“Wait, what? You’re writing a book?”

After the shock subsides, I usually get an immediate follow-up question. “What’s it about?”

I will be the first to admit it. This book is weird. I’ve had many chances to hone my book’s “elevator pitch” by now. So how do I explain what the book is about? Simple.

“It’s a horror story set in the old west.”

What had begun as a look of excitement now turns to confusion. Most of the people I tell this to do no read horror. And in truth, it isn’t really a horror story. In fact, it isn’t even one story. It’s a collection of short stories all happening in the same time period and general location. A better description might be:

“A collection of short stories set in the 1860’s old west of America each containing elements of suspense and horror.”

But that takes way too long to say so I keep it simple. Besides, let’s be honest, this is not “mainstream” literature. There isn’t even a genre at the local Barnes & Noble for “Horror / Suspense / Western.”

It’s Fun to Write this Book

But here’s the thing, I love the concept. The ideas are just gushing from my fingertips. Each story has creepy ideas, interesting characters, and a sense of mystery. The characters have come alive. When it comes to writing for me, whether it be novels, comic books, screenplays, or composing songs, you have to create what you love. I am fully aware this is not a “commercially viable” novel and I am completely fine with that. I love it and that’s good enough.

The book will be titled: Tales of the Macabre West

I’m on track to finish the first draft by the end of this year (2013). Then I will be editing and revising for a publish date in early 2014.

Why am I writing a novel?

1) The world and characters are fabulous and the ideas just keep coming.

2) I wanted to see if I “could”. Writing a novel is a challenge. It requires intense focus. It is something I’ve always wanted to do. So this has been a year of seeing if I had the discipline to sit down and write daily and if by the end I would know whether I absolutely hated it or if it was fun. It turns out, it is really fun.

3) I want to learn more about publishing for both digital and traditional paper books. This is a great project to see how things work.

So there it is. The potential audience for this book may be able to be counted on one hand but I love it. And that’s all that really matters.