Tag Archives: Writing

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 1^st 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

Writers of the Future Honorable Mention 2nd Quarter 2023

Writers of the Future honorable Mention 3rd quarter 2023

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

Pacific Archipelago Concepts Level 3 Basic Instructor 2023

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

14-Hour Combination Seminar in Inosanto Kali and Presas Family Arnis 2023

Drowning in JKD Seminar at Derderian Academy of Martial Arts

Two-Day Double Impact Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Kali Seminar with Guro Raffi and Sifu Kevin Seaman

Chris LaCava’s Beat ‘Em & Treat ‘Em Tour (2023) at Coach Jeff Burger’s K.I.C.K Karate in Salem, MA. Stockton Multi-Style Escrima Sword & Knife Seminar.

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 28^th Wedding Anniversary with dinner at Ted’s Montana Grill.
Visited In-Laws for get-together.
Father’s Day at North End Diner.
Celebrated 31^st 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.
50^th 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

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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.

Writers of the Future Honorable Mention 2nd Q 2023

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I forgot to post about receiving an Honorable Mention certificate from the L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest, 2nd 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!

Year in Review: 2022

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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!

Free Kindle Version of Epitaphs!

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I hope everyone is doing well during these crazy times. Just wanted to let you know that Epitaphs: The Journal of the New England Horror Writers is free for a limited time on Kindle. This anthology includes my story, “Malfeasance.” Happy Reading!

If you’re interested in how I wrote and sold this story you can read about it here.

Before I go, I want to let you know I’ve been behind on my blog writing. You probably already know that. Haha! But I will be continuing The Scribes of Arcanum: Anatomy of a Sale series. I also want to get back to my NaNoWriMo novel, BLACK MAGIC BULLETS.

On an encouraging note, I just received an acceptance from an award-winning webzine. I’ll have a free story online for you to ready sometime in July.

I’ve been plugging away at the final edits of a 90,000-word horror thriller. Hopefully, I’ll be finished soon and can put it on the market.

The better part of this week was spent rewriting a short story for an anthology open call. I really love the story, but it needed a lot of TLC to bring it up to my current standards.

I also sent out a Lovecraft inspired story to another anthology open call.

That’s it for now. I’ll be back soon. Stay safe out there!

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Scribe’s Arcanum: Anatomy of Writers of the Future Honorable Mention—Blade of the Vagabond Part 3

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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 3^rd 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!

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Black Magic Bullets: Chapter 17

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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.

The Lord of the Rings*

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.

Ogre, Ogre (Xanth)

Now, without further ado, here’s the 1st draft of Chapter Seventeen.

BLACK MAGIC BULLETS

An Urban Fantasy

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…

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Year in Review 2019

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Each year I create a list of goals for every area of my life. Throughout the year I work on my goals, track my progress, and then commit to posting my top accomplishments. I hope in doing so it will inspire you to do the same.

Writing

Novels

Finished the third-draft of The Tower of Abandon, a horror-thriller novel that is hovering around 75,000 words.

Entered the St. Martin’s Minotaur/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition.

Participated in the National November Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).

Began writing Black Magic Bullets (Urban Fantasy) during NaNoWriMo and published 16 (first-draft) chapters on my blog.

I FREAKING LOVE THIS. It fills a void that Harry Dresden has left. –Review from a Twitter follower.

Began utilizing ProWritingAid to tighten my prose.

Short Stories

Awarded an Honorable Mention in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest putting my story in the top 2% of all entries.

My story Shattered (3,200 words) was shortlisted for inclusion in an anthology.

Submitted to 11 fiction markets including 2 submissions to WOTF.

Reviews

Wrote and posted a review of glass slipper dreams, shattered by Doungjai Gam.

Wrote and posted a review of Ararat by Christopher Golden.

Read through a manuscript and gave input to a pro/Indy writer.

Notable Books Read

The Chinaman (The Foreigner) by Stephen Leather

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

Ararat by Christopher Golden

The Big Bopper Rises by Reb MacRath

Dr. Sleep by Stephen King

Without Remorse by Tom Clancy

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Writers of the Future Vol. 35

Marketing/Platform

Wrote 21 plus Scribes of Arcanum Anatomy of a Sale blog posts.

Reposted 2 of my out of print stories on my blog.

Posted 16 (1^st draft) chapters of Black Magic Bullets on blog.

Family & Friends

Introducing our adoptive cat, Diesel!

We adopted a five-year-old tuxedo cat from the Woonsocket Cat Sanctuary. He had gone semi-feral and they thought he might never be adoptable. Surprisingly, to all the staff, Diesel took to us very quickly. Although, once we got him home, he hid for almost a month. Now he can’t get enough of us and has made it his mission to become a lap cat. The main challenge we had with him is that at some point, as far as the vet can tell, he bit the inside of his cheek and he had to take meds to heal his wound. We brought him to the vet 4 times this year for checkups and it seems he has finally healed. Diesel has made himself at home and has become a part of our family.

I drove my dad (and my mom) to an eye doctor appointment the day after his cataract surgery and then we went to lunch.

I met my parents for breakfast at Foxwoods.

Met briefly with friends at the New England Whiskey Fest.

Saw Rambo: Last Blood with my dad.

Went to New Orleans for our Anniversary.

Had Thanksgiving dinner with the In-Laws.

Kept in touch with my friend and former English professor through email.

Martial Arts and Other Training.

I was Patty’s plus one at Planet Fitness. Most of my time there was for leg days. I spent 30 minutes on either the treadmill or incumbent bike and then performed weighted leg lifts and squats among other exercises.

Celebrated 32 years of formal martial arts training.

Had the opportunity to take a couple Hapkido and open classes this year.

Attended the Chung Suk Kuhapdo (Korean sword) seminar taught by Master May of the Blue Stone Dojang.

After the seminar, I was invited to have lunch at Arisu Korean Restaurant in Leominster, MA. Had Sujeonggwa Cinnamon with Ginger Punch, Bulgogi beef with white rice and some appetizers, miso soup, and either Seafood Paijeon or Kimchi-jeon.

Home training included shadow boxing using JKD attack by combination (ABC) and Bas Rutten Boxing and Tai boxing HITT training, Kali double and single stick, stick and dagger, Bunkai and forms training, and Kunhapdo sword draws and 100 cuts.

Health

Had my annual physical and am the picture of health. Although, I could use to drop a couple pounds. Haha!

My doctor wanted a spot on my forehead checked by a dermatologist. I went to the appointment but it was a false alarm. No issues. Whew!

Began calcium and magnesium supplements.

Saw my ophthalmologist twice and my pressure has been down.

Had two dental cleanings. Dental exam showed a cracked tooth and I had to have a root canal that took three appointments to complete.

Cars

Had to replace tires on my car. They were nearing the end of their tread cycle and had dry rot.

I went through the process of replacing my driver’s license with a Real ID.

Patty’s struts failed and were replaced under warranty.

A small piece of composite worked it’s way inside one of Patty’s tires and was fixed for free.

Patty’s vehicle needed brakes and rotors.

Updated Patty’s out of date Mazda infotainment system firmware.

Cord Cutting

To save money we hooked up a Clearstream antenna to receive free Over The Air TV.

At the same time we switched to Philo for live TV streaming.

During the year we utilized free and discounted premium streaming services including Showtime and Starz. Starz is still ongoing.

Utilized free 30 day free trial for Netflix that is still ongoing.

Shopping

Utilized various discount stores and got loyalty cards for Ollie’s Bargain Outlet and Ocean State Job Lots.

Utilized a discounted BJ’s membership that is still ongoing.

Finances

Refinanced our mortgage

Leveraged taxes again to a tax preparer.

House

I put everything aside for about a month to do some much-needed house repairs.

We brought in an electrician to replace wired smoke and CO2 alarms along with adding a heat detector in the garage.

The electrician also updated lighting in the dining area, kitchen, and upstairs hall. We also had them replace the broken exhaust fan in the bathroom.

As part of the bathroom refresh to prep for the electrician and plumber, we painted the ceiling and installed a stick-on backsplash.

We had Victory Plumbing come in and rebuild shower fixtures in both the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms. The downstairs had seized and needed replacement and the upstairs was going. Also, I had to refresh the downstairs bathroom faucet and the kitchen faucet which was leaking.

I replaced the downstairs toilet innards to stop it from running. (I was tired of chasing after it! Haha).

I replaced the doorbell with a wireless doorbell.

I also changed out the garbage disposal.

We replaced our old stove since two of the burners no longer worked, and our old fridge since it was dying.

We had the electricians add an outlet in the garage ceiling to be up to code and then replaced our broken garage door and automatic door opener.

Travel & Fun

New Orleans

We hadn’t been to New Orleans since the year 2000 and it was nice to return to the Crescent City. It was very hot and muggy and we decided not to venture too far from our hotel, but still had a great time.

Stayed at the Wyndham French Quater – it was fine but would not recommend. The Concierge tried to pressure us into a timeshare presentation. We had trouble getting the maid service to clean our room but they were right there on the day we left looking for a tip. I have a tip for them—do your job!

Deuce Mcallister’s Ole Saint Kitchen & Tap was right next door, and very convenient when the weather became too oppressive for walking.

Started many a morning (or afternoon) with Chicory coffee and beignets at Cafe Beignet.

A bartender at B.B. King’s turned us onto Hochstadter’s Low & Slow Rock & Rye and Old Fashioned cocktail in a bottle.

We marched in a popup parade.

We ate at Oceana Red Fish, had Muffulettas at Central Grocery & Deli, and a farewell meal at Acme Oyster House.

Hung out at Jackson Square, toured St. Louis Cathedral and the Old Ursuline Convent, and walked around Frenchmen Street.

Watched Steamboat Willie at the Cafe Beignet at Musical Legends Park.

I performed Karaoke at The Cat’s Meow. Hey, someone has to entertain the people visiting the Big Easy! Watch my performance here!

Whitesnake Concert – Twin River Casino in Lincoln, RI

Patty took me to see Whitesnake at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, RI for my birthday.

We had a blast. Birthday dinner at Texas Roadhouse and washed it down with Slow & Easy whiskey sours at the concert.

New England Whiskey Fest – Twin River Casino in Lincoln, RI

Here’s a list of what we tried at the New England Whiskey Fest, along with initial impressions. If it wasn’t so busy, I’d have taken more pictures.

Glenfiddich Bourbon Barrel Reserve 14 – We both prefer the 12 or 15 Solara cask. Sweet arrival with a dry spicy finish.

Eagle Rare – Very sweet. Would make a good mixing whiskey.

Sazerac Rye – one of Patty’s favorites. Very spicy. Probably better in a Sazerac, but no problem drinking neat.

Whistle Pig Straight Rye 15 – Okay, would try again.

Highland Park 12 – Lightly peated. Nicely balanced. One of Patty’s favorites. I liked this a lot.

Auchentoshan 12 – I tried this. Very nice. Floral and sweet. Enjoyable.

Laphroaig 10 – Patty didn’t’ try. Either my tastes are changing or this whiskey has mellowed. Still has a strong taste of cough sweets, but I swear I was hunting for peat. Maybe tasting so many spirts changed the nature of this whiskey on my pallet.

Jameson Black Barrel – Patty tried. She wasn’t impressed.

A mixed drink with Bully Boy white whiskey. Patty tried and enjoyed it.

West Cork Port Cask finish – Patty tried and did not like.

Food

Bourbon infused cupcakes. Awesome!

Fred and Steve’s Steak House Steak Sandwich (I ate two!).

Shipyard Pub Truffle Fries.

Wicked Good Chicken Cheese Waffle or something. I had this but didn’t like it.

Wrapped Scallop w/ Bacon. Patty had one. She thought it was awesome.

Fiji supplied the water.

Popa Chubby provided the music.

A good time was had by all!

2019 Movies Watched in 2019 at Home

The Foreigner **** Starz – This is from 2017 but watched after reading Stephen Leather’s novel.

Captain Marvel ** Movies Anywhere.

The Curse of Llorona *** Amazon $.99 rental

Avengers: Endgame **** Movies Anywhere

Avengement **** DVD

Triple Threat ** /Blu-Ray

Annabelle Comes Home ** Prime rental

Kill Chain *** Prime

John Wick 3: Parabellum **** Blu-Ray

6 Underground *** Netflix

Men in Black: International * Starz

Spiderman: Far From Home **** Blu Ray

Brightburn ** Starz

2019 Movies watched in the Theater

Rambo: Last Blood **** Cinema World Fitchburg.

Ad Astra **** Providence Place IMAX

That’s it for 2019. I’ll see you in 2020!

Happy New Year!!!

Black Magic Bullets: Chapter 16

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Moving right along… Here’s the first draft of Chapter 16. NaNoWriMo might be over, but the show (novel) must go on.

BLACK MAGIC BULLETS

An Urban Fantasy

David North-Martino

BLACK MAGIC BULLETS

Chapter Sixteen

I bent my knees. Absorbed the impact, and still felt electric pain in my soles as I landed.

An intense light blinded me. Defensively, my hands rose to my face. Kenzi turned, pointing the flashlight away from my direction.

I blinked away orange stars, yellow moons, and green clovers. My retinas were none too happy with being attacked by a flashlight as bright as the sun.

“Let’s move,” Kenzi said not waiting for me to recover. The thin beam led the way, parting the darkness in front of us, dust particles creating the appearance of walking through a snowstorm.

From what I could see, and I couldn’t see much, the area looked like a concrete storage room that had long ago fallen into disuse.

“I smell something,” I said quietly. That was an understatement. Somewhere in the blackness, just out of view, a putrid pile of refuse, or perhaps a dead body, (I didn’t know what a carcass smelled like at the time) had been left to ripen.

Had we found Dedra’s body? Dread overcame me and I hoped it was just a pile of trash.

Kenzi hushed me. She already had her weapon drawn and was scanning the shadows with lumens to the power of 1,000.

Then the shadows moved toward us—surrounding us—closing in.

“What the hell?” I asked. My brain couldn’t make sense of what my eyes were seeing.

“Ogres!” was all Kenzi said before pandemonium broke out.

Here’s the problem with non-human anthropomorphic races: most are not magical in origin and as such, are not as easily manipulated or inured through the Collective. Not at least immediately. More on this later.

Ogres stand just about as tall as humans, are ugly as sin, and sport a musculature that would make Arnold Schwarzenegger jealous. As aforementioned, they also stink. Masters of stealth, sometimes their tell-tale odor is the only sign that you have come across an ogre raiding party.

Kenzi didn’t tell me to cover my ears before she squeezed the trigger in rapid succession. The report of the firearm deafening as decibels echoed off concrete. The muzzle flash all but blinded me and created a strobing effect strong enough to give all but the strongest a seizure.

Jaring impact and my head snapped back. I stubbled in the same direction. Yet, I regained my footing. Tunnel vision made me lose sight of Kenzi. My lips swelled and my jaw ached. Luckily my head and body hadn’t betrayed me. Moving with the blow had allowed me to keep my teeth.

Momentum facilitated an ill attempt at retaliation. Letting my body turn, I sprung into the air and completed a jumping turning sidekick. Contact made, I pushed the ogre back but a kick that would have broken an ordinary mortal’s ribs didn’t even faze this overgrown oaf.

Meaty hands grabbed me as he reached forward, and then I was sailing through the air wishing I had learned better how to receive the ground in my training.

Landing on my back, I sucked wind. Pain arrived along with the feeling of suffocation. Panic followed. I had to get up. At least I got a reprieve from smelling the walking trash canister.

My eyes continued to function even though my lungs had fled the scene. I watched as Kenzi fired two blasts and then turned and moved, effectively throwing an ogre who had penetrated her defenses. I envied the smoothness of her movements.

The ogre who had come for me wasn’t done yet.

I still couldn’t breathe and could do nothing but writhe in agony.

Bending over me, the Ogre reached out one final time. This was it. My time had come. I resigned myself to peering deep into the darkness of whatever abyss awaited.

Another report and the ogre hit the deck, mortally wounded, just as I took my first greedy breath.

I coughed and then breathed again which brought on more coughing. Once started, I couldn’t stop and it took Kenzi dragging my ass off the floor to get moving again.

I can’t express to you how much this changed my training. Failure will do that to you. Unfortunately, I went about everything the wrong way and in the end, my training would make me weaker, not stronger. You’ll see how that happened soon enough.

“Let’s get a move on,” Kenzi said. “There will be more coming.”

Finally, the bronchial spasms subsided and normal respiration returned.

“I need to know where the body is,” Kenzi said and then for emphasis and to get my ass in gear screamed: “Now!

A staircase led upstairs and I found myself scrambling up it, using my connection to the Collective to lead the way to the deceased.

In a closet on the 2^nd floor, we found the body.

Kenzi examined it while I looked away, pretending to be guarding our six. I hoped I developed the stomach for this type of work. But then again… Maybe I didn’t hope for any such thing.

“The body is male,” Kenzi said.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

”Do you want to see for yourself?” Kenzi asked. I didn’t.

“No, I believe you,” I said. Forcing myself to give a cursory look, I recognized the remnants of the psychic cord that had given me a false positive and told her as much. “What do we do with the body?”

“We don’t do anything,” Kenzi said. Dreadstone doesn’t have the facilities to store the body and we certainly don’t want his DNA on us. You want to have an overzealous DA charge you with murder? I didn’t think so.

“And we can’t give the information to the police. They wouldn’t last long if they came into contact with the ogres. I can assure you, they’ll run into them if we send for them to search the premises.

“What do we do then?”

“Get in the car and check the next location. Hopefully, find something before we run out of time.

To be continued…

NaNoWriMo – The Aftermath

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If you’ve been following my blog, you know I started a new novel called Black Magic Bullets (working title) for NaNoWriMo. I thought it would be fun to participate this year and dove right in,—-albeit a little late.

I wasn’t expecting to write 50,000 words in a month, and I knew I couldn’t do it while sharing my first draft with the world. I’d have to write slowly enough that the prose was readable and made logical sense. As such, I only got down a little over 13,000 words. Still, not bad for a busy month while trying to finish up the 3^rd draft of another novel.

Stephen King warns about writing with the “door open,” but this has been an enjoyable exercise and I’ve had some fantasy readers reach out to express interest in the story. That’s always heartwarming and encouraging, since most of the time we write in isolation, without any input until we finish and release it to the world.

I haven’t decided what I want to do yet. I know I’d like to continue Black Magic Bullets and post my first draft (at least up to a point) on this blog. I’m planning to share at least half the book, but If I decide to stop at any time, I’ll put up a notice and give you a chance to contact me. I’ll then send the rest of the first draft, in installments, to you directly. I wouldn’t want to string you along and not give you an ending.

If I go beyond publishing half the book on this blog, I worry I’d have trouble selling it once completed.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I plan to get back to Black Magic Bullets soon. I also want to talk about the Honorable Mention I received from Writers of the Future before year-end. Then I’d like to get back to my regular Scribe’s Arcanum posts. I’m also determined to finish the 3^rd draft of my horror thriller. It must be completed by the end of this year! I’ve worked on it too long already. Also, stay tuned for my year-end report where I list everything I’ve accomplished this year. It’s going to be a big one!

Thanks for reading! I hope you’ll continue to take this journey with me.

Best,

Dave