By camping trip number four, we weren’t kids anymore. I was almost 17 years old, had my driver’s license, and worked two jobs, bringing in a decent income for my age, which granted me significant independence. We had just finished our junior year and would soon be seniors. It is a dangerous time for aContinue reading “Camping trip #4- Adventures in pyrotechnics”
Author Archives: scottatirrell
Camping trip #3- here comes Bertha
By camping trip number three, we were all fourteen and fifteen years old, and after promises that we would be careful, we finally got the green light for a campfire. We also had a new-fangled cell phone (circa 1996). It was a second-generation Motorola with a flip-down receiver and pull-up antenna, and the thing wasContinue reading “Camping trip #3- here comes Bertha”
Destiny of the Daystar is born
I know it has been a while, but I’m still alive! One weekend, I had a family obligation, and the next, my wife was traveling. I then ran into a heating issue, and the house fell to 46F- too cold to write. Two thousand bucks later, we got that nightmare fixed (ugh, I should haveContinue reading “Destiny of the Daystar is born”
Camping trip #2
Camping trip #1 was an adventure, but given a taste of freedom, we knew there would be another. The following year, we were a bit older, and although I wouldn’t say wiser, we were undoubtedly bolder. Our stories of chattering coyotes and piss pots ensured a larger group this time, and there were six ofContinue reading “Camping trip #2”
Camping trip #1
Last night, my backyard sounded like a horror movie. Some critters were fighting and fighting fiercely. A raccoon, with its chittering, was one of them. We live about three miles from Boston, and raccoons are some of the few animals that thrive around humans, so we have some big mamajamas. As for the raccoon’s opponent,Continue reading “Camping trip #1”
Memories of MDC
The other night, I woke from a nightmare, my sheets wet with sweat. I was lost within a derelict campus, chased by moaning spirits. All around were tall brick buildings with dark, windowless eyes, watching me with malintent. It was a frightening ordeal, to say the least, but what made it worse was I knewContinue reading “Memories of MDC”
A Bus to parts unknown
In my last post, I said I would talk about strategies I’ve embarked on to reach my audience, but then I realized that was a terrible idea. If you write, you know there is a lot out there on marketing, promotion, and advertising your books (much of it BS), and I have nothing new toContinue reading “A Bus to parts unknown”
Seeking an audience
Who is my audience? I’m ashamed to say I haven’t had the time to dwell on this question a whole lot. So let’s get into those weeds now, shall we? Pondering this question, I discovered I don’t “really” know who I’m writing for. My audience is silhouettes washed out by the bright lights of theContinue reading “Seeking an audience”
Filling plot holes
I’ve finished my first post-completion read-through of Koen and am ultimately happy with the outcome. I only have one major plot hole, which I am filling now. It looks like it will require writing an entirely new chapter towards the end of the book and peppering some details here and there, but that’s okay. I’veContinue reading “Filling plot holes”
Kid in a candy store
I’m two-thirds through my first read-through of Koen, the stand-alone prequel to my Absolution of the Morning Star series. When I say first read-through, I mean it. It is my first time traveling from beginning to end. I haven’t read the first few chapters in more than half a year, which gives substantial distance fromContinue reading “Kid in a candy store”
