The Stanley Hotel Writers Retreat

Yesterday I arrived in Colorado and spent the night in Estes Park at the Silver Moon Inn.

Today I'm at The Stanley Hotel, sharing a room with two other horror writers. Time to get down to writing. I've set a 1,800 word daily goal.

I'm going to try and meet my goals but with such amazing views it's difficult to believe that I'll be able to tune out my surroundings and get down to work. Crossing fingers.

I guess the place that inspired Stephen King to write The Shining should be able to inspire me, then again, isn't inspiration overrated. Writing is a matter of doing, sittting down and writing, then inspiration comes.

This morning I woke up at the Silver Moon and there was a weird sound coming from outside. It was like the whistle of a whale song. I looked through the window. Elk, a whole herd of them. Milling about across the stream from the inn. Some called to each other, most were grazing on shrubs and bushes. It was the most amazing and magical sight.

I took some pictures.

Unfortunately the sun was at a weird angle so they are partial in shadow. I'll have to work on them later.

It was magical but hasn't brought any ideas to mind for dark fiction.

Then again, the clerk at the inn and I were chatting about the flood that happened in Estes Park last year.

Estes Park gets major flooding every decade or so. This most recent flood had uncovered objects that were covered up by mud in past floods. A few cars circa 1980's showed up. The people in charged warned the search crews to be respectful of any vehicles revealed because there could be dead bodies in them.

Wow. How's that for dark inspiration?

For over twenty years I've visited a town in the Catskills called Fleischmann's. A couple of years back they had their own flood. Part of a motel floated down the stream by the raging water and wound up in the backyard of the B&B we always stay at.  An elderly woman who was a holocaust survivor drowned.

But that's the makings of another story...

Tonight there will be readings by members of the Writers Retreat of their own works at the Estes Park Library. I'll be with them.

Do you know of any dark tales involving a mountain flood? Share it here.

Also, just a few more days for my October specials--see below.

Because I love October

For the month of October you can get free copies below of my two short story collections and the anthology which I edited.

 Click here and use Coupon Code EN73R

What is Love?

In the eye of the beholder or something more?

In these four dark tales, zombies, ghosts, ancient spells and modern crooks show us that love conquers all--even death and despair.

 Click here and use Coupon Code EB62E 

Sexbots threaten to destroy a marriage.

A half-alien embryo remains the only hope for the human race.

Tempting Cupcakes that aren't just bad for your waistline, but may result in permanent injury.

Welcome to the realm of April Grey.

 Click here and use Coupon Code EN73R

Six talented writers explore the various paths Evil can take when in Hell's Garden.

Featuring tales by Rayne Hall, Heather Holland Wheaton, Jonathon Broughton, Mark Cassell, Eric Dimbleby and Jeff Hargett.

Edited by April Grey.





Also, in the last post you will find the first chapter of my dark fantasy, Perdita. If you want more, e-mail me to join my mailing list and I'll send you a Smashword's coupon when it comes out later this month.

Perdita- First Chapter

Cover Reveal- Perdita

Here it is, the latest from April Grey.

I'll be posting the first chapter here on Wednesday, October 1st and then for those who wish to read the rest of the novel for free, send me your e-mail address to join my mailing list. On the release day you will get a coupon for a free Smashwords copy of the novella.

Fairy Tales can come true, it can happen to you...Run fast!

Down on her luck and out-of-work, actress Cindy White's life changes -- and not for the better -- when her roommate kicks her out. Landing in new digs in an old Chelsea tenement Cindy discovers a tunnel from the building's basement that leads to the land of Perdita, a place she'd thought her father had made up in the fairy tales he'd once told her. A dangerous, ruined place of fairies, demons and captives -- like her father, whom she thought was dead. In PERDITA, a dark fantasy, a young woman discovers her true self and must align it with the old in leaving the world she knows behind in an effort to free her father. 

A guest blog from last May

Improve Your Point of View by Going Deep

   Saturday Guest Post contributed by Author April Grey – Saturday, May 10, 2014

Mastery of point of view (POV) is important to all writing; however, I feel that some genres need to have the POV reach deeper under the skin than others. Both horror and romance appeal to the emotions (note how these genres are named after emotions-AHA) and require readers to get lost in the feelings of terror or love generated by the story. 

In comparison, science fiction and mysteries might be seen as more appealing to the mind. A distant POV where the reader is trailing behind the character like a steady-cam or drone can be effective. It has a chilling quality. The reader is kept outside the body of the main character.  He/She is held at arm’s length, is distanced. And in any writing a combination of POV depths is highly recommended.

Still, for romance and horror you want to dive down deep into the character. Readers need to feel, taste, smell, hear and see what is happening to the character in order to experience it for themselves.

Here are two quick tips to help you wiggle under that character’s skin. To be sure there are many more techniques, whole books have been written on POV, but I’m keeping this short .

1. Use all five of the senses. Too often we are told about the world through sight and sound. By using the sense of smell, taste and touch, it’s like being on the holodeck of the Enterprise. This comes back to the (in)famous, “show don’t tell” writers are told. Chekov (Anton—not Pavel) said it best: Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. Even better, don’t rely on sight alone, let your character feel that glass crunch under his feet maybe have a shard pierce the sole of your character’s shoe. Make you want to cringe, doesn’t it?
2. Remove the filters in your writing. Much of this technique is a matter of deleting tags. Once you are firmly established in a character’s viewpoint throwing in: he could see, he saw, he could feel, he felt, he thought, he wondered, etc. becomes unnecessary and only serve to remind your reader that he’s reading. These unnecessary verbs, which do have a habit of creeping in, takes the reader away from the deep viewpoint you want.

"He could see the sun rise." vs. "The sun rose."

Also, removing the filters streamlines your writing, making it lean and mean. Any direct thought can be expressed in italics.

"He thought she was really hot." vs. "She’s so hot.”

As mentioned above, there may be times in your writing when you do want to draw back. Finding the right balance is a matter of practice but also paying attention to other writers and seeing how they create their own effects. Most of all, as a writer, you need to experience what the character is feeling. Your heart needs to pound and your mouth needs to go dry. Gosh, isn’t it amazing that fear can create the same symptoms as love? But you don’t want your reader to be inundated with non-stop throbbing pulses and surges of adrenaline. Find the right balance between these scenes of intense excitement and pulling back. There’s a rhythm to be found in any work.

Summing up, though you want to remove the filters (tags) you still need to filter everything through your POV character. Your female lead may notice different things than a male one, keep  in mind how different characters perceive the world differently. This is the filter which you need.

Christmas in July

Summer Promo

Go here for free and discounted dark fiction by or edited by April

For Free: The Fairy Cake Bake Shoppe, St. Nick's Favor & The Vision
For 99 cents: Hell's Garden and I'll Love You Forever.

My Interview up at Horror Digest

An Interview with Short Story Author April Grey

Author April Grey

April Grey’s short stories have been published in such anthologies asDemonmind's Halloween 2010, The Best of Everyday Fiction 2, Northern Haunts, Ephemera, Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, Undead: Ten Tales of Zombies, Seers: Ten Tales of Clairvoyanceand Terrible Beauty, Fearful Symmetry. Many of these stories can be found in her collection, The Fairy Cake Bake Shoppe.

She is also the author of the urban fantasy novels Chasing the Tricksterand St. Nick’s Favour.

For the rest of the interview:

An Interview with Short Story Author April Grey http://t.co/pVHZIDeQXb