Friday, January 28, 2011

Timeout from Fiction

Lately, I've had to step away from my fiction in support of a new effort -- I've become a teacher!

Saturday mornings, I teach a class that helps prepare candidates to take the CISSP exam (CISSP stands for Certified Information Systems Security Professional). This is a class that teaches the students what a corporate, enterprise security model/plan should be and what security subjects they should understand thoroughly to be able to pass the exam.

Basically, it's a class on network security. I've been teaching it the past few Saturdays and I've got a bunch more weeks to go (8, I think). Because of this new job, I've stepped away from the fiction while I draft up my training materials (which takes a while to create).

It's a shame because, while I've paused the physical act of writing, I'm still getting barraged with story ideas on a daily basis. Each morning when I drive to work, I see at least ONE thing that puts an idea in my head. Whether it be someone walking, someone driving, an unassuming tree sticking out of the FEET of snow we've recently fallen victim to in the northeast or the way some garbage was strewn about the street.

So, what's an author to do? Well, I've been keeping copious notes so that I don't miss an idea. Unfortunately, it's going to be a while before I can start to pound them out at the keyboard.

By then, I hope I can still read my chicken scratch.

-Jack

Thursday, January 20, 2011

THE TAKEOVER now on sale - $2.99!!!!!

Because I've recently been blessed with a very favorable review of my novel, THE TAKEOVER, Screaming Aphony Press has decided to offer the novel for a discounted price for a limited time!

Right now, you can order your e-book copy of THE TAKEOVER from Smashwords for only $2.99!!!

Click here and grab your copy now! Enter the coupon code, "HF23L" into the Coupon Code box when checking out and the price of the book will drop from $5.99 to $2.99.

And, as always, thanks, guys!

-Jack

Awesome Review of "THE TAKEOVER"

Larry Hoffer over at "It's Either Sadness or Euphoria" recently set aside some time to read my novel, THE TAKEOVER. (And on a plane, no less!) He's also been kind enough to write up his thoughts on it. (Thanks, Larry!) I'll let you read the review but I'm absolutely stoked that someone enjoyed reading the novel as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Just to give you a little flavor, Larry said, "I don't read a lot of horror books ... boy, this book was creepy. ... At times I wanted to shout at the characters to make them realize what was going to happen, but people on a plane don't take kindly to other passengers shouting at inanimate objects. This definitely kept me turning the pages, even when I didn't want to."

(Big Smiles! BIG SMILES!)

THE TAKEOVER is available from smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books and the Apple iBooks application.