Guilty Pleasures. We all have them. When it comes to reading we all have our favorite reading genres. My “go-to” is usually Fantasy Fiction or Science Fiction. True, every once in a while I like to dive into a little bit of Horror, but my favorite has always been Fantasy Fiction.
They say curiosity can lead to humorous and unexpected discoveries, oh and something about some poor cat… Yes, I am curious as to what my family, friends, and followers feel is their favorite genre. Please take a quick 30 seconds to answer the one question poll on the bottom of this post.
“But why Patrick? What’s in it for me? You’re just going to leave me high and dry after nosing into my reading habits? It’s none of your business sir. No incentive? No reward?”
Well to that I say, here is the fun part to belay that idle chatter.
Once the poll closes at week’ss end I will review the tally. Whichever genre receives the most votes and is declared the winner will receive a special prize. I’ll take the challenge upon myself to write a Short Story, minimum 1,000 words within the winning genre. That’s right, no matter which one wins. Don’t you see? You! Right there, yes! Who me? No, not me, You! the one reading this on your screen, using the Power of the Internet you have control over this Blog and its Author!
VOTE NOW! Wait, what? You don’t want to? Don’t have time? Nonsense! It took you longer to read this article than it will to answer the question below…unless you have any other Unintelligent Arguments to present…
MAY THE BEST GENRE WIN!
Can’t decide which is your favorite? Select your top 3! Aren’t I nice? 🙂
Don’t miss out on the Results and upcoming Short Story! Hit the ‘Subscribe’ button and don’t miss a single post!
Me with Horror Novelist John Everson at the Haunted Halloween Flea Market, 10/25/14 at the DuPage County Fairgrounds.
Sometimes you set goals for yourself that seem lofty and above your expectations. When floundering on the edge of the concession to failure life will sometimes surprise you and give you that much needed push. A much needed jolt of inspiration. This happened to me this last Saturday evening.
My family and I were seeking something fun to do Saturday afternoon since the weather was perfect and fall celebrations and Halloween events are happening all over the Chicagoland area. Earlier in the day I had attended the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) Naperville region’s pot-luck kickoff celebration. I felt really good leaving the luncheon and ready to push to finish my novel I started working on last year this November. The folks in my region are all friendly, welcoming, and very talented. I’ve learned a lot in my short time spent there last year and this year in our writing group luncheons and writer’s workshops and appreciate them welcoming me into the fold.
Yet, writing a novel has always been one of the scariest personal challenges I’ve ever undertaken. A pie in the sky fantasy, a castle in the air hallucination and sometimes I feel like I am one of those folks who needs to ‘see it to believe it’ even if I am the one who needs to do it. So, although feeling thoroughly prepared by the fellowship provided by my fellow NaNoWriMo folks, my natural insecurities and self-doubt still lingered in the back of my mind, subverting my confidence that I could hit my personal goals this November.
Alas, to take my mind off of things my lovely wife Melissa told me that the Village of Wheaton was having their annual ‘Haunted Halloween Flea Market’ at the DuPage County Fairgrounds. Tickets to get in were $7 per person at the door yet my wife in her ever surprising ingenuity purchased advanced tickets online through Goldstar for free minus a $2.50 processing fee per ticket. In short, instead of paying $21 for the three of us to get in it only cost $7.50, heck of a deal and the flea market was to be open until midnight. We had dinner and arrived at the flea market around 7:30PM.
As this was my first time at this event I was pleasantly surprised by the large number of people attending, the smile generating Halloween décor, the food, hay rides, and the sheer number of vendors (around 100-200) and people milling about in costumes engaging in old fashioned American commerce. While perusing the vast area of outdoor vendors I noticed that several of the enclosed buildings on the fairgrounds also had indoor activities going on. My wife and son wanted to hop on the free hay ride and I told them I would wander about and check things out.
When I entered the largest of the buildings that had dozens of people walking in and out I noticed that this large barn/warehouse had been converted into a large indoor exhibition room complete with its own artist alley. For those of you who do not know what an ‘artist alley’ is, this is typically a space at a convention reserved for amateur and professional artists to display and sell their own work. As I walked down the aisle I was casually glancing at the local comic book artists, inkers, and even met an interesting fellow promoting his own ‘Svengoolie-esque’ TV show he runs on Public Access channels across the Chicagoland area. However, I came to a halt when I met a smiling middle-aged man standing in front of a large display of paperback, trade paperback, and hardcover novels.
My copy of ‘Covenant’ by John Everson.
His name was John Everson, a published Horror writer under the Leisure books banner. In the past my experience reading the horror genre has been limited to Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, Dean Koontz, and Clive Barker. I approached his table and introduced myself and struck up a conversation with him about his writing to see if I would be interested in purchasing one of his novels and hopefully obtain his signature if allotted. I found John to be very friendly and welcoming. He did not try to ‘sell’ me on his work but seemed overjoyed and happy to share with me answers to my questions. He seemed to light up when I asked him which was his first published novel and he happily pointed to Covenant which was published in 2004. I asked him to tell me the story of his novel and he started to summarize the plot. I politely interrupted him and said, “No, tell me the story behind your first novel, that’s what I want to hear, what made you write it? How long did it take you to do so? How did you feel when it was finished? How did you get it published to the mass market? Which of your novels is your favorite and why?” I was worried that these questions might seem a little too inquisitive but with a kind smile John engaged me in a 20-minute back and forth conversation telling me his history and how he became a published author. He shared with me how he was a columnist for 20 years with The Star Newspapers and the Illinois Entertainer. Towards the end of his journalism career he began writing short horror and fantasy stories and submitted them the old fashioned way for publishing. Writing was a passion he needed to fulfill. He moved on and wrote a couple novels that eventually after many submissions and struggle his first, Covenant, was published in 2004 by a small distributor and eventually picked up and mass published by Leisure Books in 2008. The rest has been history for him, and he’s never been happier with now 6 novels mass-market published and many appearances in anthologies and short story collections and one of his books may even be turned into a film soon.
With me being an aspiring writer I found John’s story hit me to the core. Here was a gentleman who not only created great stories that are being shared with the world en masse; he himself had a great story to share. To deepen my connection with his story I randomly asked him if he ever participated in National Novel Writing Month. His fast response, “Nanowrimo? Of course!” happily surprised me. His second novel was written during NaNoWriMo, the one and only year he participated in the 50,000 words in a month challenge. I told him that this was my second year attempting NaNo, and that I crashed and burned my first go round. I eagerly asked him for any pointers or advice. With enthusiasm John told me to “Not give up, no matter what, and to stop editing as I write, just put those words down no matter what they say, how silly they seem and whether or not they make any sense and wait until December to look at them. Also, don’t let those words just sit in your desk drawer. I wrote 50,000 words and won NaNo only to turn around and leave those words in my desk for several months. Finally, when needing something to write I pulled them out and it took me another couple of months to finish the story. And I am glad I did, because that ended up being my second published book, can you imagine if I just left that story in the drawer? You have to finish what you start.”
When our conversation came to a close I thanked John for his time and told him I would happily purchase his first novel, Covenant, and asked him if he would graciously sign it for me, to which he did. Moreover, my wife and son had returned from their hay ride and after meeting up with me I asked John if I could bug him for one last indulgence, a photo. He happily agreed and not only did Melissa snap a quick photo of him and I he also asked her to take one of the both of us with his own camera. I felt honored. After feeling like I had taken up so much of his precious time I thanked him for everything and we shook hands graciously and parted ways. While walking towards the exit I opened the book and assumed that John would have simply signed the inside page with his signature only. I was overwhelmed to see he had placed a quick personal note above his signature that read:
“For Patrick,
Good Luck with Nanowrimo!
Dark Dreams,
John Everson.”
John Everson autographed my copy of Covenant, wishing me luck with NaNoWriMo.
Horror writers. You gotta love that closing, ‘Dark Dreams’.
It truly was an inspiring Saturday for me to have my NaNo group offer their support early in the day and then to meet a former NaNo participant and hear his story and learn of his successes, with National Novel Writing Month playing a role in it. I hope that my experiences however long they last with NaNoWriMo can help attribute to the removal of my self-doubt as a writer and help me fulfill my personal goals. I feel in some ways they already have. You really do need to finish what you start; otherwise everything you start in life is going to end up in some random dark drawer, forgotten under the dust of memories and regret.
Ever have an unexpected inspiration happen to you? Please feel free to share in the comments below. Let’s keep the conversation going! For more articles and writings you can follow this blog by simply clicking the ‘Follow’ button at the top of my Home Page. Remember…a writer writes….
My blog is a satire for all with stories, adventures, and opinions based on facts with minimal evidence and maximum wit. In short, a chronicle of my life. I hope you enjoy perusing my random banter, hilarious adventures, short stories with imaginative characters and hidden meanings, my unique wit, interests in pop culture and oddball opinions.
Unintelligent Arguments 