A New Short Story, and Yesterday

December 14, 2024 by Harvey

In Today’s Journal

* Quote of the Day
* A New Short Story
* Yesterday I Mentioned
* Yesterday Also
* I Finally Remembered
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

Quote of the Day

“I gave WITD a fair try in September and wrote the most fiction words in one month that I had ever done in such a short time! So, no more proofing the dough, it will be time to start baking!” Tiffanie Gray

A New Short Story

“The Dawning of Dexter” went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out.

Where the story reads, “His had hands on the sides of it,” the “His” should be “He.” Shrug.

As always, if you enjoy this provocatively strange story, please tell Everyone. If you don’t, shh! (grin)

Yesterday I Mentioned

a scene in one of my Blackwell Ops books in which the POV character (an operative) was horrified to find a terrible scene that someone else visited on his family.

Later yesterday morning, a writer emailed me to ask which book contained that scene.

The truth is, I have almost no clue. I’m certain it was in one of the early Blackwell Ops novels, but I don’t remember which one.

Even looking back over the promo docs didn’t help.

But then, as I always preach, it’s a good idea NOT to include plot points in your promotions. Gives away too much of the story. (Why would a reader buy a book when you’ve already told him the story in the promotional blurb?)

I’m sure of two things: It was in an early book in the series (no more recent than BO-12), and the operative was a male.

If you happen to know which book held that scene, please email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com to let me know. (No comments, please.) For your trouble, I’ll send you any novel in my canon, your choice, free.

Thanks!

Yesterday Also

I talked a lot yesterday about Blackwell Ops, including the premise or the ‘logline.’

If the premise appeals to you, feel free to write it. What you write about your organization (or whatever) and what I write about mine will be different stories anyway. (The name Blackwell Ops is trademarked, so don’t use that.)

Also, as one astute reader noticed, “All happy endings have consequences” is almost a story in itself. I mentioned it as a temptation.

That sentence is both a title and a story idea, and it naturally lends itself to psychological suspense. If it tugs at you, feel free to run with it.

And yet another idea leaps to mind…

As another reader commented yesterday on that twisted little statement about happy endings having consequences, her “short stories have a happy (for now) ending.”

That “for now” made me wonder whether the wheels in her subconscious are already turning. After all, something has to happen after a happy ending. Bing! There you have a whole other short story or novel.

In Blackwell Ops, I parlayed that same “So what happened after that?” notion into the 7-volume Soleada Garcia subseries. When you write what your characters are living, all things are possible.

I Finally Remembered

Yesterday I also finally remembered my dear friend and first reader Russ had gotten Blackwell Ops 32 back to me, again in record time.

Yep. I finished it only a few days ago, and Russ got back to me the next day, yet I’d already forgotten I’d written it. Meaning I forgot to publish it.

So yesterday, finally, I interrupted my writing for about a half-hour. I created a cover, wrote a promo doc, and put the novel up for prepublication sale at D2D and Amazon. It will publish live on those venues on December 28th.

Of course, if you’re curious you can read the description and even buy the novel two weeks early AND for a dollar less if you visit my direct sales store.

I was even kind’a sort’a the POV character in this one, albeit under the assumed name of Harry Tidwell. (grin) But that’s all I’m gonna tell you about it.

By the way, I got that one up for prepub sale just in time. Blackwell Ops 21: Jack Temple went live this morning.

I think I have a streak going of releasing a book every two weeks. I’ll have to check back and see how long the streak is. (grin) And keep it going, of course.

Talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

Deciding on a Challenge

The Value of the Written Word: Pay the Writer You’ve heard this from me before. Here’s Vin’s take. Includes the Harlan Ellison video.

A [Book] Distribution Primer

Check out BookBub With the new year coming, why not?

The Numbers

The Journal…………………………… 760

Writing of The Waller Files (a Stern Talbot PI mystery)

Day 1…… 2094 words. To date…… 2094
Day 2…… 4654 words. To date…… 6748
Day 3…… 3594 words. To date…… 10342
Day 4…… 3087 words. To date…… 13429

Fiction for December………………… 51762
Fiction for 2024………………………. 797862
Nonfiction for December…………….. 14920
Nonfiction for 2024…………………… 377490
2024 consumable words…………….. 1,175,352

Average Fiction WPD (December)…. 3982

2024 Novels to Date…………………….. 18
2024 Novellas to Date…………………… 1
2024 Short Stories to Date……………… 32
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………..… 102
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 269
Short story collections……………………. 29

Disclaimer: Whatever you believe, unreasoning fear and the myths that outlining, revising, and rewriting will make your work better are lies. They will always slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.

Writing fiction should never be something that stresses you out. It should be fun. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Because of WITD and because I endeavor to follow those Rules I am a prolific professional fiction writer. You can be too.