Crap, I Did It Again…

  For a guy that never intended or wanted to write a novel I don’t really listen to myself very well. I just finished writing the last story for another long in the works book. 

The zombie novel began a lot of years ago as a short story called The Delicate Sound of Rain. I wrote it and really became attached to the story and the idea of that world. I started to tinker with the idea of a book about zombies but, well, I never wanted to write a novel. Never. Never-ever. So I thought, well, I can cheat it, I can write a novel of short stories. Ha-HA! Genius! I slowly began writing stories for this world and started mapping it out in my mind. I had a protagonist that I immediately connected to and was excited to work on it. 

Then I hit a wall. 

The zombie boom began about then and I realized that there was no way I was going to finish this thing before the boom was over and this was still a time when self publishing was the worst thing in the literary world to ever do. I loved the concept just the same but I needed to let it go. At least for a while. I figured some day, when the boom is long over and I am ready I can get back to work on the book and see what I see. I put together the stories I had as a chapbook and sold those with some other chapbooks to serve as a stopgap between my first book, BACK FROM NOTHING, and any future book. 

I was an optimist, even if I didn’t want to admit it. 

The chapbook was fun but had horribly small print and while it intrigued people it never really wowed them. For some reason I’d tell people at comic shows that I wrote books and they’d be surprised to not see pictures in the books. Weird. 

So 2012 comes and I realize that it’s time to start putting some projects to bed. I had let a couple long standing projects sit and wait for a time when the world cried out for these works and well, that day never came. But they deserved to be finished and released. 

The big one was the novel, A SHADOW OVER EVER, which I had begun work on in 1994. I had written, edited, changed, edited, changed, and worked on and submitted it to publishers for years. Now that I could get things published on my own it was the right time to do it so I set about the task of getting the thing edited then fixing those edits and working to get it put together and out. It was a huge project and a huge book. And I love it. 

I am not sure how well anyone else loves it but I love it. It represents a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of friends that have come and gone in my life during those many years. 

With the novel done it was time to move my gaze to two other projects, one being the zombie novel. That book had sat around for years and years as I waited for the bubble to burst and it never did. Which isn’t to say people are not darn sick of the undead but, well, I don’t care. 

So I got back to work on crafting a world of the living dead. 

The ideas have changed, the world has changed, my main character has changed some, but at its heart I love what it is. I won’t say it’s groundbreaking or any nonsense like that but it’s different. It’s very different. And I like it. 

I have a LOT of work to do. There’s still editing to work on and layout and story order and all that fun but man does it feel good to be done. To have it done. 

The journey, so far as that story, is complete.

Will people like it? Like what it says and where it goes?

Not sure. 

But I like it. 

I like it a lot. 

And that’s a heck of a start. 

…c…

http://www.meepsheep.com

Trimming The Fat

   For me there’s few things as upsetting as editing my writing. Well, wait, that’s not true, I really like editing my work when I am doing the editing but when it comes to someone else, well…I think loathe is letting the act get off a little easy. There is just something so clinical and cold to it all that it really rubs me the wrong way…when someone else does it.

Ah, and there’s the rub.

Now, I am not going to tell anyone that I am some genius that can edit their own work and can make stories into pieces of magic that transcend the page. No. That isn’t me. BUT I can tell you that I know the story I want to tell and know it pretty well. And in knowing the story I want to tell I am a pretty good person to go back to find errors, fix errors, and fill out the story where it’s a little weak. I know what the story is trying to be, and in that, I am a pretty good person to get it to where it is heading.

Ah, but not always.

Because sometimes you’re just too darn close and you NEED other eyes on the work. You need someone else to look at it and tell you what you’re missing, where the story is weak, and can sometimes tell you the brutal truth when something just doesn’t work.

And the truth then is brutal, and it hurts, but if it’s a longer work, if it’s a big work it’s easy to lose sight of the road you’re on and easier to stray off into unnecessary tangents. You are just too close to the work to get a good feel for what needs to be done so you need someone to step in and to pull you back onto the path again. But there’s a fine line there, a very, very fine line in how to do it.

My issue with editing and editors specifically is that they are looking at the story the in a way that benefits THEM – they are helping to shape the story that THEY want to read, and I guess that’s fine if it’s their book that the piece is going in, or if it is something they commissioned, but outside of that the editor has to be VERY cautious on how they mold that work. An editor is great for grammar, for repetition, and for the mechanics of what makes a piece work. An editor knows the cold mechanics of all of this, but what they don’t know is the emotional context and the reasoning behind it. They don’t always appreciate the writer’s stylistic choices, choices which oft times SEEM repetitious and awkward yet are part of the story.

I have gone through that more than a few times where editors felt that aspects of my style didn’t work, and where they wanted to re-shape the story to fit what they wanted it to be. Now, I was putting these stories into their publications so I wasn’t going to really argue much beyond the cursory bit of standing my ground because it’s THEIR release, not mine, but I also made sure that whatever changes I made were only for THAT version of the work and that when it came time to release it myself I would put MY version out then. Because I would rather the story be a tad awkward and reflect MY vision than be something that reflects someone else’s vision because it’s MY story, not theirs. Something I do wonder if editors forget.

The writer, love it or hate it, is an artist, just an artist that uses words and I wonder if too often the artistry of what they are doing, or trying to do, is lost under the axe of an editor. And heck, we need editors to make sure we don’t let fail something that could be special were it not for some simple mistakes. I needed one on the novel because my grammar is poor at best and some things needed to be tightened. And I lucked out in getting a friend to do it that respected the vision of what I was trying to do and they helped me make the book better. Ah, but my editor on the novel also brought distance with them, a distance that didn’t get them involved too deeply in the shaping of the book beyond the cosmetics. And I suppose that’s my personal preference – I would rather my story, my book, fail because of me, because I didn’t do my job than to have someone step in and change what I intended the work to be. I would rather fail or succeed by  my own hand rather than trust someone else to do what is right, what is best.

In saying all of this I have to admit that I am very, very curious what the relationship with an author and an editor are like when it comes to professional work because I bet you it’s a lot different. I would like to think so at least. In MY mind I picture the editor and writer sitting down to discuss changes, ideas, reasoning, and together shaping the book. It still would feel weird to me, but an editor is like a music producer – there to help you ‘sound’ better, but again, it’s a find line between making sure the sound is clean and the song moving forward and the producer/editor stepping in to change the music, the tune, or add or subtract something that they don’t fully appreciate.

Writers need editors. It’s just a simple fact. We need them because we don’t always get it right. We don’t always make the path clear. And in a perfect relationship the editor will come in and make sure that the story moves forward with as few obstacles as possible and will guide the author forward so that they can make sure that they feel the work still reflects their ideals and vision. And if that isn’t the goal of the editor, well, maybe they need to look into other work.

c

www.meepsheep.com

A Note To Friends And A Press Release – Hooray?

Eighteen years ago I began a journey.  It started with a short, weird little story about an angry man with a pumpkin on his head and it became the seed for what would eventually become my first and perhaps only novel.  This novel has been with me for a long time.  From that short story it grew to a second, then a third, then a final story.  This novel was never intended to be as such, but I fell in love with the cantankerous old man in it, and I fell in love with the world where he lived, bleak as it can be at times.  A SHADOW OVER EVER truly is one of the things I am very proud of because it took a long time to get it out, to get it to the world, but it was worth it.

On Friday, August 10^th I am celebrating the release of my novel by having a release party with my dear friend Charles Shaver, who will also be releasing books that night.  This is my way to celebrate not just this book, but all of the books, and the long journey it took to get them out.  I will have my art and books on display and for sale but more than that I will have stories and art dating back to when I was still just a kid in the ’80s and ‘90s so we can see the weird little path that this and all my stories took.

This night isn’t about me, about my book, but about you, all of you.  Because without the friendship and encouragement of all of you there would be no art, no stories, and certainly no books.

There will be snacks, and music, and lots of awesome on hand on August 10^th from 6 – 9pm right downtown in Flint at 625 S. Saginaw St., and I really hope you can make it.

https://www.facebook.com/events/233371616781885/

Thanks,

Chris R.

To order A SHADOW OVER EVER

Book – http://www.amazon.com/A-Shadow-Over-Ever-ebook/dp/B008QQ60Z4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1343655762&sr=8-2&keywords=a+shadow+over+ever

Kindle - https://www.createspace.com/3942067

On Friday, August 10^th, Flint author Chris Ringler will release his first novel, A SHADOW OVER EVER.  This novel is the story of the end of the world and the angry man that must risk everything he stands for to try to stop it from happening.  The living dead, old gods, the first Children of Eden, and a healthy helping of hillbillies are all part of this dark epic.  This is Chris Ringler’s seventh book and first novel and will be released during

On Friday, August 10^th join author and artist Chris Ringler for the release of his newest book, A SHADOW OVER EVER.  This night will see the release of night just Mr. Ringler’s book but the release of local author and filmmaker Charles Shaver’s newest book as well.  At their event – A Declaration of Co-Dependence – they will have their newest offerings on hand as well as their past releases and a collection of their art they shall have displayed for this event.  This is a free event open to the public during the Downtown Flint Art Walk and will be held at 625 S. Saginaw St., Flint, MI from 6 – 9pm.

Chris Ringler is the author of seven books that range from fairy tales for all ages to dark fiction for only the strong of heart. Chris has been published in BARE BONE and CTHULHU SEX MAGAZINE, received Honorable Mention in THE YEAR’S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR twice, was voted Best in Blood on HORRORADDICTS.COM, and has been working on his writing and art.

Chris is a writer, artist, weirdo, and creator of the Flint Horror Convention.

A SHADOW OVER EVER

https://www.createspace.com/3942067

A Declaration of Co-Dependence

Friday, August 10^th

6 – 9pm

625 S. Saginaw St., Flint, MI, 48502

Free.

For more info please contact Chris Ringler

grimringler@gmail.com

Woo! 500 posts. Woo…And Some Book Stuffs!

I was totally going to honor this momentous occasion with a deep, impassioned post about blogging these, wow, last ten years + but, darn it, I wanted to share some more book stuff so that shall have to wait.

Odds are it’d just be stuff I have already said anyway.

HA.

I have had an awful time coming up with an effective cover for this book. I had hoped at one point to get an artist to do up a cover, had mused over doing the art myself, shoot, somewhere there are about a dozen attempts at covers (which I suppose is similar to a young band drawing and re-drawing their name and logo). I was never happy though. I just couldn’t come up with the right image that stood as the flag for what this book was. I couldn’t scratch that nagging itch that something wasn’t working.

This year, as I was having the book edited by a friend I finally started to get the germs in my brain for what I wanted. A neighbor in the building where I was living had held onto her Halloween pumpkin well into Winter and since the building’s first floor is so cold I thought that, hmm…perhaps I can use it, so I hid it away for later use. Well, I finally got the props I needed and during a warm turn earlier this year I put the elements together and took some photos.

These are a few of the raw pictures that I took and out of all of the images one of them became the cover. So, here you go, a sampling of what the cover will sorta look like.

Sorta. 

Laying It All Out

I am in the midst of the most un-fun part of the book process, at least for me, and that’s laying it out. Thankfully I have an awesome girlfriend that knows her way around laying my books out who has been hard at work on it but it is for sure not a glamorous job. I wish on this book, like I do on all my books, that I could do more with the layout and production of the book. Add more. Give it more personality. Make it come alive more.

I am content with it how it is but it just feels like it’d be more alive if I could experiment with how it comes together.

I am SO darn excited for this book to come out but I am also apprehensive.

This is a book that was begun in 1994 with one short story. It has had a loooong journey to get to this point. It took forever just to decide I was done with the book and to hand it off to someone to edit it. This has been the book that in many ways has meant more than anything else to me. I love the Meep books and all of my other stuff but this is the book I have lived with for nearly twenty years. The book that I have struggled to explain and sum up for so long because I was so close to it. This is the one novel I ever really have planned to write.

This is a big one for me.

And big it is. The book on the computer wasn’t even 300 pages but as a book, as THIS book it is nearly 660 pages. Sheesh! I wanted to write an epic story and I guess I dd just that. What worries me is the price. At that length the book will have to be about $15 to sell. Not an easy task.

I have hope though.

It’s a good book.
A solid book.
And a book I am very proud of.

Heck, just read the back cover info -

Pete Anders is a lonely man. An angry man. A man who has reached the end of his patience and sanity and a man who has chosen Halloween as the night he will get his revenge. What Pete doesn’t see though are the strings that are leading him towards a violent end where he can no longer be a potential threat to the people who have set him along his dark path. Far beyond all of this though is a greater tale, the story of the beginning and the end of all things. The story of the unmaking of existence. And a war that Pete Anders will soon become a player in. And Pete, simple, angry old Pete Anders is far more powerful than anyone could ever have bargained for, and far more dangerous as well and he’ll be damned if he misses out on the end of the world and he may be damned if he chooses to play a part in it.

Hillbillies?
Zombies?
Gods?
Destroyers?
The First Children of Eden?
Heaven?
Hell?
Mini-malls?
Laughs?
Scares?
Yup.

What’s not to love?

I will post more from and about the book in the coming days but it’s coming, it’s finally coming. And I cannot wait.

For info on all my books -

www.meepsheep.com

And So It Begins…

   This is a pretty momentous day for me. Today is the day I sent my novel A Shadow Over Ever off to a friend to be edited. This is the first big step I have taken with the novel in quite some time and it feels great. This is a novel that began as a short story back in 1994 when it was published in a magazine some friends and I were doing at the time. After that it grew to a sequel story, to a third story that rounded it out to novella length and then I finally let it be what it was and finished a fourth part and let it be the novel it always was meant to be.

Phew.

I love this book. Truly, madly, and deeply. It was, until I wrote The Meep Sheep my favorite work I had done. It is funny, it is sad, it is scary, it is deep, and it is ridiculous. It is the story of a man who had only and always wanted to be left alone yet who is forced into saving a world he no longer feels a part of anymore. I put a lot of work into this thing and know that there is a lot of work yet to come. I have edited it three times in the past and it needs new eyes, fresh eyes to find the errors in grammar and, more importantly, in the story itself. Soon, much sooner than I can imagine, I will be able to get it out into the world though, and that’s pretty great.

This had been intended to be the novel that I was to have published traditionally, that had been my hope for it, but I had tried that course for years and could keep trying to no avail. I am not sure if my query letters were poorly written, if I choose the wrong agents or publishers, or if I just wasn’t able to convey what this book is (something I still struggle with – theosophical horror? Hmm?) but the time has come for it to move past the ‘sitting in a drawer’ phase.

So, it’s begun, the next step on what has been a long road for this book. I am still far from the finish, but it is closer to being more than something I and a very small handful of people have read. Soon it will be out there in the world, and that knowledge feels pretty great.

c

wwww.meepsheep.com

Madaptation

I dunno that there is an art that gets as much demand for and threat of adaptation as writing does. I think that says more about the limitations of people’s imagination than anything else. I mean, you can look at an amazing painting and it tells a story, but the thing is that there isn’t as much to work out, in a literal sense. You have to add more, put more into it.  And you can look at music, and poetry and photography in the same light. There are stories there, stories that could be adapted but which are just not as easy to do. Sure, there are a few song to movie adaptations but they’re a handful. Nope, stories are what seem the easiest because they have the blueprint right there for you, you just have to follow it.

Or not.

There-in lies the rub – an adaptation is not the original itself. It is an interpretation that is only as accurate as the people behind it want it to be. Need it to be. That’s the easiest thing to forget, as a fan and devotee – that an adaptation is nothing more than one interpretation that fits a mold. You see, as soon as that art is released it becomes quantifiable product. It doesn’t stop become art but it also becomes product. As the creator you have to be willing to stand back from what you made to allow it to become something else to the public. You may see it as one thing but the rest of the world may see it as something completely different, and that’s sometimes how it goes. I remember a friend telling me years and years ago how she wanted to adapt my first collection, Back From Nothing, into a movie. Now, that book has dozens of stories and I had no idea if she had one story she wanted to adapt or what, but she had some notion of what she’d do. The film never came to fruition but had it, I would have gotten to see someone else saw my work. Another friend actually got as far as writing a script based a story in the book and it seemed so alien to me, so foreign, and different yet, it was based on my story. It was just that he saw it in a different way.

The best example I can think of when it comes to the ‘work’ and the ‘interpretation’ comes in the form of Stephen King’s The Shining, which not only created a classic novel but a classic film as well. Neither of which being the same thing.

With the novel The Shining Stephen King took the horrors of addiction and abuse and used those as the framework for a tale of a haunted hotel. The hotel was the out to get this family, by any means, and the best way to do this was to use the father. In Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation the hotel and its permanent residents were far less important and interesting than the idea of a family being trapped together for several months with their own demons. The hotel was still haunted but the father was the true horror and the hotel used him, and his latent madness, to attack the family core. What you get is the same story told two different ways, the story seen through a prism with different aspects appearing for both people. For Kubrick the ghost story was not nearly as appealing as a story of inner struggle and familial strife, whereas King used the horror of the family as a way to access the horror of the hotel. You see, the stories are sorta the same, and the ideas were similar, but how they got to where they ended up was different. King likes scary stories, and likes ghost stories, and wanted to tell one, but one which showed that sometimes the ghosts within us are the scariest of all. Kubrick was more drawn to the collapsing nuclear family that, when placed in a vacuum, could explode.

The thing with both the original film and the novel of The Shining is that both are great. Both take different aspects of the story and illuminate them. The beauty of adaptations is that you can get a new version of a piece of art that you love and in that, can see things you never saw before. You can fall in love with it all over again. I had a hard time accepting the film of The Shining because I love that novel so deeply but as a film, I loved it. But with every adaptation you have to accept that someone else loves what you do, and they want to show what they love about it. No adaptation is perfect, but then, if you want the ‘perfection’ you need only return to the source material.

Like it or not, art needs the adaptations. Without them new people would never discover and love the things we love. What adaptations do is open the door to the rest of the world to see what we see. It’s letting the secret out. And sure, the ‘secret’ gets mis-told, and it gets misinterpreted more times than not but in some rare instances we get something just as beautiful as what we fell in love with in the beginning. I know it’ll never happen but it’d be an honor to be adapted by someone. A SCARY honor, but an honor  just the same. Aside from the script that never came to be a few friends have done images based on things I created and seeing how someone else sees your work is pretty special. It isn’t always, I am sure, but as soon as you release it, it’s not just yours anymore. It’s everyone’s. Good, bad, and downright ugly.

- c