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Attractions in Development
I’ve been giving this section much consideration, as it is the only other viable part of this newsletter that isn’t static. I’ve been using it to discuss progress on stories and a little of the background in their development, but it’s all been very vague and not much of use, hasn’t it? How can you possibly be excited about the impending discoveries in A Vampire’s Vengeance, or the desperate survival of both human and vampire in the Children of the Damned if you don’t know what they’re about?
I have been intentionally vague so as not to give away the wonderful surprises I have in store for you with regard to these attractions, but after contemplating the usefulness of such a section with such little detail, I question the efficacy of this. Therefore, rather than list working titles with vague impressions of them, I will instead turn my attention to describing the process I’m taking in writing them, with profiles on some of the characters and the occasional hint or spoiler.
In the subject line, I ask “When will the next story be published?,” and it is a relevant inquiry inasmuch as the lack of clarity here extends to a lack of clarity in my writing process. The simple answer is: I don’t know.
Here’s what’s really going on behind the scenes:
I have a rough draft of Body Count—the next Tale in the Odds ‘n’ Endings universe—completed. In fact, I have completed a second, much improved draft of the story. However, it is far too much in the same vein as two of the others and I do not want to leave it this way. It’s also missing something to give it the magic touch, that je ne sais quoi which will bring joy from even the Proprietor to have it listed in annals of the Boutique.
I have been poring over the details of the next iteration of the Backstage Pass, which I alluded to in last week’s edition. The publishing industry, being what it is, proves to be antagonistic with regard to new authors. Not intentionally, mind you, but there are many hoops to jump through in order to arrive at a point where one’s work is represented, let alone published. Hence the level of effort I have been expending in wanting to aggrandize Volume II. More subscribers means more opportunities, and this means more stories being written and sent out to the world. So please, please, please, if you’re enjoying the Groundskeeper and you’re excited about what’s coming next, get your friends to subscribe!
A Vampire’s Vengeance was slated to be the next serial for the Backstage Pass, but alas, the narrative is a slow burn leading up to the main action, and thus I do not think it is well suited to carry this publication as it is. Thus I have opted instead to lead with Bus Driver, and so have begun writing that story to get a bit ahead of the publishing schedule.
This does not mean I will be eliminating A Vampire’s Vengeance from the Backstage Pass altogether. Nay! In fact, A Vampire’s Vengeance will run alongside Bus Driver as bonus material. You will have your choice of reading both, or either or—whatever suits your fancy.
Children of the Damned, a different sort of vampire chronicle, is running across a number of different processes—each book of the core trilogy is in varying states of completion. This is being done alongside auxiliary work being written in support of the series through the lens of one of the main characters of book three. And this latter part is of such mystery, that it will not be revealed here until the completion of book three is upon us.
So what does this all mean? It means that there is much in the works, though very little ready for publishing as ebooks. It is possible that the Groundskeeper will be compiled into book form before Body Count is ready, but this remains to be seen.
Thank you so much for joining me on the explication of the mess backstage. We are doing our best here at the Calamity to ensure your pleasure, terror, and concern is at its peak when you consume the completed attractions.
And now, without further ado …
The Groundskeeper, Part XX
First time tuning in? Start here.
The last time we were with our protagonist, they had taken a jolly romp on an elevator which dropped them in the middle of a labyrinth. Not even the David Bowie kind of Labyrinth. More like the Severance kind of labyrinth. But more strange and not nearly as well lit. You can catch up with Part XIX here. Despite this, they appear to have what they were searching for! Or have they? Let us find out …
A wide walkway separates the room in two. To one side are stacks of chipboard coffins leaning against the wall. There are a ton of them. So many rows, starting at my left and running the entire length of the room. The stacks are in shambles, but the coffins look like they're intact. The other half of the room is split into different sections. Directly to my right are racks of different kinds of tools for gardening, digging, repairs in complete disarray. There seems to be zero organizational structure. All the tools are hanging from upper racks or leaning into lower ones, but without any sorting. The next section contains an assortment of building materials. Maybe for repairs as well? There's brick, wood, I dunno, all kinds of shit, and it is also haphazardly thrown together. The last section though. I'm already running toward it: coffin lids. Cheap chipboard coffin lids stacked roughly against the far wall.
And then I careen to a halt. Wait a minute. I can't just walk out of here with a lid. What am I going to do, stand on it to keep the zombie from getting out while I pull dirt down all around me? I turn around and walk back to the tool area and rummage around. Everything is so random and disorganized, it takes me the better part of half an hour to locate a hammer and a box of nails. I don't have fucking time for this! But what choice do I have in the matter? I need the hammer and nails, and it's not like I wanted to get lost in the labyrinth down here.
With hammer and nails in hand, I walk over to the chipboard lids. Tall stacks of them lean over and are barely held up by the smaller stacks next to them. The whole set up is precarious; if I grab the wrong lid, the whole thing might come crashing down on top of me. How does anyone get anything done around here? Then again, I'm the new hire, the replacement for someone that left who knows how long ago. If I manage to survive and I actually come back tomorrow night, I'm going to start tidying this place up. But one thing at a time: I gotta pick a lid.
I set the hammer and nails down in the center of the walkway and head back to the tool area. After a good amount of shifting things around, I emancipate a ladder buried under a pile of garden hoes and spades. This thing is quite a bit taller than I, and quite a bit heavier, but I manage to drag it over to the chipboard lid stacks. I find the tallest one and lean with ladder against it with care. I hope that by leaning into the stack, it will keep things in place long enough for me to retrieve a lid from the top and then get far enough away before disaster strikes, should the leaning tower of lids decide to topple.
I climb the ladder and tug at the lid on top, working it over the stack and trying to lower it to the ground. This is all fine and good, but I miscalculate how long the lid the lid is and end up dropping it. The corner of the lid hits the floor, a loud crack erupts from the chipboard, and the whole thing just disintegrates.
Well fuck me.
Good thing there are a fuckton of these. I turn to the next one on the stack and take a little more care in bringing it down. Once it's teetering on the edge of the stack, I start to move down the ladder, switching my grip to the bottom, and lower it with me. The top drags on the stack until I have my feet firm on the ground, and then gripping the lid with both hands, turn it so it lies long ways next to the ladder, leaning against two of the stacks. I consider putting the ladder away but given the condition of the whole storage room in general, I decide to leave it. I'll figure out what to do with it when I return, provided, of course, that I survive this shift.
I swoop up the hammer and nails and hoist the chipboard lid under one arm. I'm ready to return the zombie to its grave. Now, how the fuck do I get out of here?
How the fuck will they get out, indeed? With all the twists and turns it took to arrive, how will they ever find their way back? Or will they, perhaps, die in the curious and endless halls of the subterranean labyrinth? Only one way to find out! Read Part XX here.
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What’s Published and Where You Can Find It
Tales From the Odds ‘n’ Endings Boutique
The Proprietor—a timeless individual of many faces, few scruples, and a whole lot of character—runs the Odds ‘n’ Endings Boutique, dealing in artifacts containing peculiar traits. These are the tales of the Boutique’s patrons.
Calypso
Calypso is the reimagining of Immortality, the first story ever written in the Odds ‘n’ Endings universe, and the third to be published in it. Come and brave the journey with the narrator as they realize too late the cost for an otherwise interesting acquisition. Now available:
Showdown at Sunrise
A merchant finds himself in a bind when he manages to survive a duel. A chance encounter in an odd shoppe may just be the luck he needs. The question is, will this luck hold out?
A western with a little bit of magic and a whole lotta gumption.
Vegas Rift
A woman searches for her long lost husband. This is currently the most popular Mad Alex short story.
Other Stories
The Artist’s Spell cover
Final Encounter Cover
Final Encounter
A parent searches frantically for their daughter who has disappeared in their house.
Postscript
Well isn’t this one special edition? So much to discuss in Attractions in Development, and that isn’t even everything! What about Rise of the Warlock Queen? What about Last Resort? This isn’t the space to discuss those, and so I’ll simply say that they are also in progress, but not as high a priority as the others listed above. What’s important to note is that this publication is evolving, and I’m hoping it is evolving to your liking. I am very interested in your feedback, mind you. Are there things you enjoy as they are? Are there things you would like to see? Please please please TELL ME. I don’t beg often, but I am begging now. Also, if you are on the butterfly app, come follow me! You can find me on Bluesky here.