Where has the Austrian been hiding?

Hey folks,

It’s been a while since I got in contact, and I thought I’d give you all an update on where things are, and how they are progressing. There’s lots to tell, so buckle up.

The Dawn Chorus

I’ve finally got the artist I wanted for this novel, to agree to do five pages of artwork. This was a really important detail for me, as soon as I saw the artwork he had done for another horror novel, I knew there was nobody else that could illustrate my creature feature as well as he could. So here’s where I get to announce it - VVilczy has agreed to bring the Vaxxers to full-blooded black and white life!

For those of you who don’t know his work yet, here’s the cover picture from Anoka, featuring a well-known creature that needs no introduction:

There’s nobody who can draw negative space as well as Vvilczy, his black-and-white work is exemplary. He trained as a veterinary technician and animal behaviorist, so his rendering of animals, and the feral quality of his work just screams from the page. Who better to illustrate invisible creatures that are a cross between Gorillas and panthers, that warp into our reality, to snatch their meat, and warp it back to their own multiearth to feast?

Want another example?

Can’t wait to scare you all witless with what I’ve written. It may well need its own content warning…

It’ll be interesting to see his take on… I can’t say the word, It’s a part of the surprise of the MC, Boon, but here’s something certain older readers might understand as a reference, something I haven’t seen recently in any horror books, an almost lost persona with a specific affliction he and Boon share…

The Masocheist

Still basically finished, still undergoing my own laborious editing process. Hope for an early-year release next year (almost a year after when I had hoped for, but hey, that’s what you get for being a nerd perfectionist).

And as I keep hinting, John goes through the mincer.

What’s been going on with the reviews?

Well, that’s a story.

I knew, going into this year, that the reading was going to take a hit, but I couldn’t have guessed how much. I set my Goodreads total at an optimistic 50 books. I wanted to concentrate on my own editing, and also on writing - but life, as always, has a way of catching up on you. Some of the authors I have read will know that whenever I read a book, I keep a list open on my phone, for typos and errors. After I finish, I contact the authors and provide them with the list should they wish to have it. I’m proud to say that overwhelmingly, every author I contacted was happy to receive the lists, the sooner the better to amend their books and get rid of those typos.

Well, it didn’t go unnoticed.

I have to give thanks here to Ross Jeffery, who made a comment that I should edit professionally. Well, I replied - the chance would be a fine thing, but I couldn’t really believe it’d happen.

Well, Ross suggested to Andrew Fowlow, owner of Dark Lit Press, that he should get me to edit some of their books, and - well - that’s what I’ve been busy doing since the end of May. I’ve already finished 3 novels for them, friend-edited a fourth novella, and am presently editing two larger novels.

And I’m having a blast.

The downside is - no time. Between editing and my day job, well, I get to sleep and eat and maybe repair stuff at home. That’s about it. But I also (last week) took the long-made decision to quit my day job - they’ve been using my good nature for too long, promising me better work and a pay raise but it never arrived - for over a year. They were gutted I quit, and rightly so - they are pretty f##ked without me. I hope you all know your own worth because believe me - they know mine but refused to pay me accordingly. Well,

Bad decision. I finally had enough.

I have to work until the end of October, but after that - who knows what I’ll be doing.

So in case you are looking for editing services, get in contact, and please, if you’d like references, I’m sure Andrew at Dark Lit will be happy to provide them. To date, I’ve had the privilege to work with Tyler Jones, Gwendolyn Nix, Zachary Rosenberg, Sylvester Barzey, Drew Starling, and now Briana Morgan.

So yeah - Let’s see if I can make my editing work. If you want a sample of my work, get in contact, and I can work on a sample chapter.

A downside to all this, I’ve had no time to write my reviews. I have about 25 books I’ve read, that are still awaiting their reviews. If you are one of those authors, I’m sorry for the delay, but hope you can understand why. I’m working on it. Things might be up in the air at the moment, but I’m working on it.

OK, that’s all for now. Thanks for reading, I hope to have more updates soon, and some sneak peeks at the artwork as it comes in!

Read you later,

Austrian