Friday, July 06, 2012

Plans Begin to Form

Slowly these days, writing plans are returning to me. I hope I'll be able to bring some of them to fruition before school starts again. I came up with a character I find interesting named Layne Gabriel and I've decided to try a series of stories about him. These will be westerns and the stories are likely to run in the 5,000 word range, although I'm not absolutely sure. I'll publish them at .99 cents on Kindle and see if there is any good response.  If so, I'll try my hand at a few more and then perhaps put all of them together as a collection.

The first story will be called "To Live by the Gun," and is about a third done. The 2nd story is called "Die by the Gun" and is maybe a quarter done. The third story is merely a gleam in my eye but is probably going to be called "Gunfighter Messiah."  I want to have all three done before I publish the first, because at the end of "book" 1, I plan to run the first couple paragraphs of "book" 2 as a teaser, and the same with 3.  Then I'll offer the first one via Kindle select, and offer it for five days free through their program. That way, if someone downloads the first free and likes it, the other two will already be available for them to get.

Each title will carry a subtitle and number.  Since Layne Gabriel is from a place called Colt Creek, I'm probably going to call the series "Colt Creek Westerns," or perhaps "Layne Gabriel Westerns."  Any collection later would likely be called "The Man from Colt Creek."

I haven't decided absolutely on the pseudonym idea yet but I may do it because I think it would be kind of fun and a good experiment to try.  If it doesn't work, I could always reissue the books under my own name, although I won't make any secret of the author's identity and the copyright will be indicated as mine.  If I use a pseudonym, it is likely to be Tyler Boone.

Anyway, this should occupy me for a couple of months. If I could write a little faster I might be dangerous.  Well, probably not.  I've got a couple of other stories I have to work on for other publications as well.

It feels kind of good to have plans, though.
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36 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Having all three available is a good idea!

Chris said...

Sounds great to me.

laughingwolf said...

grats on finding your groove again; the series sounds excellent

nephite blood spartan heart said...

I like "Colt Creek Westerns" and look forward to the collection.

Deka Black said...

"Gunfighter Messiah" is 500% western-flavoured. I would pay to see a movie with a tittle like yours! ;)

Tyhitia Green said...

Charles,

I heard folks are looking for good western reads again. I'm sure you'll find a big audience. ;-)

BTW, I like your character's name your possible pseudonym too.

Tom Doolan said...

Great. yeat another Charles gramlich collection I will have to buy. :P

Oscar Case said...

Already sounds like a winner.

Ron Scheer said...

Glad to hear you are writing more westerns. Look forward to reviewing them at BITS.

Adventuresfantastic said...

Looking forward to reading them. Hit the keyboard!

Charles Gramlich said...

Alex, I hope so.

Chris, cool.

Laughingwolf, I appreciate that. I hope so.

David J., thanks, dude.

Deka, I've got a pretty good idea to go with that title, too.

Tyhitia, I hope so on the audience.

Tom, I'm sure you will have more out by then yourself, man.

Oscar, appreciate that.

Ron, I hope they'll live up to the good stuff you've reviewed over there already.

Keith, indeed, I am!

Donnetta said...

Hi, Charles: Good to have plans. Trust that all is well in your world. Good to see you. d

pattinase (abbott) said...

Great to have a plan in hand like that.

Cloudia said...

I like how you get inspired, then it flows. GO Charles, Go!



Have a fine Weekend, you two

Aloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
> < } } ( ° >

Charles Gramlich said...

Donnetta, good to see you as well. Haven't heard from you in a while.

Patti, it probably won't come out just like I planned but oh well.

cloudia, it gives me energy.

Angie said...

Best of luck with your plan; I hope everything works out for you.

Also, congrats on getting the words back. Mine are trickling back as well, after my focus being completely on my husband for the last month.

Angie

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

5,000-word western stories sound good, Charles, as does your plan for publishing them. Wish you luck!

Greg said...

Sounds like you're going strong! I like "Colt Creek" -- it has a nice strong ring to it. Good luck with the series!

Charles Gramlich said...

Angie, when these lulls happen I sometimes wonder if they'll ever come back. So far they seem to be.

Prashant, 5,000 is a pretty good length. It allows for character development and even a subplot if you want one, but doesn't weight the reader down with a lot of excess.

Greg, I see a fair amount of western series that have an overaching title so that's where the Colt Creek idea comes from.

BernardL said...

With all the stuff you have going on, I'd say your output is pretty good. I like the teaser idea. That's how everyone is doing it now, and it's a great promo.

X. Dell said...

I am, of course, definitely into the use of pseudonyms. But my reason for engaging in them is most likely something that would apply to anyone else--or many people; put it that way.

I've been meaning to pick up some of your writing, but haven't decided on a title. When the next paycheck comes in, I'm investing in a gift card:-) 'Til then, if you have any suggestions....?

Charles Gramlich said...

Bernard, I first saw that in old Louis L'Amour westerns, I believe, and later in Koontz's books. I liked it.

X-Dell, are you into ebooks or print? I think you have one of mine. Not sure. Cold in the light is probably closest down your line for novels and is in print and ebook. The newest collection, Harmland, might have some stuff you'd like. It's in ebook only at the moment, at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

David Cranmer said...

Sounds awesome, Charles.

Merisi said...

I read "Cold Creek" - is it possible to have a lapsus linguae without speaking? Or a heat-induced Freudian slip?

"Colt Creek Western" sounds very good!
(Typing Greek - what's the matter with my brain?)

the walking man said...

I like the serialization idea. It harks back to the way publishing of novels was done in the 19th century. Serialize it then put the whole thing out as a book.

Tyler Boone works for a western IMO.

I like your westerns Charles they are never the typical White hat Black hat story lines.

Charles Gramlich said...

David Cranmer, thanks, man.

Merisi, Cold creek is probably a wider known phrase for sure. Don't worry about the typing.

Mark, thanks. I appreciate that.

sage said...

Everyone should have a good pseudonym... Sounds like your creative justices are flowing again

EA said...

Hey Charles! Love those titles and I have a little suggestion. How's about dropping the "To" from the first title? So they'd look like:
Live by the Gun
Die by the Gun

I think they are very catchy titles, and this makes them more uniform. I look forward to seeing them, whatever you decide.
EA

Erik Donald France said...

I love it! Good luck, man ~~!

Have been reading about Confederates vs. Indians, almost a built-in surrealism. I may try my hand at that, aiming to keep "historically accurate."

Your pseudonym/pen name is cool!

ivan said...

I'd stick with the "To" in your first title for no other reason than to avoid shopworn titles.

Live by the gun, die by the gun. In L.A.? :)

Charles Gramlich said...

sage, it feels good.

Elaine, I added the "to" in part so that folks would know it as live rather than "live," as in a live band. maybe that's not a worry, though.

Erik, that would be cool. Would enjoy reading that.

Ivan, That's part of the reason I added the "to" in the first one. Also to make sure people would say it as "live" rather than live (as in a band playing live.)

X. Dell said...

All right. Harmland it is.

RK Sterling said...

Cool. Sounds like fun. Just the other day on the train I saw a young man - maybe 23 years old - reading a battered and obviously much loved Louis L'Amour. I thought of you and was glad there are still western fans out there. :)

jodi said...

Charles, just a thought. I think the male spelling of Layne is Lane. Dunno for sure, but my goddaughter is named Layne and a guy I know is named Lane. I'm not sure it matters a whit in any case!

Charles Gramlich said...

X-Dell, cool, man.

Kate, absolutely, wish I'd seen that fellow.

Jodi, I know a male named Lane and spelled that way. I'll have to check into it. I didn't realize there was a difference.

Travis Cody said...

This sounds like a really cool idea. Good luck!