It’s been a quiet few days news-wise. The biggest news on the book front has to be Detra Fitch’s (Huntress Reviews) great review of KINDRED SPIRIT. Here’s an excerpt of the review:
“[T]his story will send chills up and down your spine. It is so creepy that I had to stop twice and take a breather. When the phone rang near me I actually screeched. Yes, I SCREECHED! Author John Passarella is well known for his skills in creating horror stories, but his poison pen is even more lethal in the paranormal thriller realm. I feel sorry for anyone who misses out on this outstanding novel. I cannot recommend it highly enough.†[5 STARS]
—Huntress Book Reviews (Reviewed by Detra Fitch)Â
Detra has posted this review on several sites, including her own. Some of the online book sites won’t post it until the book goes on sale. You may see it earlier at BarnesAndNoble.com. Possibly at Amazon UK. I know it’s up at Amazon Germany.
ARC WINNERS: I’ll announce the FORCE 10 FAN STORM galley winners probably by the end of March. The galleys will go out to those winners by mid to late April, about a month before the release date. In the meantime, there’s still a couple weeks to enter the contest. Details are in the newsletter: http://www.passarella.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
SHIMMER (the novel manuscript with the PUT-MY-NAME-IN-YOUR-NEXT-BOOK contest winners) has been sent to my current editor. Don’t know yet if they will want this one. (I’m between contracts at the moment.) SHIMMER is closer to WITHER, genre-wise, than to KINDRED SPIRIT. Right now, it is a planned trilogy, but open-ended so that it could be a series. Heck, it could even be a one-shot. I don’t end the book with any cliffhangers because I know there are rarely any guarantees in the book business. And I wouldn’t want to leave my readers hanging.
The book I’ve started writing now — just into the prologue at this point — is an even bigger change of pace. I think I want to outline a bit more (though I have a ton of notes) before I get too deep into this one.
Generally, after finishing a manuscript, I need time to unwind and recharge before the next one. And starting a book, for me at least, is always the hardest part, getting the plot engine revved up, getting to know the characters — or letting them tell you about themselves. With this one, I haven’t settled on a working title yet. Problem is I have TOO MANY titles in mind. For some reason, I always feel better once I’ve settled on a title. Kind of the same way I feel better once I’ve nailed down the names and descriptions of the main characters. It takes that much at least to start to feel a comfort level with what will be a marathon writing project.
MATTHEW: After tomorrow (FRI), Matthew will be at the halfway point of his six weeks of radiation. To celebrate, Andrea is taking him, along with Luke and Emma to the zoo, if the weather is as good as currently predicted. I, on the other hand, have a doctor’s appointment.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to getting the plot engine revving again, settling on a project with enough confidence to know I’ll make it through to the end, whether that’s 80,000 or 100,000 words away.
Until the next one,
-Jack
