The Dreaded 80K

I’ll get it out of the way. The Afters: Book Two will finally come out this calendar year, 2022.

How do I know? Because I hit 80K words in my first draft the other day. Eighty thousand is generally accepted as that sweet spot in novel writing. The word count that officially makes it a full length novel and not a novella. Unless you’ve got a big science fiction tome cooking, 80-100K is the industry standard. And I just hit it, which means even though the book isn’t finished yet, by god it’s close.

Four years ago, almost to the day, I published the first book (with less than 80k words!). Four years is a looooonnngg time. It makes me feel like a bad author when folks I follow seem to pump out a novel every year. I could’ve done it sooner, but I wrote a movie (and filmed it). I started a new novel (and abandoned it when it didn’t work) and all those other life events that get in the way of writing.

Why do I call it the Dreaded 80k? Because it’s not just exciting, it’s horrifying. When the novel is done, it isn’t just done. The editing begins. The proofreading begins. The beta reading begins. The cover designing begins. All these necessary steps to publishing your work to a wider audience and none of them, NONE, are as fun as actually writing the damn book. Writing a full length novel is a massive amount of work. It’s monumental really. Even if it’s a bad book! Writing eighty thousand words into coherent sentences with characters and events and plot is a difficult task. And I’ll reiterate, that’s the fun part.

Then you’ve got to polish it to a shiny gloss. Which leads to the worst part of writing a book: marketing it. Trying to convince the general public that this piece of art you poured your soul into is worth their $15 or their precious time. Because you’re not a big name author. You’re trying to make a name for yourself, why should they trust you?

I, like many others, fell into a trap of my own making. You see, I went and self-published my first novel. No agent or traditional publisher wants to touch a second novel. So I’m going into this knowing that all that jazz taken care of by a traditional publisher, I’ll have to do . This is what I want out of my life though, so there is no turning back. There is no other option for me. I HAVE to do this. It’s a compulsion everyone with a creative mind suffers. We need to make our work and then we need others to see it. Because I can enjoy my own writing, but I’d rather see someone else enjoying it. I’ve loved so many books and I want to give that same feeling to someone else.

That is why I called it the dreaded 80k because it means the fun is soon to be over. The exposed, personal hard work is about to begin. And I can’t wait.

Zombies in SPAAAAAAACE (and the library)

Two super cool updates for my first novel The Afters. My good friend wrote some code and put an ad for my book in space!! You can see it floating around in the above video. Greatest nine seconds of my life.

And then! On the same weekend, I discovered that my local library put me on the shelf! As a self published author it is super nice of them to support a local. Also libraries are the best.

Mass Hysteria now on horror streaming service Shudder

Let it be known that I am the worst blogger known to man and the worst marketer for myself and my accomplishments…

Because I totally forgot to post that my film, Mass Hysteria, was picked up and released by the horror streaming service Shudder! Click the link below to see!

https://www.shudder.com/movies/watch/mass-hysteria/2134803d0cd850b6

As a writer, getting picked up by a streaming service is a huge accomplishment for me. It IS the best place for indie films like this one to thrive and get out there to the masses. And at the moment, Shudder is the undisputed king of streaming for horror fans, constantly producing original content and picking up original content. We couldn’t be happier and, fingers crossed, leads to even more bigger and better things!

The Reviews are in!

And they are good! Youthmin is sitting pretty at 100%, which is wild even if it’s only eight reviews so far. The release is going strong and I highly recommend you check out Youthmin on Amazon or Vimeo (coming soon to iTunes) and leave us a review after! Nothing is more effective for Indie film than word of mouth.

Let’s round up some of the highlights!

“The Christian equivalent to The Office.” – https://filmthreat.com/reviews/youthmin/

“Lots of satirical films have a harsh side to them. Not this one. It is all laughs with heart.” – https://www.orcasound.com/2021/04/28/youthmin/

“It’s surprisingly candid and self-deprecating about the moral issues people might have with this version of Christianity, and it’s (blessedly) foul-mouthed and sexually frank.” – http://mvmoorhead.blogspot.com/2021/04/limbo-rocks.html

“Behind all the overt buffoonery is a genuine heart and earnestness that further drives home the film’s ultimate love of its subject.” – https://www.theaureview.com/watch/film-review-youthmin-a-mockumentary-is-satirical-without-ever-being-savage/

“Let’s just say if you ever went to church camp or had a conversation with a youth pastor, you’ll grimace and grin at the many ways they send both up here.” – https://rogersmovienation.com/2021/04/15/movie-review-molding-young-minds-the-michael-scott-way-youthmin/

The Youthmin trailer is finally here!

I know, I’ve been incognito for a long time. Lots of stuff planned for the future but I finally have some big, big news.

After four/five years of postproduction HELL, Youthmin: A Mockumentary is finally premiering on April 28, 2020! And the trailer is out now! Watch below:

I can’t wait to finally share my first film with you!

-Chris

Mass Hysteria is Live!

It LIIIIIIIIIIIVES!

My first feature film (to be released) is now available for your viewing pleasure!

Live now on Vimeo and Amazon and coming soon to itunes, google play and xbox.

Please, if you love Independent Film, and you like this one, share it! Rate it! Comment on it! Indie Film only survives with the support of true fans and we need all the help we can get.

If you love funny movies, slightly gory movies, and movies that felt like they were written for this specific moment but there’s no way they could have predicted a pandemic two years previous, Mass Hysteria is the film for you!

New Mass Hysteria Trailer!

Countless hours, tears, money and lost hair and I have actually achieved a major professional goal. Mass Hysteria the movie I wrote, has a distributor and a release date. Please watch the new trailer below and mark your calendars for October first!

Big shout out to our distributor The Horror Collective for picking up our labor of love. Here is their official description of the film:

When a tourist dies on Halloween night in Salem, the crowd seeks justice by mounting a modern-day witch hunt. With the low-key charm of SHAUN OF THE DEAD and the sophisticated sarcasm of WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, MASS HYSTERIA is a dark comedy that conquers the horror of the Salem Witch Trials by juxtaposing it with the 2020 Covid pandemic and a funny, satirical story.

If you love indie film, please give our movie a watch. And review it as well! Most small projects live and die on word of mouth. And of course, Happy Spooky Season!

-Chris

Mass Hysteria Reviews

I’ve been so busy doing nothing I completely forgot to post about our latest (and probably final) film festival! Directors Arielle and Jeff were invited down to Atlanta for the Women in Horror festival where Mass Hysteria was the closing night film. I’ve rounded up a couple of reviews to get you excited!

 

https://www.ghastlygrinning.com/home/2020/3/4/women-in-horror-film-festival-review-black-lake-takes-a-cerebral-horror-path-while-mass-hysteria-goes-for-side-splitting-at-women-in-horror-film-festival

 

https://screenrex.com/wihff-20-mass-hysteria-takes-a-clever-halloween-idea-and-runs-with-it/?fbclid=IwAR3g_FVituk8gsVCs0iN0y01Y1uZ-lgQiukjkkiCOFG-Gr84Wq0P3PjogEY

 

https://www.vanessasnonspoilers.com/archives/15860/mass-hysteria-movie-witches-of-salem-review/