Step one: train yourself to become ambidextrous. Step two: train your eyes to look both ways at the same time. Step three: train your brain to embrace cognitive dissonance. And voila!
It's helped that both books aren't in the same genre, even though they both have elements of comedy. AGROTHARN is sword & sorcery in space while Murders is post-WWII amateur sleuthing. AGROTHARN is written in third-person with multiple points of view, but Murders is first-person from the limited POV of the sleuth. The writing style of AGROTHARN is very loose and shot from the hip, while Murders is more formal and old school; thus AGROTHARN is easy to pick up and draft during breaks while Murders takes more time and effort at wordsmithing. Lastly, every episode of AGROTHARN is prompted by four story cubes, while Murders was originally based on a novella I wrote thirty years ago, but now has emerged as its own monstrous entity.
To summarize, in order to write two books at once, I've needed them to be very different, and I've needed the process to be very different. Yet, at the same time, it's helped that they're both comedies, so I don't have to take either one too seriously. Crafting the tale is serious work, but the path along the way has been chock-full of foibles and follies, and that's worked well for the humorous tone of each book.
I'm shooting for 75K with AGROTHARN, and I'm over halfway there. 50K is the goal for Murders, and I've got about 6K left to go with that one. When I finish it, I'll either start on the sequel to Dust Freaks & Demigods, which is more action/adventure with less comedy, or the sequel to Double Murders are Twice as Bad. We'll see what the muse and the funny bone can agree on.
I drafted these tales during StoryADay a few years back, and I haven't known what to do with them since. I don't really have the patience my younger self did, submitting stories to publishers and waiting for responses; as a result, this batch has suffered a bit of neglect while I've worked on other projects.
I've been having a blast with Kindle Vella this year—two novels written, and two in progress—so I decided to create an anthology series along the lines of The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and Black Mirror. Short, perplexing standalone episodes of science fiction, horror, and fantasy guaranteed to stay with you long after you've turned out the lights for the night. That's the description, anyway.
Judge for yourself: the first three episodes are free to read right here.
Gonzo: Bizarre. Freewheeling or unconventional, especially to the point of outrageous. Absurd, yet realistic in context with plot elements.
"A most unusual and entertaining story."
"Wild, whimsical and like no other."
"Really annoying. The characters are just strange."
"Very well-written with great characters."
"What did I just read!?! Made almost no sense!"
Last year, I signed a contract with another producer, but things didn't pan out. I wasn't sure I'd find a suitable replacement, but as soon as I heard John Warren Hart's audition last month, I knew I had the voice(s) of Trouble on the Range. He really went above and beyond to bring these characters to life.
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All 26 episodes are now available via Kindle Vella, and I plan to keep them there for at least a few months or so. When I eventually pull Uncommoner from Vella and release it wide in eBook, paperback, and audio, I'll be using the cover art I've included with this post. Pretty snazzy, eh?
Check out the first three episodes for free right here.
