribers.
I also posted shorts on Facebook (Rising Top Creator), Instagram, and TikTok.
Martino Movie Reviews
- Reviewed Eric Shapiro’s Intrusive. https://www.alanrwarren.com/martinomoviereviews/review%3A-intrusive-(2024)?fbclid=IwY2xjawHhPspleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHaqSZ4nJxUtqF8o6VkuzXErYPKsr9_SH0vy72lM_KdJ2M7Whs3fSVtCJpw_aem_vBQ7_ViYIXbwj2mFR-c_FA
- Joined Letterboxd to archive movie reviews. https://letterboxd.com/Dnorthmartino/
Family
- Brought Patty for hand surgery.
- Drove my dad to his surgery appointment.
- Celebrated our birthdays.
- Celebrated our 29th Wedding Anniversary
- Celebrated our 32nd Anniversary of our first date.
- Attended a Pow Wow with my mom and dad and celebrated my mother’s birthday.
- Had dinner with my parents.
- Called my parents twice a week.
- Brought Diesel to all vet appointments.
- Got Diesel a GPS so we could find him when he wants to play adventure cat.
Friends
- Traveled to Flushing Queens New York with martial arts friends to attend the Guro Dan Inosanto weekend seminar. See Travel and Martial Arts.
- Had a great time at the Asia Grill in Lincoln, RI for the annual end-of-year JKD/Kali get-together. We ordered entrées and drinks, shared apps and good conversations.
- Continued a great friendship with Al Warren.
- Built a cat tree for our neighbor’s cat.
- Cat-sat for our neighbor’s cat.
- Celebrated Thanksgiving with Patty. We got meals from Peppercorns Restaurant in Worcester.
- Celebrated Christmas with Patty. I seared NY Strip and filled the house with smoke. Diesel was not impressed. Still, the steak turned out great!
- Had neighbor over for a Christmas get-together.
- Had neighbor over for New Years.
- Kept in contact with my college English professor through email and social media.
- Kept in contact with writer friends.
- Gave feedback to a writer friend on his super secret writing project.
Health
- Annual Physical went well. My labs are stable. My bad cholesterol has improved. My good cholesterol has increased. My triglycerides are about the same.
- Eye doctor Appointments went well.
- Cleanings with hygienist.
- Lost 9 pounds using MacroFactor app.
Travel
- Flushing, Queens, NYC: An amazing time with my DAMA family. The Compass rooftop tiki bar at the top of the Parc Hotel.
- Bar Chuanryu. They had live music.
- New World Mall Food Court.
- Project Ke
- Squid on a stick!
- Jollibee and more!
- Foxwoods Casino day-trip.
Cars
Patty’s Car
- New Battery, front brakes, inspection, wiper blades, recall inspection, replace back camera mount under recall.
My Car
- General maintenance. New battery. Install new sun visor.
House
- Flue Cleaning & Inspection.
- Changed lights in upstairs bathroom.
- Changed lights in downstairs bathroom.
- Assembled catio for Diesel.
- Assembled bookcase for Patty.
- Assembled folding exercises bike for Patty.
- Installed security cameras.
- Installed wine glass rack above sink.
- Built ANOTHER cat tree for Diesel. Diesel rips through one of these per year.
That’s all I can remember for 2024. It’s been a fantastic year of personal and professional accomplishments! See you in 2025! Happy New Year!
Year in Review: 2023
Each year I create a list of goals for every area of my life. Throughout the year I work my goals, track my progress, and commit to posting my top accomplishments. I hope to inspire others to do the same.
Writing
Novels
- Signed publishing contract! I signed a contract with a publishing house and I’ll have a new novel out sometime next year. Top goal!!! More info once I’m allowed to publicly announce.
- Wolves of Vengeance became a #9 Best Seller in free Occult Horror Top 100 Free Kindle Books. https://www.amazon.com/Wolves-Vengeance-David-North-Martino-ebook/dp/B00F3GU182/ Top 10, baby!
- Participated in the 1st annual Terrify your Tablet/Spook your Kindle promotion.
- Another one of my novels made it through 1st cuts and the full manuscript was requested.
Short Stories
- Earned two Honorable Mentions in the Writers of the Future Contest (see above). The top 10% of entrants get Honorable Mentions. https://www.writersofthefuture.com
- I edited “Tracer” from a rejection with comments to an Honorable Mention.
Sharpen the Saw
- Attended: The Novel: From First Draft to Bookshelf Workshop with Jonathan Maberry.
- Attended: Writing and Selling Short Stories Workshop with Jonathan Maberry.
Martial Arts
Rank Promotions
- Promoted to PAC-FMA Level 3 Instructor under Guro W. Hock Hochheim 2023 (See Above).
- Listed as a Level 3 Instructor on Website. ForceNecessary.com
- Began official ranking in Bruce Lee’s Jun Fan/Jeet Kune Do Concepts in the Sifu/Guro Inosanto Lineage.
- Promoted to Jun Fan/Jeet Kune Do (JKD) Level 1 under Sifu Raffi Derderian.
Seminars
Martial Arts Classes
- Began formal Jeet Kune Do classes at Derderian Academy. https://derderian-academy.com/jeet-kune-do/
- Began formal Filipino Kali classes at Derderian Academy. https://derderian-academy.com/kali/
Martial Arts Home Training
- Began training Patty in JKD at home.
- Continued solo home training utilizing Mook Jong, wife as training partner, Bas Thai Boxing workout, and free-weights.
Co-Host: The House of Mystery Radio Show on NBC
- As heard on NBC News Radio in Los Angeles/Riverside/San Bernardino/Palm. Springs/Seattle/Tacoma/Salt Lake City/Phoenix and online podcasts. https://www.alanrwarren.com/house-of-mystery-radioshow
- Interviewed James Patterson. 309,672 podcast plays/downloads, 30k Youtube views.
- Interviewed Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child – 5th most popular interview in 2023! 173,000 plays/downloads/airing with a 2.1 ratings marketshare in L.A. (252,000 estimated listeners)!
- Co-hosted over 100 new episodes.
Martino Movie Reviews on NBC
- Continued to write and publish movie reviews for the House of Mystery Website. https://www.alanrwarren.com/martino-movie-reviews.
- Began recording audio movie reviews that appeared on the House of Mystery Radio Show on NBC.
Youtube & Social Media
Interviews
Interviewed by Dominick Izzo on Them’s fightin’ Words! podcast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSDjS5a3Csw&t=1920s
My Martial Arts Channel & HDaveMI
- Continued to make long form and short form martial arts instruction videos on Youtube channel and also on Reelz, Instagram, and Tiktok. https://www.youtube.com/@davidnorth-martino/videos
- Began HDaveMI movie review and physical media channel.
- Earned top 5% in Facebook rising creators.
Podcasts
- Published 3 episodes of the Live Martial Podcast.
- Had martial arts teachers reach out who want to be on the show. I hope to expand the show next year.
Family & Friends
- Mother’s Day at North End Diner.
- Helped family member move into new apartment.
- Celebrated 28th Wedding Anniversary with dinner at Ted’s Montana Grill.
- Visited In-Laws for get-together.
- Father’s Day at North End Diner.
- Celebrated 31st Anniversary of our first date.
- Cat-sat for our neighbor’s cats.
- Cracker Barrel Thanksgiving takeout.
- Continued friendship with Alan R. Warren.
- Continued friendship through email and social media with my former English professor.
- Kept up friendships with writer friends, martial arts friends, high school & college. friends on social media.
- Made new writing and martial arts friends.
Health
- Annual Physical – besides an increase in weight (it’s all muscle) everything looks good!
- Eye doctor appointments -everything stable.
- Cleanings with hygienist and X-rays A+.
- Two appointments for crown installation.
Cars
- Patty’s car – inspection, oil change, tire rotation.
- My car towed Breaks, rotters, oil change, fluids, new battery.
- Installed Cover Craft Dashboard cover on my car.
- Drove 100 miles to reset computer in my car after battery died.
House
- Get new bedroom air cleaner replaced through warranty service.
- New chair for Diesel.
- Replaced aging recliners.
- Installed nest Protect Smokes and CO2 Alarms.
- Installed throw rug with mat in living room.
- Replaced patio door handle in living room.
- Troubleshoot dishwasher wasn’t draining. Hose clogged. Cleared out and draining again.
Movies at Theater
- IMAX: Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning: Part 1.
- IMAX: Oppenheimer 15/70 70mm film.
- 50th Anniversary of Enter the Dragon at the Bellingham Regal Cinema.
AV/Tech
- Apple Store Providence Place Mall. Replaced Patty’s Airpods Pro under limited warranty.
- Upgraded to iPhone 14 pro.
- Upgrade to Panasonic 4k blu-ray player.
- Increased our collection of 4k and blu-ray discs.
That’s all I can remember for now. It’s been a fantastic year of personal and professional accomplishment! See you in 2024!
Writers of the Future Honorable Mention 3rd Quarter 2023
I received another Honorable Mention certificate from the L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest, 3rd Quarter 2023. It’s always encouraging to get one of these certificates in the mail. Only approximately 10% of the entrants receive these from this very prestigious contest. Congrats to all the winners!
Also, I was able to edit this story from a rejection with comments into an Honorable Mention on the next go-around.
Old School Martial Arts…? But Why?
Had a great conversation about martial arts with host Dominick Izzo on Them’s Fightin’ Words! Podcast We talk traditional vs. modern and even express our love of martial arts cinema. This is an episode you don’t want to miss! While you’re at it, subscribe to his channel!
Year in Review: 2022
Each year I create a list of goals for every area of my life. Throughout the year I work my goals, track my progress, and commit to posting my top accomplishments. I hope to inspire others to do the same.
Writing
Short Stories
- My story, “The Midnight Club,” appeared in The Horror Zine’s Book of Werewolf Stories published by HorrorBound Press. I shared pages with Ramsey Campbell, Nancy Kilpatrik, JG Fraherty and other great writers.
- Received hard copies of the anthology.
- Received audio book on Audible.
Magic Moment: Review from Heather Miller:
…The Horror Zine’s Book of Werewolf Stories brings together twenty-five shirt-ripping, teeth-baring, guttural-snarling stories from names big and small. The collection includes tales written from both the victim’s and the wolf’s perspective. There are werewolves who are bloodthirsty monsters and those who try their hardest to retain some sense of humanity. There are stories which question whether their characters are werewolves at all or men suffering from psychiatric delusions. There are wolves at war, wolves at sea, wolves in the woods and wolves in the city. A few stories which stood out to me:
“The Change” by Ramsey Campbell – a psychological horror in which a writer becomes obsessed with – and then paranoid about – the strangers who gather just beyond his window in the blue glow of a bus stop lamp, and regresses to a primitive form of himself in his distress.
“Savages” by Trish Wilson – a feral child is found and held for observation, until the wolves who raised him come back for what’s theirs.
“The Midnight Club” by David North-Martino – a serial killer who lives for the thrill of the hunt gets what’s coming to him when his prey turns to predator.
“Origin of the Species” by JG Faherty – easily my favorite story in the whole collection, this one gives us a fascinating origin story for the werewolf race.
With an introduction by Stephen Graham Jones and a foreword by WD Gagliani, this anthology of moonlight metamorphosis is a great addition to any horror lover’s library, and a much-needed tome on a worthy but oft-overlooked horror character.
- Writer’s of the Future Honorable Mention 2nd Quarter 2022.
- Submitted to 11 markets.
- Wrote 1 new short story this year.
- Received my certificate for The L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest Semi-Finalist for Expiation, 3rd Quarter 2021.
Novels
- Sent out novel to the Berkely Open Submission Program in January – “No decision has been made about your query at this time.” No news IS good news!
- Sent a novel submission to Cemetery Dance Books.
- Completed new novel and forwarded to 1st reader.
Media
Radio/ Podcast/ Co-Host
- As heard on NBC News Radio in Los Angeles/Riverside/San Bernardino/Palm Springs/Seattle/Tacoma/Salt Lake City/Phoenix and online podcasts.
- House of Mystery Radio show on NBC in 2022 was the #3 most popular show in Los Angeles Market! It averaged a 2.4 market share (57,600 listeners per episode average) and had 2.9 million downloads/plays from our website!
- Interviewed Dean Koontz.
- Dean Koontz episode had a 4.4 market share with approximately 288,000 listeners.
- Completed my first show acting as main host interviewing Reb MacRath.
- Completed my second show acting as main host with co-host D.W. Gillespie interviewing Meg Hafdahl Science of Stephen King.
- Completed my third show as main host interviewing Alex Gillis Taekwondo: A Killing Art.
- Promoted to main co-host September 9, 2022.
- Interviewed Simon Gervaise with Joe Goldberg co-hosting.
- Constantly co-hosted weekly throughout 2022. Over 100 shows!
- Assisted with edits, preproduction, and postproduction.
- https://www.alanrwarren.com/house-of-mystery-radioshow
Movie Reviews
- Continued to write movie reviews and update the “Movies at a Glance” database.
- Read my reviews here: https://www.alanrwarren.com/martino-movie-reviews
Youtube and other Video Platforms
- Had a Kali knife video go semi-viral gaining over 9K views and 64 subscribers.
- Decided to focus my Youtube channel on martial arts videos.
- Achieved 100 subscriber and 300 subscriber milestones.
- Featured on Izzo’s Wing Chun gaining me at least 70 subscribers.
- 433 subscribers as of December.
- Gained 400 new subscribers this year.
- 80K total views, 33.5K watch-time minutes, and 1,268 total likes.
- Made new friends in the martial arts Youtube communtiy.
- Learned and began editing videos using iMovie.
- Learned and began creating thumbnails using Canva.
- Made Youtube Shorts.
- Posted short videos to Tiktok, Facebook, and Instagram.
- Uploaded over 48 shorts with over 36.2K views.
- Top viewed shorts: Tae Kwon Do Sparring, 9 Sword Cuts.
- Top viewed videos: Solo Knife Drills, Sword to Knife, Chain Punching From Yip Man to Bruce Lee to Taky Kimura.
Check out my Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWAGfK61_Pc6vOlOmUD1sRg
Martial Arts
- Celebrated 35 years of formal martial arts training and teaching.
- Joined The Korea Taekwondo Moo Duk Kwan Association.
- The Korea Taekwondo Moo Duk Kwan Association accepted me as a 3rd degree black belt and issued a backdated certificate to my original promotion and signed by the President of the Association.
- Made friends with members of the association.
- Set up Mook Jong.
- Home training 3x per week various arts.
- Attended “Drowning in Kali 2022” at the Derderian Academy of Martial Arts.
- Attended 2-day 14 hour weekend seminar Inosanto-Lacosta Blend/Presas Family (Modern) Arnis with teachers Guro Raffi Derderian and Guro Hock Hochheim at Chris Thompson – Just Train in North Kingston, RI.
- Achieved First Level in Guro W. Hock Hocheim’s Essential Filipino Martial Arts System.
Achieved 1st Level in W. Hock Hocheim’s Pacific Archipelago (Combatives) Concepts.
Health
- I had a cracked tooth fixed and my 6 month cleanings.
- I had my booster.
- Colonoscopy (I’m officially old!).
- Eye Doctor – everything stable.
- Brought Diesel for his vet appointments.
- Annual physical – everything normal. All numbers good. I just need to lose a little weight.
Family
- January after holiday (2021) get-together with the in-laws.
- Celebrated 27 years of marriage & 30 Years together!
- Helped my sister-in-law set up a Roku and Ooma Telo.
- Ate breakfast with parents at the North End Diner. I helped my Dad take down his tent from campsite. Went with my mother to a jeweler to consider resizing original wedding ring.
- Called my parents at least twice a week.
- Decided to get new wedding ring. Also got a groove ring for martial arts training.
- Chewy sent us a painting of Diesel and later sent him a Christmas gift.
- We began training Diesel on a harness.
- Attended local Independence Day Parade.
- Attended Patty’s work dinner.
- Thanksgiving and Christmas at home this year with sister-in-law.
- Cat-sat for our neighbor.
- Kept up with my friend and former English professor through email.
- Continued a great friendship with Al Warren.
Cars
- Both cars inspected.
- General maintenance on both cars.
Travel & Fun
- Quiet Riot, Slaughter, and Steve Pearcy (Ratt) at Mohegan Sun Arena. Summer Shack for dinner and drinks.
- Went to see Scream (2022)at the theater and dinner at the 110 Grill.
- NKOTB MixTape at Mohegan Sun Arena. Summer Shack for dinner and drinks.
- Kevin James at the Hanover Theater in Worcester, MA. Dinner at Chashu Ramen & Izakaya.
House
- Had old gas water heater disabled and blocked and a new electric water heater installed in the closet. The old water heater couldn’t be replaced and remain up to code so a new one had to be relocated. We got estimates from three companies.
- Had outlet replaced.
- Replaced smoke alarms.
- Replaced thermostat that stopped working. I was able to do this myself!
- Had upstairs fill-valve etc. replaced.
- Had downstairs toilet replaced. The old one was from 1955!
- The condo association provided us with a dumpster for spring cleaning.
- Management company fixed damage on front stoop.
- Management company fixed woodpecker damage on our Townhouse.
- Installed coat rack in foyer.
Whisk(e)y, Spirits & Cocktails
- Greenspot Irish Whisky.
- Black Saddle 12 – smooth, sweet rum raisin, cinnamon, carmel.
- Kaiyo Mizunara Oak Japanese Whisky.
- Lagavulin 8 – cough sweets, rum raisin, plumb, peppery spice, smoke, dry finish, like a white wine.
- Meiomi Pinot Noir.
- Kohi Martini – Casamigos Reposado, espresso, brew, coffee liquor, simple syrup.
- Dublin Smash cocktail – Irish whiskey, mint, lemon, simple syrup.
- Bourbon Cherry Bomb cocktail.
A/V & Tech
- Free subscription to Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu with Ads from Verizon.
- Free year of AMC+.
- Got a subscription to Friendly TV to supplement antenna.
- Patty Replaced ear pads on cinema headphones.
That’s all I can remember for now. See you in 2023!
The Scribe’s Arcanum: Anatomy of an Indie Novel—Wolves of Vengeance Part 2
As an organic writer, I firmly believe in letting the characters dictate the narrative within the plot structure. To that end, I created the first three main characters.
Jack Amon
Jack, much like his real-life counterpart, was a former bully in high school, a drug user, and a problem drinker. Turning his life around, he moves out of the fictional Wellington, Massachusetts, and gets a job in construction in the equally fictional Farmington, MA. When he hears about his old friends dying from wild animal attacks, he remembers the curse Michael Matheson put on all of them. A curse they had laughed off. He returns to Wellington to attend a funeral and to investigate the real reasons his old classmates are dying. Writers often use the name Jack for the quintessential hero, but I also had another reason. As I mentioned in part 1, I received partial inspiration from Flatliners (1988), and Kiefer Sunderland’s character in the film. The TV show 24 made me think of Sunderland as Jack Bauer. I decided Jack would be a good first name. In high school, I loved King Diamond’s horror concept albums and took Jack’s surname from the house (Amon) in the albums, Them and Conspiracy.
Michael Matheson
Michael was bullied which eventually led to him attending Gold’s Tae Kwon Do to protect himself. But Michael had a dark side, dabbling in black magic and the occult. Finding a spell in an old grimoire, he performed a ritual to awaken the Wolves of Vengeance, a corporal curse to attack his bullies. After performing the ritual, nothing happened. Michael chalked it up as a failure. Twenty-something years later the Wolves finally arrive and begin killing their marks. Michael never left Wellington and took over the school when Gold retired. Michael comes from my middle name and Matheson as an homage to Richard Matheson, the author of such works as I am Legend. Like Jack, he’s a composite character, drawn from more than one person, but he’s somewhat based on me.
Katty LaRocque
Katty was an aspiring musician in high school (a guitarist to be exact) and a self-described rocker chick. She, like Jack, has a problem with alcohol. Unlike Jack, she’s a full-blown alcoholic. Her pet name derives from her high school persona (catty) and Andy LaRoche’s (King Diamond guitarist) last name. She’s based on various musicians I knew in high school and a real-life rocker chick from my high school.
Welcome to Hell: A working Guide for the Beginning Writer
I had read Tom Piccirilli’s Welcome to Hell: A Working Guide for the Beginning Writer. Pic suggested newer novelists lightly outline the first half of their novels. I took his advice. Once the outline was complete, I realized the manuscript would only reach novella length. Needing to beef up the manuscript, I asked myself this question:
What characters do I need to tell this story?
Police involvement was a given. Adding a detective made sense.
The only thing I worried about was voluminous research. What experience did I have that I could transfer to the character to make him believable? Turns out, I had more than I thought.
I had worked a decade in private security, part of the criminal justice field. First, as a patrol officer, then as a security manager, and finally as a human resources recruiter. Security work put me in regular contact with police, fire, and EMS. As a security manager, I had performed investigations and later worked for a security and investigations firm, picking up interesting information directly from private investigators.
My dad had also worked in private investigations, safety & security, special police, and fire, along with being one of the first EMTs in Massachusetts. He had been in charge of makeup and effects for emergency response training. When I was a kid he’d sometime practice the makeup effects on me. I grew up with this stuff!
I had also recently visited my local PD to renew a license and got the nickel tour. I used my hometown police station as a model for the one in the book.
The Writer’s Digest Howdunit series filled in many of the gaps.
Police Procedural: a Writers Guide to the Police and how they work
With the research and experience in mind, I set about creating Detective Adrian Callahan. Originally, he was nothing more than a generic Irish cop. My wife would later express an idea that would help flesh out his character. More on that later.
All in all, I consider my detective a success. I had a former law enforcement officer say as much. He felt my detective was accurate and believable. You can’t get much better than that.
With the decision to include a detective, I then decided that the military in some form might also be involved. I thought about adding a grizzled military captain but not wanting to include another generic character, I cast a woman as my military captain. At that moment, Captain Amanda Rann was born.
Next time, I’ll discuss how Callahan’s changes made him a controversial character, and how Rann becomes a driving force in the novel.
Get Wolves of Vengeance here!
The Scribe’s Arcanum: Anatomy of an Indie Novel—Wolves of Vengeance Part 1
Note: Since most people are sheltering in place, I figured I’d make my first novel FREE for as long as Amazon lets me. You can get Wolves of Vengeance here. If you read it, and you’re so inclined, I’d love for you to post a review on Amazon. Just a few sentences and whatever star rating you feel it deserves would be perfect. Thanks!
Back in 2006, I abandoned my first novel. I had spent four long years trying to wrangle that mess of a manuscript into a cohesive whole, and by the time I figured out how to save it—I had a big problem. My skill level at the time was no match for the complexity of the story. I stepped away from the project.
I decided to develop an idea originally envisioned as a screenplay.
The seed of that idea came from an incident in high school and the aftermath that would stay with me forever.
The “stranger comes to town” motif of Stephen King’s novels, along with the “man and woman come together to defeat a great evil while healing themselves in the process” motif, often seen in Dean Koontz novels, inspired my approach to this story.
Also, the film Flatliners, where Kiefer Sunderland’s character “flatlines” and has a confrontation with the “ghost” of the child he bullied when he was younger, was very influential.
Here’s some background information:
In 1987, after dealing with bullies in my freshman year, I attended an old school Tae Kwon Do dojang (training hall). Our teacher ran the place like a fight gym. The students were motivated adults, mostly working-class men who liked to beat the crap out of each other for fun. It was a rough tutelage. We maintained military bearing, conditioned ourselves like fighters, and lived for continuous contact sparring practiced every night without safety equipment.
Within a short time, the fierce reputation of the dojang, along with winning a few school fights, ended the bullying.
In my senior year, I slacked off a little with my training. Without the constant need to defend myself, I lost my motivation.
Then providence intervened.
Without going into the details, I had an altercation with a student. We’ll call him Jack. After the encounter, he said he would beat me up after school.
I waited for him in the parking lot, but he never showed. That should have ended it.
Instead, the next day, a female student asked if Jack and I had fought. I told her he never showed. And then, stupidly, I added: “He must have been too scared to fight me.”
My comment didn’t allow Jack to save face. I had just been afflicted by the symptoms of foot-in-mouth disease. My remark made it back to him, and this time he was waiting for me after school.
We had a standoff and a shouting match. The principle broke it up. Although we threw no punches, we both declared victory.
Of course, neither of us wanted to fight and is the reason we ended up in a stalemate. But from that point on, I needed to train just in case we ended up throwing down. I went straight back to hard training at the dojang. Two years later, I would earn a black belt. You can watch the highlights of that test here. Skip to near the end for sparring.
Jack and I never had words again. We ended up at the same party once, not long after high school, but we kept to ourselves.
The last time I saw him, he was walking around the downtown area. I was driving my girlfriend’s (now my wife) brand-new car. We made eye contact. That moment seemed like a little victory.
I never forgot about our skirmish, though. Without a resolution, the incident nestled insidiously in my subconscious.
A few years later, my dad called to tell me Jack had died of a drug overdose.
I began to wonder what would have happened if he had turned his life around. That gave me an idea. I could give him a new life in the screenplay idea I had always meant to write. In that instant, Jack Amon and Wolves of Vengeance were born.
In 2006, I decided to develop that idea into a novel.
Next time, I’ll explain how I expanded the idea into novel form and how I developed the main cast of characters.
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The Scribe’s Arcanum: Anatomy of Writers of the Future Honorable Mention—Blade of the Vagabond Part 3
For Part 1, click here. For Part 2, click here.
Realizing I could resubmit Blade of the Vagabond to the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest, I set out to put the 8,000-word version through a final polish. I uploaded the manuscript into ProWritingAid and began making my prose lean and mean. With an even cleaner manuscript, I went through the process outlined on the Writers of the Future website and submitted it through their web-portal.
Writers of the Future Volume 35
There was nothing else to do but wait and keep working on my current project. After facing rejection a few times with this story, I had no expectations. In fact, I sent it off only to keep the manuscript circulating. I didn’t feel the story in its shortest form, grabbed a top spot, and I didn’t have time to re-edit the longer version to make the submission window. Truly, I would need to add back between 1,000 and 1,500 words to sand down what I felt was an awkward transition.
Imagine my surprise when I received this email:
Dear Entrant,
Your story has been judged and is an Honorable Mention for the 3rd quarter of the L Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest. (You entered between 1 April and 30 June <2019>).
Congratulations!!! You were in the top 2% of all entries.
Getting an Honorable Mention from the Writers of the Future contest is a big deal. There are no figures on how many enter the contest each quarter. It’s a very large number. From the information I had, we could estimate something like 14,000 entries! I’m not sure if that number’s accurate, but if it is, it’s understandable why they wouldn’t want to make it public. They want you to send in your story, and if that number intimidates you, you’ll be less likely to submit. Probably the largest and most prestigious contest in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre. If you want to get any recognition—bring your A-game.
Receiving the Honorable Mention was a nice pick-me-up during a long dry period in sales. It showed I was on the right track, encouraging me to redouble my efforts.
It also made me reevaluate my writing career direction. Previously, I’d been submitting mostly short horror stories and writing a combination of novel-length thrillers and horror thrillers. After the Honorable Mention, I began not only working on an Urban Fantasy novel but reevaluated some of my unpublished short fiction to market it as dark fantasy or rewrite it as Urban fantasy. No matter which, I’ll probably work on more fantasy and Science fiction as I go forward.
A list of all the Honorable Mentions and Winners for that quarter can be found here.
A great post with tips on writing for the contest can be found here.
So, that’s it. That’s the full story of how I got an Honorable Mention in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest. If you enter, and I hope you do, I wish you the best of luck. Keep plugging away. I know I am!
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Black Magic Bullets: Chapter 17
I have finally returned to Black Magic Bullets. This chapter is very short, but after so long a wait, I wanted to post something. I’m sorry for the delay. Before I present this next chapter, let me explain what led up to the previous chapter.
I had no idea what would happen when Kenzi and Harrison entered the basement. Usually, I’d just write out of order and go to a scene a little further along in the narrative, but since I’m posting the first draft publicly, I didn’t want to leave the audience hanging. By moving on, the next scene usually tells me what needs to come before. In that way, I can become unstuck and move on. Since I wasn’t going to do that, I had reached an impasse. Luckily, an idea arrived quickly.
Everything I read, watch, and experience tends to inform how the story develops. Black Magic Bullets is no exception.
Interestingly enough, we ended up putting on Bright with Will Smith on Netflix one night. Not a great movie, even when just streaming in the background.
Bright reminded me of Alienation meets Lord of the Rings in an Urban Fantasy world. I thought it interesting how close the orcs and elves were to J.R.R. Tolkien’s creations. After the movie ended, I realized I wanted to put orcs in the basement level of the building in Black Magic Bullets. I was intrigued but didn’t want my story to be derivative of Tolkien’s world.
Then I remembered Ogre, Ogre by Piers Anthony, a novel set in his Xanth series. I hadn’t thought of that novel since the mid-80s. Using an ogre appealed to me more since they’re derived directly from world mythology. And that’s how ogre’s ended up in my manuscript.
Now, without further ado, here’s the 1st draft of Chapter Seventeen.
BLACK MAGIC BULLETS
An Urban Fantasy
by
David North-Martino
Working as an Inhuman Resources Recruiter is no walk through the cemetery, especially when you’ve been cursed and your head is filled with stollen secrets from one of the most powerful occult groups in Boston. To survive, you might just need a few…
BLACK MAGIC BULLETS
Chapter Seventeen
The next location went much the same way as the first, this time—thankfully— with no ogres. That was a relief. But all this searching was eating up time.
Cyber contacted us not long after we dejectedly left the second abandoned structure. She had an idea for a place to check out that I would never have imagined. I supposed that was why Dreadstone employed her. She had thought through the situation and trusted her, but I still didn’t have much hope of finding Dedra’s body.
When we arrived at the maze of small buildings, the sun had reached its zenith.
“Take another hit,” Kenzi said.
I already hated this part of the job. I couldn’t wait until my mystical abilities matured.
I took the hit of the gas and stepped out of the BMW.
Entering the maze, we snaked our way through squat metal buildings. Kenzi followed my lead. Each unit painted blue reminding me of the identical prefab houses in the culdesacs of the middle-class and the ubiquitous brick government housing of the underprivileged.
Then I saw the signature and told Kenzi as much. I wish I hadn’t.
The storage locker looked the same as any other, but this one was different. Would the locker contain Dedra’s body? I didn’t want to know.
Kenzi stepped in front of the locker, raising a crowbar.
Metal struck metal. Once, twice, a third time. Finally, the padlock gave way. Plucking from its resting place, Kenzi tossed it. The padlock bounced once off concrete and came to rest.
Squatting, Kenzi lifted the gate and immediately turned her head.
Foul air escaped the confines. Now I knew the odor of the dead.
Kenzi turned her head as if slapped. I suspected once we found the body, I’d turn green and throw up. Unlike the male body in the basement, this one had succumbed to heat and cold and was generally worse for wear.
Although I felt queasy, my stomach didn’t betray me. I was grateful. The last thing I wanted was to lose my cookies in front of Kenzi.
“If this is her,” Kenzi said, examining the body. “We won’t be needing that shovel.”
“How will we know?”
Kenzi grabbed a body bag from the trunk and then returned.
“The body’s female,” she said. “We bring her back to Dreadstone.”
“And if it is her?” I asked.
“Then we have a murderer to find.”
To be continued…
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