Author - Dana Lockhart

Moving Up - Or At Least Around - in the World

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 19:45:00 +0000

I’m getting more and more serious about making writing my full time career, so I’m taking anything and everything that will help me achieve that dream. Which leads to three big announcements:

I am now a writer/game reviewer for SipReadRepeat

I was accepted into the Medium publication “Curiosity Never Killed the Writer”

I was officially voted in as the president of the Hannibal Writers Guild this month

My Growing Professional Gamer Status

It was all well and good writing gaming articles for exposure with DVS. I really didn’t mind at all. I got a load of worthwhile experience and I came out the other end feeling like I got significantly better at writing journalism. I went from every article I wrote having problems - passive voice, high Flesch-Kincaid reading scores (meaning my writing was too complicated), not enough transitions - to almost every first draft being in the green light with all these things. My writing was trained over time to be better just with simple practice.

But times change and exposure and experience wasn’t enough anymore. I need more writing side gigs that actually pay. I’m still recovering from unemployment and struggling to put anything into savings.

And then along came SipReadRepeat, a blessing from out of nowhere. I was contacted by a local colleague of mine from my writers guild who used to be an editor for DVS and is now working with Sip. He approached me about a paid writing opportunity, and I was like, hell to the yes. Sign me up!

The logo for SipReadRepeat. It's coffee!

At the moment the monetary perks are pretty slim (but hey, better than the last gig and better than Medium crumbs), but the gaming perks are even better. I got 4 free review codes in 2 weeks. Almost more games than I can handle! And already more games than I got with the other site.

SipReadRepeat mostly focuses on indies, and I’m mostly focusing on reviews. You might see me do a top 10 or something now and then, but I want to mostly focus on reviews. I enjoy analyzing stories and details, not only because I legit just like it, but I find it a good exercise for studying how other people tell stories so I can apply the techniques to my own.

You can check out my profile on Sip here and see the two reviews I’ve already done. More are on the way!

Writing on Medium for Crumbs

I was recently introduced to how Medium actually works by my good friend, Josh. It’s basically a multi-person blog where you can post anything you want, really. But what makes Medium unique - and a great platform to get into - is that you can submit your blogs to “publications,” which I’m going to compare to facebook groups or pages. People follow these publications, giving you an audience that is more likely to read your stuff. If you’re polite and have a great idea, these publications will let you post to their page. Curiosity so kindly accepted me as a writer and I currently have 2 posts in their publication. They still have to approve my submissions (one has been rejected so far, boo), but it’s something.

Medium also has its own partnership program, that is, a way to get paid for your writing. Depending on how many people view your post (and more importantly, how many people actually stay on the page long enough to read it) determines how much money you make on your post. It’s nothing miraculous, believe me. I heard from Josh that he’s gotten $5 from one of his posts. Myself, my record for one post is 30 cents so far. But as I get more used to the platform, get into more publications, and develop my marketing strategy, I hope to make Medium a decent side-gig.

My strategy, for the moment, is to “import” my stories. Firstly, I post them on my blog (for you loyal readers to see first), and then I import the post into Medium. When you do this, a link generates at the end of the post saying something like “originally published on www.danalockhart.com on [this date].”

I like this for three reasons. One, it easily directs new readers to my website, where they will then hopefully see my other works (my novel and my gaming articles). Two, it more firmly stamps a copyright on my posts. Of course, you retain the rights to anything you publish on Medium, but it never hurts to have a little extra coverage. And thirdly, if Medium ever shuts down without warning, I’ll still have copies of my posts on my own website to submit elsewhere.

Getting a Promotion - Sort Of

Since June 2019, I’ve been the acting (or interim) president of the Hannibal Writers Guild. The spot was vacated when I was the elected VP, so the job fell to me to keep the young guild going. It was difficult due to losing the secretary/treasurer at the same time, too, leaving me as the only officer, but I accepted the role wholeheartedly. After all, I wasn’t going to be blamed for the organization to die, no sir. If anything, I was going to make it thrive.

Did you know I made the HWG logo? I did!

I was already doing a lot as a vice president to manage the guild. My hands were in marketing, document handling and creation, and being a leader in general. Really the only thing I didn’t have my hand in was finding speakers to talk at the meetings; that had been all handled by the president. For good reason; despite my lucrative advances in getting out of my shell over the past couple years, I was still an awkward introvert on the inside. Approaching people I barely know to do a favor for me? Preposterous.

But I pushed through it, and more than that, I succeeded. We went from having 4 regulars to our meetings to 8. That might not sound like a lot, but it’s technically double, and a pretty great group of people for discussion and feedback. Not too big, not too small. I’ve even been hosting weekly NaNoWriMo write-ins this month, thinking that maybe like 3 people (including me) would show up to them. No! There’s been an average of 6 people at every write-in so far, regulars and newbies alike.

With a decent number of members, it was time to try and fill in the other open officer positions. My title became official at this month’s meeting. I am now the president of the Hannibal Writers Guild. Which sounds pretty cool when you don’t look too closely at the numbers. Hannibal, Missouri - America’s hometown, the inspiration of the famous author Mark Twain, a place where stories are born.

In short, I’ve got a lot more on my plate than the recent past. But hopefully, one or more of these things will pay off in the near future.

The writing journey has only just begun.

-Dana Lockhart

I’ve Never Won NaNoWriMo, And That’s Okay

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 16:13:00 +0000

National Novel Writing Month. It is both the bane of writers and the savior. Write the rough draft of a novel in one month, they said. It’s 100% possible, they said. It will be fun, they said. I don’t know who they are, but they’re a totally different type of person than I am.

After four years of participating, I’ve never won a single year of NaNoWriMo yet. And I’m perfectly okay with that. Sure, NaNo might have all these rules and expectations, but in the end, it’s your goals that matter, not theirs.

When Is the Best Time to Write? Write now!

My goal for NaNoWriMo has always just been to write. Almost always, NaNo has been my excuse to either finish a story I was already working on, or at least make a big dent in it. If I’d been unable to get a word down for months, November became the dedicated month to get over that.

Sure, I kept that 50k finish line in mind, too, but it was never my actual goal. NaNo and me, we don’t mix very well. The arguably biggest rule of NaNoWriMo is to never edit what you write. Just vomit out your words and worry about their quality later. If you manage to have a pile of 50k words by the end of November, maybe some of those words will be worth keeping.

This “write first, ask questions later” way of doing things is not my method at all. I’ve been writing since I was 12 years old, and the technique I’ve found that helps me feel both motivated and sure of myself is to edit as I go. If I write 3,000 words one day, the next day I will read and edit those 3,000 words before continuing. When I finish a few chapters, I will go back and edit those before starting on the next one.

This method of constantly looking back at where I’ve been helps me figure out where I’m going. As you get further into a story, the more likely you’ll leave plot holes and inconsistencies behind. I find that frequently re-reading what you have already written helps to keep your story fresh in your mind so you’re less likely to make those kinds of mistakes.

Keeping Spirits Up Even When Word Count Is Down

Re-reading also does wonders for my self esteem. One of the biggest problems I have with the no-editing style of NaNoWriMo is that my inner critic just won’t shut up. It says that if I’m not making each word the best it can be as I go then there’s no point in writing. That if I do somehow finish my novel it will be a steaming hot pile of unredeemable garbage.

If I don’t edit at least every 10k words, then my motivation grinds to a halt. I not only feel like a worthless writer, but my ideas stagnate. The finish line might still be in sight, but it is suddenly on the other side of a bottomless chasm, and I with no knowledge on how to make a bridge.

But if I go back, reevaluate, remind myself of what I have managed to do so far, then I continue my journey. Unfortunately, this method pretty much guarantees that you won’t win NaNoWriMo. Abandoning your words behind you helps to propel you fast enough to get through the challenge in a month’s time. Adding on re-works, re-writes, and other editing slows you down to a crawl.

In the end, I would rather say that I wrote quality 20k words in one month than 50k sub-par ones.

Only You Can Set Your Own Goals

I am, without a doubt, not going to win this year’s NaNoWriMo, either, because that’s not my goal. And that’s okay. Whatever methods or techniques work for you are going to work infinitely better than what someone tells you to do. You don’t have to go by anyone’s rules but your own.

Winning or losing NaNoWriMo doesn’t matter. What does matter is how you feel about yourself when it’s all over.

And if we’re going by that measure, then I always win NaNoWriMo. Always.

-Dana Lockhart

A Closer, Spoiler-Free Look at Blood Knights

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 19:13:00 +0000

-The Story, The Legend, The Blood Knight-

I’m super duper excited by this, guys. The Blood Knights series, as I have said multiple times, is the most vivid world I’ve ever created. It’s so alive that I don’t quite feel like I’m in control of it. More than once a character has veered off on their own chosen path against what I had originally intended. Villains grew up to be heroes, heroes turned out to be villains. New characters I didn’t have in the original concept just popped out of nowhere demanding to be seen. It’s been a wild ride to see all the stories unfold.

The Blood Knight is the first in the intended trilogy. It centers on Archer Mathews, a vampire hunter that makes a grave mistake and is turned into the thing he hates most. The thing is, he should have died instead. Hunters are almost a breed of supernatural beings of their own, with fast reflexes and heightened senses tuned into finding evil, and something in their blood won’t let them be corrupted into monsters. The clashing natures will ultimately kill them. But Archer survives, becoming the legendary Blood Knight, a being so rare that it has been mostly forgotten by all but the oldest of vampires.

A being belonging to both worlds is a high commodity, and it puts a target on Archer’s back. If his condition isn’t kept secret, the Hunter’s Association will order his execution. If the vampire covens find out, he will be used for information, whether willingly or by force. But being a newborn vampire is a problem all on it’s own. Dealing with hunger, sunlight, and other vampires has its deadly challenges.

While Archer tries to get his new un-life (see what I did there?) together, he uncovers the dark plots unfolding in the city of Danube. As his secret gets harder and harder to keep hidden, Archer is faced with a choice: stay true to himself and keeping hunting monsters, or give into the dark beast growing inside of him. If he’s the mythical “blood knight” the Bathory thinks he is, then the wrong choice could be the downfall of the entire city of Danube.

-The Next Stage of Progress-

While I’m waiting for Patty to get back to me on my query, I’m continuing as though she will pass. It never hurts to have a backup plan. I’m refining and editing the story more for another go around with agents or to prepare for self-publishing.

Right now The Blood Knight is being read by 3 “alpha readers.” I say alpha because they are all writers and I’m looking for basic editing and storytelling advice before I pass it along to beta readers. Beta readers should ideally be that - readers - to get a sense of what a real reader would think of a book.

And so far it’s going pretty great. I’ve gotten a few updates by two of the alpha readers and word is generally good. A few consistency errors here and there (as to be expected at this stage), but the majority of the comments are good news. To paraphrase a few of my favorites, it’s been compared to the rich world of Dresden Files. More than once a sentence was highlighted to be “powerful.” But my favorite of all, is that in response to using a swear, an alpha reader basically said that the writing was too pretty to be using that swear. Cracked me up!

Once the alpha reading is completed and I make final changes, I will reevaluate my next steps, which will probably be another round of queries. Exciting!

-Getting Ready for Part II-

With NaNoWriMo just around the corner, I’m prepping for Book Two of Blood Knights. It is as yet untitled, but it will pick up after the events of book one. This time, though, instead of only having Archer’s perspective, I’m planning on jumping heads in my third person limited. Archer will remain a solid focus of book two, but we’ll also get to see through the eyes of other characters. Pretty much all of them at some point. I’m particularly excited about getting into Archer’s best friend’s head and the mischievous coven leaders, too.

Over the next several days, I’ll be jotting down ideas, scenes to include, motivations and other concepts to bounce off of as I participate in NaNoWriMo. Hopefully, I’ll have enough material to make a big dent in book two in November. I’m hoping I’ll get more book one alpha reader feedback by then to get an idea of what readers might want in a sequel.

Be looking out for a NaNoWriMo update once November hits.

Be my buddy?

-Dana Lockhart

Traveling Back in Time to June 2019

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 01:20:00 +0000

-My Second and Final Gateway Con-

It is with a heavy heart that I write this, because the wonderful convention known as Gateway Con has officially been cancelled, probably forever. The three-day writing retreat I’d recommend first above all other writing conventions is being replaced with a one-day writing retreat, "Writers in the Park."

The situation is disappointing to say the least. Supposedly, it wasn’t making enough money to sustain itself. I’d argue that money isn’t the point, it’s inspiring and educating prospective writers, that the friendships we made along the way were worth more, but unfortunately it’s not my call. Goodbye, Gateway Con. I will miss you. You helped me become the writer I am today. Hopefully Writers in the Park will be half as fun.

But with bad news comes good, and here’s my trip back in time to Gateway Con 2019 and the events that transpired.

-Meeting Old Friends and Making New-

This year was different in so many ways. Gateway Con 2018, my first con I attended, came right after a major tragedy in my life. Despite trying to be excited in making the first major step in pursuing a writing career, it was hard for me to truly enjoy myself with the fresh wound on my heart. Still, I made lasting friends there and don’t regret it for a second. I could barely wait for the next year to come around.

Gateway 2019 was me letting loose in the best of ways. I was grinning ear to ear all weekend. It marked my very first book signing, the debut of The Un-Life of William Moore. I "made table," as they say, which is more than I could have hoped for. I met three times as many people as the year before, many of them I’ve continued to talk to since.

Photo by Joshua Skurtu (another awesome writer friend in the left corner).

The first person who ever bought my book (talking ‘bout you, Wells!), was an energetic vegan who wrote literary fiction so beautifully it almost made me cry. I reconnected with a fellow vampire writer I met the year before (that’s you, Shailo!) who I’m even better friends with than before. Then, of course, there was the two other Ryans taking the place of my good friend Ryan who couldn’t attend. And last but not least, for the first time I met my wonderfully naughty table-neighbor, Leigh Savage, whom I’m car-pooling with to the Grown Up Book Fair this weekend.

-Round Two: Pitching to Agents-

But I wasn’t just at Gateway Con to make friends and sell books. I was there to try and publish my next book, the first installment of Blood Knights. It’s the most vivid world I’ve ever created and I’m very proud of it. I truly believe it is worthy of traditional publishing - I just wasn’t expecting agents to be so positive about it too!

I spoke to three agents: Patty Carothers, Kortney Price, and Jennifer Chen Tran. All three of them reacted above and beyond what I reasonably expected. While I didn’t get a full manuscript request from any of them, all three of them loved my pitch and what I was pitching. I felt like I was outright glowing from the praise. Jennifer was excited about it even though she didn’t rep the genre. “I wish I did rep it!” she had said, and she gave me some contacts from her agency to try. Score.

Both Patty and Kortney requested the first 3 chapters and 25 pages, respectfully. I sent all requested material at the same time. Within two days Kortney rejected me. I’ll say that again: within two days. That is amazing! I’m not even mad! The fact that she got to me within two days tells me that she was likely excited to receive it. Or it just means she wasn’t that busy, but I like to try and stay positive. She said it reminded her too much of Supernatural (not sure why that’s bad, but fair, I suppose). I’m still waiting to hear from Patty, but fingers crossed. As far as the recommendations from Jennifer, I’m going to be querying them in the near future if I don’t hear from Patty soon.

I will say - pitching this year was easy. I’d already met Patty and Kortney the year before so I half-way knew them. It made the experience less stressful and more conversational. For each agent I had ample time after the pitch to actually just talk to them before my time was up. So for prospective writers out there too scared to pitch face-to-face to an agent - just jump in and do it once. It will be easier the second go around. Consider your first a test run if you need to. Just do it; you won't regret it!

-The Story of Blood Knights Continues-

Stay tuned for my next blog post talking in more detail about my Blood Knights series and where I’m at with it. It’s gonna be a good one!

Don’t forget; your writing community it out there - all you have to do is find it!

-Dana Lockhart

Onward and Upward

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Sat, 19 Oct 2019 01:39:00 +0000

I didn’t talk about it a lot because I was honestly terrified - but this year I lost my job at no fault of my own and was unemployed for 6 months.

At the same time, I was investing in my book, which was also scary. Like, what if I dump too much money into the book and then never see it turn around? As the days drug on without a steady income, I tried to stay positive and kept grinding no matter how dismal things looked. And eventually I came out of the other side.

-A New Job - A New Start-

As of mid-September, I am an administrative assistant at a not-for-profit that helps my local community. While the organization does many, many things (including but not limited to bill assistance and low-cost healthcare), I am based out of the weatherization department.

What is weatherization? I thought to myself when I saw the job opening. Basically it amounts to repairing homes so that they are more heating/cooling efficient. We also do things like replacing siding and roofing and making safety changes to homes that house the disabled. We help people.

And I love helping people. I’ve worked at a police department, I’ve tutored students, I’ve helped people publish books. If I can help people in my career I’m happier working. I could never work at an insurance company profiting off the poor, or a beauty company profiting off people’s insecurities.

I just care too much.

-Things Are Looking Better All the Time-

I love my new job and love what we do. My co-workers are great, the pay is decent, benefits are pretty sweet. I’m learning a lot more about construction and house safety. I’m doing a lot of billing/accounting-type work, which is something I’ve been eager to add to my resume. I’m one of those weird people that like numbers, watching them add up, and watching them grow.

With a steady foundation, I’m doing pretty good. Still slowly recovering from no income for a few months, but otherwise I’m getting along just fine. With one major worry off my plate, I’m able to concentrate on returning to normal with regular blog posts!

-Stay Tuned for My Next Project-

This is a short one, I know. But the next one will be longer, I promise. A lot has happened the past few months. Some good can come out of the bad.

Never stop moving forward!

-Dana Lockhart

Fun Facts About The Un-Life (Spoilers)

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 17:45:00 +0000

It's been a while! Hi! I've been busy with leading CampNaNoWriMo workshops and lots of book signings. But here I am today, ready to tell you a little more about my novel, The Un-Life of William Moore.

I highly suggest reading the novel before reading these "fun facts," as there are spoilers ahead. You can purchase the book at most all places you buy books, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your local book store.

-Fun Facts About The Un-Life of William Moore-

1) The novel is approximately 63k words. When I first “finished” the story, it only had 35k. Being so short and condensed, the story's pace was way too fast. The additional word count helped to slow things down, develop characters, and make it a more standard sized novel.

2) My first working title was “Billy the Vampire.” This title made it too obvious what the story was about, even though it conveyed the corny tone I wanted at the time. Later, I wanted to make it more subtle. I chose the official title (The Un-Life of William Moore) because it's a sort of spin-off of “The Life and Times of…” phrase. “Un-Life” was an interesting term I thought put a cool spin on it, and maybe leaves the reader wondering: what does that mean? It’s more than just identifying William as undead, but as someone that doesn’t have what you’d call a “normal” life. Maybe it isn’t even much of a life at all.

3) William Moore himself went through three last name changes. I was adamant on the first name – I wanted the vampire to have a very not-vampirey name in the playful name of Billy. Who will shake in their boots against a vampire named Billy? I thought it sounded like a kid’s name. The full first name, William, also suited what I wanted well because it’s a very common name. It's the 5th most common male name, which made Billy’s first last name, McArthur, strange. It wasn’t plain enough for plain ol’ Billy. So I changed it to Brown, the fifth most common last name to match the commonality. However, the name Brown gained a negative connotation for me later in my life, and I didn’t want Billy to have that name anymore. I debated over other common last names until I finally settled on Moore. I think it’s much better suited for him. Later, I also really liked how the chosen font for the cover made the W and M foil each other so well.

4) In contrast, Kaylah only went through one name change. Kaylah’s last name started out as some form of Stuart before it was Rhodes. I changed her last name because it didn't quite seem to fit, and it also sounded too much like "Kristen Stewart," who plays Bella Swan in Twilight. I originally spelled the first name Kaelah. It’s a unique spelling of a common name that I wanted to contrast with Billy’s super common name. But I thought Kaelah was a little too uniquely spelled, so I changed it to Kaylah last minute. The same rule applies with Alexandre – he and Kaylah are both spelled just a little out of the norm to make William seem just that more average.

5) My inspiration for The Un-Life of William Moore began with the concept of a normal monster. Not one that’s sexy or excessively aggressive like the norm is now, but a very human looking and acting monster. I took it a step further and tried to make a pathetic monster – too polite for his own good, super socially awkward, shy, plain to look at, and rather weak. But at the same time, I wanted to throw back to old school monster lore, not only literally in the form of powers and weakness, but to bring back the darkness, too. I wanted to bring back that being a monster was a curse instead of being something desirable. That all the downsides weren’t worth the longevity. That there’s nothing romantic about it. What I came up with was William Moore, one of the last vampires still struggling to survive the modern age where exposure and starvation is a constant threat every day.

6) Alyssa is named after a friend of mine with a multitude of talents that I hope to co-write a novel or two with someday. The character, though, isn’t really based off the real Alyssa. There could be similarities, but it was not intended. You might recall my "How Did I Get Here?" blog post where I talked about role playing on a forum. That’s where I met her. Our characters always somehow would be best friends and I think it says a lot about how well we write together.

7) The date that William Moore became a vampire is September 30^th, the birthday of my best friend from high school, Katie. Yes, the Katie from the dedication! She was supportive early on before the story was even finished and the first one to read it completely.

8) Professor Hark’s name is a subtle nod to Harker, as in Jonathan and Mina Harker, from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I find it an entertaining notion that possibly after the events in Dracula that the Harkers would take up the mantle of vampire hunting.I happen to know of several Harks in my area, which inspired the name when I realized how close it was to Harker. Previously, Professor Hark had been called some corny spoof of Van Helsing like Von Helen and other weird iterations I didn’t like. They didn’t sound like real names or sounded too close to Van Helsing and ruined the subtleness.

That is it for now! I might release more fun facts in the future, so stay tuned. Thank you for going on this writing journey for me. I'll talk about my trip to Gateway Con soon.

-Dana Lockhart

Preparing for Gateway Con 2019

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Sat, 08 Jun 2019 16:33:00 +0000

-My Second Year at Gateway to Publishing-

I had an amazing time last year at Gateway Con. I met some amazing people and also made a good friend (looking at you, android). I learned a lot and came home with pages of notes on how to improve my writing and my brand. After such an awesome experience, I couldn't wait for the next one to come around.

Though I pitched The Un-Life of William Moore to agents there, ultimately I decided to self-publish it. It's my first story, and as such it has the most of my heart and soul in it. While the changes some agents recommended weren't unreasonable, I wanted to remain as true as I could to what The Un-Life was to me.

Still, I applied what I had learned to the story. I connected with people that helped me improve it even further. I still came out of Gateway Con successful, in my mind.

This year I will also be having an author table/book signing, so if you're going to the Con, too, come see me! I'll be selling my paperback novel of The Un-Life of William Moore. Buy a paperback, and I'll give you a coupon for a free ebook version!

-Talking to Real Live Literary Agents-

While I'm excited to learn even more at this year's Gateway Con, I'm also not going to pass up the chance to pitch to agents face-to-face. It's a unique and priceless opportunity. Even if none of the agents want your story, they will still offer industry suggestions to help you query a future agent. If your pitch needed work, they'll tell you. If they know of an agent that might like it better, they might tell you.

It's not only a learning opportunity on how to perfect your book, but a good networking opportunity. One agent I'll be talking to doesn't like to represent adult fiction, but I know someone else within her agency does. It doesn't hurt to talk to them in hopes of getting a referral!

-Introducing, The Blood Knight-

I'll be pitching my series, Blood Knights, to agents at Gateway Con. You might recognize the story from my NaNoWriMo attempt this last November. It's the story of a vampire hunter that gets turned into the monster he hates most. It has the potential to be a three-part series, and I'm even trying to dream up a spin-off series (Moon Knights?).

I'm really excited about this story. It's the largest ensemble of characters I've ever handled, and I love every single one of them. They continue to surprise me with the details and backstories they unveil to me as I'm writing.

Blood Knights is also the most vivid and developed universe I've ever created. There are very hard rules on how the various cultures behave, how the the magic operates, and how law is enforced. I have a dictionary I made for myself to keep things straight, from identifying what a dowager vampire is to what age groups "millennial" and "aristocrat" vampire are. I even have character bios, identifying the motives, appearances, and affiliations of all the characters and more. I'd like to assemble all this information someday into a mock "vampire hunting guidebook" like the fictional one the hunters use in the novel.

To tide you over until I get some agent feedback on Blood Knights, enjoy this mock cover I made to represent the first book:

I like to have a visual representation of my novel when I'm talking to people about it, even if the real cover will look nothing like it when it's published. Not only that, but it feels more real to have a cover. Also it's cool!

See you at the Con!

-Dana Lockhart

Pre-Order or Get ARC Copies of "The Un-Life" Now!

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Sun, 12 May 2019 15:14:00 +0000

-Get An ARC Copy Now!-

I'm excited to announce that you can get a free review copy of The Un-Life of William Moore while supplies last. I only have 15 more copies to give away, so first come first serve.

A review copy is just that, for review. It's a bit of an "I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine" sort of thing. You'll get a free copy of the ebook in exchange for your promise to review the book on Amazon and Smashwords. This copy is e-book only and can be redeemed on Booksprout.

You'll have until June 13, 2019 to review the book, so about a month from this post date. If you happened to not be able to put it down and finish it by the release date, May 16, I would be eternally grateful for a review by that date. But that's entirely optional, as are reviewing it anywhere else (Barnes and Noble, BookBub, Kobo, etc, etc). If you finish your review early, just let me know and I'll make sure it gets up up.

To ask me for a review copy, message my Facebook page or comment on my Twitter post and I'll get back to you. Or simply find the book on Booksprout. Do let me know if you have any problems with redeeming your book. This is my first time using this site and I want to make sure it's a pleasant experience for everyone.

-Or, Pre-Order "The Un-Life"-

The Un-Life of William Moore will be released on May 16 for the ebook, and roughly that same day for the physical book (there's like an up-to 72 hour possible waiting period once you submit the book).

I'll be totally honest here, folks. I haven't really talked about it because I had hoped something would have happened by now. But I am currently jobless. The job I loved so much decided that they didn't need my position anymore and I was let go. It's been two months of applying to jobs like crazy and I haven't even gotten a nibble yet.

Most of my marketing budget went into book signing material, such as these banners for my table, bookmarks, and buying physical copies.

I've been pouring all my energy into making sure that this book is the best that it can be. It's been hard, frustrating, and a little bit heartbreaking. I'm not at all expecting to be a bestselling author overnight, but the slow uphill climb has felt nearly impossible to surmount. With little to no income, investing in marketing isn't really an option, so I've been grinding what free options there are out there.

But you can help. I'm embarrassed to actually ask for help like this, but purchasing my book would help a struggling artist in her greatest time of need. And if you're in a position like me, that's okay, I understand. If you can't buy the book yourself, please share the link with anyone and everyone. The best thing you can do for an indie author is to help let the world know they exist.

You're my hero,

-Dana Lockhart

Matte or Glossy, That is the Question

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 02:47:00 +0000

When I'm put in an unfavorable situation, I try to look on the bright side of things. More often than not, the bright side is always the same: a learning experience. Whether it's a bad breakup, a civil suit, or a risk like investing in my novel, there's always a learning experience. And I love learning.

I identify as a scholar, as a student, no matter if I'm enrolled in study or not. And this entire book adventure has been one heck of a learning experience. I always thought I was good at manipulating Microsoft Word, but I discovered new options and standards than what I knew before. Not to mention all the learning of how to write better to even get the book finished.

I received my first proof on April 16th for my novel The Un-Life of William Moore. Getting it proof-ready was a challenge in itself. I didn't embed fonts right the first time, had a bunch of hidden blank pages I had to deal with. But the first proof wasn't that bad. Needed some margin work, but otherwise it turned out splendidly. I fixed what I had to and then ordered another proof.

My second proof I got today, and it's even closer to finished than the last one. This time I got a glossy finish, whereas I got a matte version previously. Aside from a deeper black on the glossy (and the actual gloss), there's not that much of a difference visually between them. Matte is supposed to have more color detail, but the difference is hardly noticeable and isn't really a deciding favor for the final product. However, I didn't like how the glossy version started to curl so quickly when I only handled it gently for about an hour, whereas my aunt creased the matte book immediately and it still managed to bounce back to nearly flat again without much encouragement.

All in all, it's looking like matte is the way to go. It's also what my fellow KDP published author friend told me to get; that the industry standard is switching more towards matte than glossy. And I see his point. I am noticing a lot more matte book covers than glossy - either that, or they are a combination of the two with "spot UV coating" (which sadly KDP does not offer). I'm not a huge fan of the texture of KDP matte covers, but it's not too weird that I wouldn't use it.

Get a free bookmark with your purchase when you go to one of my book signings!

I'm working on more ways to talk about The Un-Life as we wait for the final release. The estimated release date has been moved forward by a month, landing us now at May 17th for release. However, it could possibly be even sooner. If I get back this next proof and it's perfect (which it should be, just did a little bit more perfecting of the margins), then I'll release the book immediately. It may be at least another couple weeks from now, though. I will definitely be ready for my June 14th book signing.

Don't want to wait? The Smashwords e-book version of The Un-Life of William Moore is available for pre-order now! Get the book in multiple ebook formats, from epub to pdb to mobi and more. It will be released May 16th unless I can get it released sooner. You can read the first 15% or about 10,000 words of the novel right now for free if you can't wait to sink your fangs into this story. Since there is multiple chapters in that sample, I have removed the excerpts and first couple chapters that I had posted on this website. Sorry!

Thank you again everyone who has been supporting me through this journey and helped me learn what I need to do to make all this happen. Now that I'm in the pre-ordering phase, I need to call out to you - yes, you - to help me make a successful book launch. If you see me sharing info, links, or pictures on social media, please share and like. The most important thing for an indie author is exposure, and the biggest part of that is the power of the fans and supporters of that author. Thank you for believing in me, now I need to believe in you.

Let's do this.

-Dana Lockhart

The Un-Life of William Moore Cover Reveal

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 16:47:00 +0000

After over a year since I started this journey, The Un-Life of William Moore will soon be available to put on your bookshelf. I already had an e-book cover, but to be able to hold this book in your hands I went back and got a spine and back added to it. A week of waiting was well worth it! Here is the official book cover for The Un-Life of William Moore:

I am so ecstatic about this cover. Thank you, again, Zakaria Nada, for working with me on making this book come to life. I didn't have a single complaint on the background of the back cover and am still in awe of how amazing it looks. If you need a book cover done, I highly recommend Zak and her watercolor style book covers. She has great turn around time and great taste. She also designed the bookmark (coming soon) that will come with this book when you buy it at one of my book signings.

-Book Signing Times and Locations-

Speaking of signings, I already have three book signings on the schedule and a potential fourth in the works. After this post goes live there will be a "Book Signings" link near the "Buy a Book" link on the main menu where you can find out where I'll be in person to sell books. You can ask me questions and get a custom message on your signed book if you wish, not to mention a free matching bookmark! Buying the book in person will be two or three bucks cheaper than buying it online so you'll not want to miss the opportunity to come to one of my book signings!

-Online Pricing and Availability-

And speaking of price, it's not 100% official yet, but it's looking like The Un-Life of William Moore paperback will be selling for $12.99 on Amazon. I haven't decided on the e-book yet, but it will likely be under $5.

"But what if you want a hardback?" I hear you asking. Well, it's in the works. I'm hoping to have a hardback version released sometime this fall. Right now I'm just really trying to push to get The Un-Life ready in some physical capacity by June, and for the moment that means only a paperback. It won't hurt my feels at all if you wait to buy the book when it comes out in hardcover. It will happen soon!

Thank you so much for sticking with me during the highs and lows of this journey. I hope you enjoy The Un-Life as much as I enjoyed making it. The Un-Life is expected to release June 14th, 2019.

-Dana Lockhart

#PAD: Poem a Day 2019

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 23:23:00 +0000

Life is crazy, but I've finally hit a little lull with The Un-Life of William Moore. She's in limbo as I wait for the cover to be done (it should be within a week!). So, now that I have some more free time, I've taken up a new writing challenge: PAD.

PAD is Poetry-A-Day, or NaPoWriMo. It's the poetry equivalent of NaNoWriMo, only instead of a strict word count spread over a month, you write one poem every day for the month of April. So far I've been able to keep up, albeit posting my poems rather late in the day on Twitter. I will start posting them to Instagram, too, but haven't yet because my background images for IG disappeared and it took me a while to find them.

I will post all of my poetry in a blog post at the end of the month to see if I managed to successfully write a poem every day. I prefer to write structured poetry, with beat, rhythm, and rhyme, but when put on the spot like I am with PAD it tends to be a little more free form. And more than a little angst-y, I've found.

I've also been writing more for DVS Gaming again, particularly in covering Magic the Gathering: War of the Spark announcements after PAX East 2019, as well as Borderlands 3 announcements. I've been missing writing articles because they are a good way for me to reset my creativity while still actively writing.

The Un-Life of William Moore is still on track for a mid-June release. I just got a bunch of stuff in the mail to trick out my book signing booth. Including new business cards! Check 'em out! I'm so so soooo happy with them.

My last cards were printed on flimsy card stock at a local printing place and I was unhappy with the result (and the price). I decided to give Overnight Prints a try, and I love it! They feel like playing cards. They're a stiffer card stock and have a matte finish on them that helps protect them. I'd definitely be open to buying from Overnight Prints again.

I'll continue to keep you updated on the progress of publishing The Un-Life. Next up will probably be the unveiling of the complete book cover! I can't wait!

-Dana Lockhart

You Can't Rush Art (At Least, Not Too Much)

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 21:52:00 +0000

I know, I know, I've dropped off the face of the earth. My articles on DVS dropped from four a week to maybe one if I'm lucky, and my blogging here has suffered, too. But I promise it's for a good reason.

-The Un-Life Coming June 2019-

The big reason that I've stopped my side-writing gigs is because I've gotten back my mini-edit of The Un-Life of William Moore. Applying the critiques is my number one priority right now. I'm in a rush to get everything done in time for Gateway Con to have my grand first book release there. And I'm a little behind schedule. I'm still on target for the June release, but I'm feeling the pressure.

Big thank you to Ryan P. Freeman for providing way more feedback than I anticipated. I ordered story editing and he still pointed out several copy-editing suggestions he didn't need to do. On one hand I'm glad he did more than I was looking for, and on the other I'm exhausted at the thought of all these things I should tweak. A bigger project than anticipated, but it will be worth it. I highly recommend Ryan's author services, so if you need something done, check out his website. He does marketing, editing, formatting, and more. The guy knows his stuff, listen to him.

I've talked to my cover designer and she's ready to take on making the back cover when I say "go." She's also going to do some other little things for me like designing The Un-Life-themed bookmarks. The rest will have to be a surprise. Partially because I'm not sure what all extras I'm going to cook up, but as many as the budget allows, I guarantee!

-Another Giant Step Forward-

I know I said it in my book cover release post over a year ago, but I'll say it again, and this time the feeling is even more intensified. This is happening. I put my foot down and am making it happen. I'm doing this author thing. My words will have a chance to live forever.

Knowing that this life-long dream is coming to fruition, I'm most excited about little things. The first thing I want to do after Gateway Con is to sign some copies of my book and donate them to the places that helped me along the way, starting with my high school library. My graduating class had 36 people in it. The nearest Walmart was a 45 minute drive away. My hometown had only one gas station. In a small town, you feel small. If you manage to leave, the world seems so big that it will swallow you whole. You feel even smaller.

But you don't have to be small forever. You can chase your dream, no matter how humble your beginnings were. In my valedictorian speech at my high school graduation, I said, "Don't wait for good things to come to you. Don't wait for your dreams to come true. Go out there and make it happen."

And that's just what I did.

And so can you.

-Dana Lockhart

I'm Working On It

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 20:15:00 +0000

I know it seems like I haven't been blogging much (because I haven't), but I am trying. I have five post drafts in the works right now and I'm not happy with any of them. And I don't want to just post re-hashed stuff I already posted on DVS Gaming like I did with my Lucifer article. So, if I can't come up with something entertaining, at least maybe I can come up with a post that's informative.

-It's Time to Bring The Un-Life to Life-

I am currently in the beginning stages to self-publish The Un-Life of William Moore. I discussed it with the agent I had been taking to, who gave me her blessing. As I told her, The Un-Life just feels like an old chapter in my life. I don't believe that I have the spark to force myself to edit it anymore. One, because I feel like the story is done and complete as is, two, there's just so much more I want to be doing. So instead of trying to change the story to what it isn't for the sake of being more mainstream, I want to self publish it.

But that doesn't mean I've given up on The Un-Life! Or that it's a sub-par product. I just don't want to edit it anymore. However, I'm all amped-up and ready to format, publish, and market it. There's not going to be a lack of spark to do that, and I'm excited for the challenge.

The Un-Life of William Moore is on it's final little mini-edit by a friend of mine who is pseudo-beta reading/content editing for me. One last little comb over to mostly catch inconsistencies (if any) I should address before publishing it. I'm mostly looking for if the story makes sense and concludes without any confusion. Hopefully it's pretty damn clean and I can format it, get a back cover made, and publish it.

The goal is to have it ready in June for Gateway Con 2019. If not then, then this fall sometime. Either way, definitely shooting for this year.

-The Next Chapter in Progress-

My main work in progress right now is finishing up book one of my Blood Knight series. I am hovering at around 70k words and want to wrap it up by 90k. I'd also really like to finish it and have it query-ready by the end of the year.

I'm super excited about Blood Knights because it's the richest world I've ever created. I have created laws to the universe that I must conform to and that's an exhilarating challenge. I have 19 pages of lore and definitions to help me keep my universe consistent.

The Winchester's journal. Image courtesy of the CW.

The best part of all of these notes is that I want to make a companion novel with all this information. The main character of Blood Knights has an employer-issued guidebook for killing vampires and I want to create that book in real life. Complete with illustrations, charts, and lore. Imagine a book like the Winchesters have in Supernatural. Like the fictional Necromonicon in Lovecrafian lore. Or even just that D&D book or Dragonology book about dragons. Maybe it would even have some notes from the main character in the margins...who knows.

I'd even like to add some information in it that isn't in the Blood Knights story...Like how to kill a werewolf or exercise a demon, which would lead into possible spin-off series...But we'll have to see! First I need to get the first Blood Knights book finished and published before thinking about all this other stuff.

Thanks for being patient with me and I hope to bring you more content soon.

-Dana Lockhart

Sympathy for the Devil: Why We Love the Fallen Angel

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 20:42:00 +0000

Image courtesy of Netflix

-The First Fallen Angel-

I binged the entire three seasons of Lucifer in two weeks. It completely flabbergasted me that a show about the Devil solving crimes actually worked. I am fascinated by the depiction of Satan in this show. He’s probably the most sympathetic version of the Devil I’ve ever seen. Thank God Netflix picked it up for season 4.

In the meantime, it has me thinking about Mark Pellegrino’s version of Lucifer in Supernatural. Even Sadao Maou in the anime The Devil is a Part-Timer. Why are all these characters so alive, sympathetic, and delightful to watch?

I previously explored why television has gotten so darkthese last few years. When thinking about the sympathetic modern devil, I believe there is a connection between these two thoughts.

Tom Ellis as Lucifer is the show “Lucifer.” Image courtesy of Fox.

-Humans Are Fatally Flawed-

A very common notion is that Satan has a hand in tempting people to sin. However, he’s not the only one. Vampires, demons, and other dark, supernatural creatures all represent the same thing, and we are fascinated by them. Like Bella Swan, we’re drawn to the beautiful and deadly because it’s everything we want to be. Wild and free and without consequence.

Yup, that's the terrifying/hot look.

The devil takes the prize for being the most tempting, I think, because he is an angel. If an angel can fall so far, what chance do we little humans have against battling sin?

Which makes Lucifer in his self-named TV show that much more fascinating to me. He enjoys playing human. Sure, he freely brags about being the most famous fallen angel of all, but he’s still playing human. He mingles, he has sex, he cries, and without meaning to, he falls in love. He’s such an interesting character because, despite being an angel, he acts so human.

I’m also constantly torn in Ellis’s portrayal between being very attracted to him and being absolutely terrified of him, which is right on the money for how I’d expect a real-life Lucifer to be.

-Dad’s Little Problem Child-

It’s really been emphasized in these modern renditions of the Devil that he is a misunderstood son of a strict father. Supernatural goes so far as to call Lucifer a brat throwing a temper tantrum. Pellergrino’s rendition of Lucifer is constantly fighting with his siblings and breaking Daddy’s toys because he feels wronged.

Mark Pellegrino as Lucifer in Supernatural. Image courtesy of CW.

For his first season, Supernatural’s Lucifer is a very sympathetic character. He appears to be acting in a way he feels he must, going down the path that was chosen for him. He plays his card of being the cast-out son guilty of loving his father too much. You feel sorry for him. He quickly turns that around and his true colors are shown, particularly at the end of Season 13 when he confesses in detail how much he loved smashing a girl’s head in with his bare hands.

Lucifer also showcases how the character is a bitter problem child. He, however, takes an entirely different path than his alter ego in Supernatural, and decides to veer off his chosen path. The renditions are very similar, but also very different. Both of them, to me, are very valid. As an atheist and a storyteller, I appreciate both representations daring to shed a light on what Lucifer feels about his position in the grand scheme of things.

-Misunderstood Intentions and Feelings-

The Devil is a Part-Timer is yet another interesting concept for the Devil. This Satan is from a different dimension and lord over a demon army trying to take over the world. He gets cast into our modern-day Japan without his powers and ends up having to crawl up the food chain by working at a knock-off McDonalds.

The Devil is a Part-Timer. Image courtesy of Netflix.

Now more or less human, this version of Satan, Sadao Maou, is forced to understand the humans he had been subjugating. He even says in the first episodes, “It makes me wonder if humanity is the basis for all life.” Occasionally, you see the evil demon king that he once was, but the impression given is that he is just going through the motions. Again and again he uses sudden surges in his power to save the humans around him in catastrophe.

Even in Blue Exorcist, another anime, we’re shown a flashback where the true intentions of Satan was to unite the demon and human world, to build the paradise that he and his lover dreamed of. In reality, he appears a madman, not realizing how damaging his dream is to his sons and their world, and not really caring, either.

-Sympathy for the Devil-

I think there’s a lot to learn about what it means to be human by retelling the story of the first fallen angel. Whether he’s someone we can sympathize with or someone we learn not to be like. When it comes down to it, the fallen angel Lucifer seems just as complicated as you and I are. Perhaps instead of asking “What if God was one of us?” maybe we could ask “What if Lucifer was one of us?”

-Dana Lockhart

[Article first appeared on DVS Gaming as "Sympathy for the Devil: Why We Love Lucifer in Television"]

Dana Harts: Age Matters

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 15:03:00 +0000

Welcome to another Dana Harts. This time I'm going to tell you how much I ♥ Age Matters!

Yes, it's another Line Webtoon. They make good stuff, kay? It is by Enjelicious. And my poor heart can barely take it.

Age Matters is centered around a 30-year old woman, Rose Choi, who recently went through a traumatic breakup with a man that told her she wasn't good enough. Now feeling like she's getting too old to start her life over again, she searches for what to do next. Through twists of fate she ends up getting hired by the young, rich, and handsome CEO of a facebook-like app to be his secretary. For a 23-year-old misunderstood billionaire, Daniel Yoon is quite a handful, acting much more the adult than she. Together, they might beat out rival companies or succumb to their budding feelings and ruin everything.

This webcomic is giving me very unrealistic expectations for men.

The best part of the story is that the characters are incredibly lively. Rose is a child-woman, not confident in herself after the breakup and stumbling around in life quite dramatically. She also has a lot of spunk and will call Mr. Yoon out on his bologna. Meanwhile, Mr. Yoon contains complicated feelings and is prone to bursts of anger and jealousy despite his own rules that there is to be no office romances under his watch. The other characters also have personalized drives and goals that make them come alive.

While the art in Age Matters is quite good, it's also a little flat. I've caught many times when the passive look of Mr. Yoon and Rose's surprised stare were copy and pasted into different panels. I'd call it out as lazy, but of most of the webtoons I've read on the site so far, Age Matters tends to have pretty long chapters so I honestly can't complain that much if it helps to move the story along faster. And while I understand that Mr. Yoon is supposed to be a no-nonsense stony-faced sort of person, it does feel like every time I see his face it's just the same image over and over again, even when it isn't a direct copy. The whimsy of "ooh, he's staring at her with hidden, conflicted feelings" died off around chapter 30.

These two images from separate chapters are almost exactly alike.

And in light of all of this, damn this story pulls on my heartstrings. And it's a different sort of pull. Normally in a story with an ambitious, beautiful woman getting doted on by multiple very attractive and very wealthy men I'd be feeling a sort of jealousy for the woman. Sort of a "why doesn't this sort of thing happen to me?" feeling. But with Age Matters, I more sympathize with the men and their restraint, unrequited love, patience, fear, hesitation, and uncertainty. It might just be the time in my life making me more inclined to sympathize with the dudes (I'm in a part of my life where getting what I want has proven difficult), but this story really rings true for me.

With that, too, there's so much shipping going on, I really don't know who to ship! That's never happened to me before. It's always pretty cut and dry who I support from the get go, and once I latch onto a ship I'm not very likely to change my mind. But with Age Matters, hell I'm rooting for all of them. I really can't decide. Though maybe some part of me just really wants a love triangle threesome to become reality. Why does that never happen, huh?!

Age Matters is still in progress with 39 chapters so far and one chapter release a week.

Now to find my next webtoon obsession while I wait for more updates. With Nobelese officially finished I need something to replace it.

-Dana Lockhart

All webcomic images in this post belong to the artist.

Why Not Be a Professional Gamer?

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 19:53:00 +0000

You may have already read my blog post about getting a gig at DVS Gaming as a game reviewer/writer. I first looked at the opportunity as a way to practice writing and bring attention to my author career. Now that I have entered the world of gaming deeper than I ever have before, I thought, why not take it even further?

-Welcome to the Stream Dream-

My friend Josh, who also writes for DVS, and I decided to take a swing at streaming. I've got a pretty decent rig and lots of games. I have got a tentative offer from the bossman to be a DVS streamer when I'm ready. All things considering, I've got a better foundation to work with than some people do in order to begin streaming.

Now I have absolutely no expectation for it to go anywhere significant. Any person that loves games and can talk to themselves for hours would like to make a living being a Youtuber, or whatever they call Twitch people. But I know very well that it's an unrealistic goal, a one in a million chance, something that will take up the time of a full-time job.

I do, however, dream that maybe all of my creative outlets could make me a living someday. Book royalties, getting paid for my articles someday, and streaming on top of it, maybe that could be a reasonable goal. Don't put all your eggs in one basket kind of thing. Besides, I like to have my fingers in lots of pies. I like to wear many hats.

-Where to Watch the Stream-

Check out my awesome new custom Xbox One controller
from Xbox Design Lab. So worth panicking about my
finances for December. It was on sale, okay?!

As of today I have ironed out the lag and glitches involved with streaming (I hope) and feel comfortable announcing how you can view my streams.

I stream to Youtube, Twitch, and my Facebook author page all at the same time so you can watch the stream on your preferred platform. Sometimes, depending on the game and the platform, I may stream exclusive content to only one of these platforms (such as PS4 games will be going to Twitch, and anything I do for DVS will only be on their Facebook page).

I'll give you a heads up when I'm about to stream and when the stream goes live on all my social media platforms. At this time I don't have a strict schedule when it comes to streaming due to still taking care of my dad, who is recovering from a critical injury. I stream when I find the time and feel talkative, which can be anywhere from twice a day to once a week. When life settles down a little more, I will make a more consistent schedule.

-There Will Be Bumps in the Road-

If I am unable to get a good stream due to a really resource intensive game, I may record and upload later, and I'll announce when I do that. It takes some of the load off so I can make a higher quality product.

I try to monitor the Facebook stream for comments on my audio being too quiet or too loud and whatnot. I'll say hi if you do! Once I start to generate an audience or join in with DVS, I'll implement a live chat that I will pay more attention to.

At this time I do not have a webcam, but I will be getting one in the conceivable future. I'm just a little broke right now and can't afford it. In addition, there's no current way to donate to me because I'm not worth it yet. When I think I've gotten this whole thing right and settled into it maybe I'll consider opening up donations. But I've got to earn it first.

-What I'll Play, What I Won't-

As far as what I will be streaming, it will vary. I want to regularly stream Magic Arena at least once a week. I'd love to do a complete lets play of all three Borderlands games. Josh and I will be streaming Minecraft and some other multiplayer games together probably once a week.

Any game that I find awesome is a possibility. Games I find awesome are usually PvE related, whether it's survival or campaigns. What I won't be streaming are those big, popular games that are battle royales, MOBAs, and MMORPGs. There are some exceptions to those rules, but in general those are the kicks. I just don't find them fun, and if I'm not having fun, you won't be having fun.

Some games not already mentioned I will definitely play at some point or another, lumped into similar play styles:

Don't Starve/Oxygen Not Included
Spyro/Crash Bandicoot/Banjo Kazooie
Doom/DmC
Elder Scrolls
Slime Rancher
The Binding of Isaac
Terreria/Stardew Valley
And More...

I've already had some successful test streams you can view on Facebook and Youtube. At this time I have four Magic Arena streams, a small Don't Starve stream, and part 1 of a DmC let's play you can watch right now. There's also some Minecraft streams I did with Josh.

-Shout-Out to All You Awesome People-

Thank you, all friends and viewers who have been patient with my laggy test streams. I look forward to bringing you modestly entertaining entertainment!

Let's have some fun!

-Dana Lockhart

Why I Failed NaNoWriMo

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Fri, 30 Nov 2018 15:29:00 +0000

I'm going to go ahead and call it because there's no way I'm hitting 50k by Saturday. I'm currently sitting on 17,500. I gave up on November 12th. And I'll tell you why.

-I'm Not a Word Vomiter-

Never have been, never will. I hate vomiting out words without going through and editing as I go along. It slows things down by the time you start reaching 10k words.

But I did manage to push through that because I was excited to write. I wanted to just crank out the story and go back and edit later. I wanted to. But when I tripped and failed to make the daily word count my dislike for word vomiting returned. I realized I was about 5k words away from reaching the end of what I had planned for my novel and suddenly wouldn't know where to go from there.

-I Didn't Quit, I Just Shifted My Focus-

At that point, I decided to change my goals for NaNoWriMo. What I had wanted from NaNo all along was just to finish book one of my novel, Blood Knights. So I chose to abandon the 50k goal and just focus on finishing the book, which probably only needed another 30k when NaNo started. I felt like this would still be a win to me.

And it would have been. If there wasn't that lack of pressure to write anymore. A daily minimum word count to get to 50k made me find the time to write. Now with just the goal to "finish" I felt no drive to find the time. I had planned on attending write-ins twice a week all month but only ended up going to three because things have come up. I'm still probably at least 20k away from finishing Blood Knights.

-But That's Okay, and I'm Okay-

But I really can't beat myself up about it. My life has been a catastrophe all year. I was hurt by people I trusted and loved, I almost lost my dad, I totaled my car, and I'm dancing on the edge of financial crisis.

And when I had a four day weekend over Thanksgiving I spent every minute of it doing what I wanted to do. I hung out with my dad, so thankful to have him around. I baked because I felt like it. I played so many video games without the crushing weight of responsibility bothering me. I wrote for DVS Gaming, which I had been missing while writing NaNo. My stress temporarily went away as I took some me time to recoup from all the horrors I've faced this year. I loved every minute of it.

It's all probably just an excuse, but 2018 hasn't been the year for me to advance; it's been the year to try and stay standing. I have been putting effort towards my writing goals this November (The Un-Life wasn't totally rejected by the agent, I crank out articles for DVS, I've run writers guild events). But honestly, there's something so much more important in my life right now than my books. Taking care of my dad while he recovers from his critical injury. Taking the time to recover from my own trauma and hardship.

-Next Year is Another Story-

I feel like 2018 had to have been the bottom for me, and there's only up to go from here. And in 2019 I'm going to keep following my dreams, the first and foremost of those getting a book published. I'm sorry that my promise to bring my first novel to life in 2018 didn't come true. But this is certainly not the end. I might have been delayed, but this is still happening.

I am going to concentrate on finishing Blood Knights and making the tweaks to The Un-Life that I feel it needs. But I'm also going to have other fun, too. I'm having a great time writing articles for DVS Gaming and usually crank out a handful every week. I have a big announcement coming up on another project I'm working on, so stay tuned. Even if you might not read my novel for a little bit yet, there's still ways to support me and enjoy what I put out there. Keep an eye on my social media pages, where I post my articles when they go live.

Thank you for being patient with me as I get my life together,

-Dana Lockhart

How to Get Through the Dreaded Block

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 15:31:00 +0000

I’m writing now about trying to get through writer’s block because I’m currently in a writer’s block, but I don’t even really have any business writing about getting over writer’s block because I’m not very good at it myself.

So let’s dive right in!

-Write Something Else-

First off, even when I’m in a writer’s block, I still try and exercise my ability to write – like doing this blog! I journal daily and can easily punch out 3-5k words per day just talking about what I did the day before. It’s probably needlessly detailed so that if I ever re-read my journal when I’m 60 I’m going to wonder why I thought it was important to mention how I bought this brand of milk at this specific store after work that one day 40 years ago to make this certain kind of dessert.

So if something can be learned from that – even if you have no creative spark to write a story, try and write something that you can word vomit. If not journaling your own life, write about what you thought about the latest episode of that Netflix series you’ve been binging. Make up a review of a product you used recently. Recap a novel you just finished as if you were going to try to explain it to someone. It helps to find something you’re opinionated about and can rant about for ages. Maybe even try to write your dump in a certain way, if you feel up to that much creativity – such as writing it in the way you think a character would. Use slang, be super proper about it, write it from the perspective of a kid, anything. And it’s perfectly fine to not share your word vomit or even save it – it’s all for helping you, no one else. Unless you want to share!

If you’re only stuck on one story, try to work on a different one. See if it’s your entire creative system clogged up or just a certain story that’s causing you trouble. Exercise those creative muscles and make a dent in another work. Maybe even start a new one, if you can. When you’re feeling a little more confident, try and read and edit the one that you’re stuck on (assuming you’ve already started it); maybe you’ll notice something you wrote that could be returned to later in the story. Maybe you learned something from your other works and can apply it to the one you’re stuck on.

-Utilize Your Writing Community-

When I’m struggling to get through a part of a story, a lot of times I like to reach out to other people to see what they would do next to try and spark off ideas. Start a brainstorm session. I recommend finding a fellow author, or someone that loves binge watching dramatic TV shows. Even if all the ideas flop, at least it got your juices flowing. I went into a brainstorming session without even having writer’s block and came out of it with enough ideas for content for like, two sequels to a novel I was writing, without even actually discussing the story in question. Just getting all the creativeness hyped up was enough to start the storm in my own brain.

-Switch From Writing to Reading-

And this one is more of an opinion than anything, because I have a hard time finding the time to pick up a book much anymore to test this theory – if you can’t write, try reading. Perhaps the words will be as inspirational to your creativity as a brainstorming session with another person. The book is your person. Metaphors, yeah.

I also like to think that reading serves as a good way to study writing. A lot of the finesse of English language can be picked up and understood just by experiencing it. And sometimes that’s the only way to learn certain aspects of it. Sometimes English makes no damn sense outside of practice. If you’re still having trouble, I’d almost even recommend looking for something bad to read – find a free smut story on Amazon, and after a few pages of illogical characters and improbable situations and glaringly obvious grammatical errors, your confidence in writing will boost, and hopefully with it, your creativity. Nothing quite strokes your ego and your inspiration like thinking you can do better than that.

-Try Listening to Music or Making a Playlist-

Music could maybe even do the trick. It certainly motivates me to clean house a lot better than if there was just a silent void. Try listening to music that sets the mood for what you’re trying to write (I really like to customize themed Pandora stations), or when in doubt, try listening to something that lifts your mood and gives you confidence. I don’t ever not suddenly feel like hot stuff when I am jamming to “Uptown Funk.” Maybe you’ll even find inspiration by listening to a song; “99 Red Balloons” really makes me want to write a world falling to pieces because of some kind of misunderstanding. Really listen to it, man; it’s a goddamned beautiful masterpiece of science fiction as well as something really sweet to dance to.

Something that I've found very good to listen to while writing is "video game music compilations" on Youtube. Fruddle and SuperRedGames have some really good playlists anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours long. I found one Final Fantasy compilation that's 9 hours long! NINE HOURS. And every second if it is beautiful. Video game music is perfect for writing because it's background music for games and is meant to be beautiful, subtle, and empowering to help you get through the game. So why can't it be the background music for your life?

And if you still can't get the words out, try and make a playlist for your book/short story/whatever it is you are writing. Find songs that fit the mood, theme, or story of your work and assemble them into a playlist. Listen to it, share it, have fun with it. Just get excited about your writing.

-Work on Your Own Story-

And then, maybe, if you still can’t get going on your story, just try working on your own story – you! Get out, have an adventure, get some experience. Observe, listen, absorb. In the very least, maybe going out and having a little fun was just the kind of break you needed. If you look hard enough, you’ll find a charismatic, weird, or funny character in a real person that could serve as a basis for a written one. Maybe you’ll stumble upon a scenic spot that looks like a setting you could write about. By chance something could happen to you that would be a good scene or premise for a story.

In my writing, I find so many fine details of a story end up being plucked from my own life – like a character loving sausage and onion on their pizza because I know someone that always orders it like that. Something as simple as a detail like that can turn into your characters going to get pizza and then shenanigans happen. Maybe their order was wrong, maybe they had to go back, and one character wants to be bad cop and the other wants to be good cop in efforts to get a refund. You can just go on and on until you hit your next block.

Rinse and repeat.

-Dana Lockhart

Looking for Distractions from NaNoWriMo?

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 16:59:00 +0000

It's Day 6 and the drive to complete that novel is dissipating. You're looking for distractions to keep yourself from writing. Here is a list of 5 distractions so that you can just do them and get them out of the way so you can get back to writing. I'm trying to focus on productive distractions so that you're still keeping those creative juices flowing, even if it's not towards your novel.

-Write a Blog Post-

Got a website? Write a blog post. I'm totally not distracting myself from my own novel right now. Nope. Totally not. Try and focus your blog post in the NaNoWriMo direction: talk about the novel you're writing, the progress you've made, how many activities (writing sprints/dares) you've participated in, or tips you think would help someone complete their goal. Try and be that inspiration for someone else to get back at it, as well as yourself.

-Peruse the NaNoWriMo Website-

There's a lot of little creative things to do on the NaNo website. I just submitted my novel to the 30 Days, 30 Covers event. If they end up picking up your novel to do a cover for, imagine the confidence boost that would give you to get you to that 50k mark. It's free publicity, too, if you're planning on trying to get it published later. Deadline to enter is November 15.

Participate in some forum stuff. Just takes a few minutes to post all your social media handles in the appropriate forum to unlock the Conversing badge and get some people interested in you. There's also plenty of other forums to talk about any number of things, from genres to writing tips to role playing to critiques and more. Find some new buddies.

And speaking of badges, flesh out your NaNoWriMo profile by updating all the personal achievement badges such as declaring yourself a panster or planner (or both), confessing that caffeine is what is getting you through the day, or that you've been procrastinating in new and amazing ways. Be sure to fill out the rest of your profile if you haven't already, or update it if you've made a change to the story.

-Get Out and Talk to People-

Andy Weird just did a NaNo pep talk telling you not to tell your friends or anyone else that will listen about your story. "Telling your story to friends verbally satisfies that need for an audience, and it diminishes your motivation to actually write it." I'd take it with a grain of salt. When I tell people about my book, I get excited to write it. I want to pump it out faster so they can read it. Every time I tell them "Well, I can't spoil it" I want to write it even more so that they can experience it themselves, too. So try it. Talk to someone, and more likely than not, you can get feedback or ideas to get you writing again.

-Make Accessories for Your Novel-

If you didn't already do it for your NaNo prep, try and be creative in expressing your novel in other formats. Assemble some songs that relate to your theme or story and make a soundtrack for it. If you have any sort of Photoshop skills, throw together a mock book cover. Or, if you don't have Photoshop skills, just find some pictures that fit the mood of your novel and create a Pinterest board for it. If you have some real life art skills, sketch your characters or places involved in your novel.

-Stare at the Ceiling-

No, really. Just stopping can help you restart your motivations. Lay down and either close your eyes or focus on a spot. Don't move much, don't do anything. This is not the time to turn on music or watch TV. You're just going to be silent and still. Try not to think. Or if you do, think about your novel, but don't try and force it. The point is to relax and not stress. You deserve it. You've been kicking butt the last few days and you deserve a comfortable bed and a fluffy blanket. After a while, you'll be tired of doing nothing and will want to get back to work. But don't move until you have that urge to be productive. Your brain will convince you that you wasted time laying around and need to catch up on what you were doing before you rested. At least, it does for me.

You all good and distracted now? Good. Now get back to work!

-Dana Lockhart

Welcome to My Website!

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 21:57:00 +0000

Allow me to show you around!

I’m Dana Lockhart, an aspiring author entering the publishing world. I typically write urban fantasy novels with a little coming-of-age realism. My first novel The Un-Life of William Moore has had over 300 hours hot and trending during its Kindle Scout campaign and is on its way to publication.

My website is primarily set up as a blog where I talk about writing and anything else that comes to mind. I blog approximately once or twice a week. Only about 10 blog posts show on the main page. You can view older posts to the left under “archive.”

Also to the left you will find all sorts of information from how to buy one of my books to a little bit about me. “Home” will take you back to the main page. If you can't wait for more blog updates, you can check out my gaming articles on DVS Gaming, in which I post at least 4 a week ranging from new game press releases to editorials and reviews.

You might have noticed a pop-up in the lower right corner asking you to subscribe to my newsletter. If you don’t want to, that’s fine! But if you closed it out and change your mind later, just refresh your cache and it will pop back up again. Or, you can sign up by clicking "newsletter" on the left under "social media." My newsletter is for ultra-important information only. I don’t want to fill up your inbox full of junk every time I make a blog post. Instead, I will just notify you when I release a new book or when one of my books goes on sale. Important stuff like that.

However, if you do want to be notified every time I make a blog post, you can click the SUBSCRIBE button at the top of the website. It will sign you up to not only be notified of a new post, but the post will be in the email! It's basic HTML, though, and doesn't look all that nice, so I'd suggest following the link to view each post on the website.

I update my facebook page as soon as I post. Like my facebook page and change your settings to always get notifications from the page and you’re all set! You can also subscribe via RSS Feed, link to which is on the left panel.

Did you know you can comment on my blog posts? This website is created with Blogger by Google, so all you need is a Google account to comment. Compliments and criticism alike are welcome, but please be appropriate either way. Excessive swearing or other vulgarity will be deleted. Thank you for helping to promote a healthy internet!

I hope you enjoy your stay!

-Dana Lockhart

NaNoWriMo 2018: Blood Knights

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 16:48:00 +0000

NaNoWriMo is upon us, and I've elected to use my 50,000 words to make a dent in, and hopefully finish, my novel-in-progress called "Blood Knights."

I've made a new NaNo account for my pen name projects and added information about the novel to my account, including the synopsis and an excerpt. The excerpt takes place several chapters into the novel, but it's a relatively neutral piece that doesn't spoil anything and doesn't need much explaining if you read the synopsis, so it seemed like a good fit.

To save you a click, here is the synopsis if you think it's something you'd like to read:

The city of Danube is home to three separate vampire covens: the Tepes in the north, the Bathory in the west, and the de Rais in the south. These three clans have been at relatively peaceful odds for centuries, with themselves and the vampire hunters that also call Danube home. However, now tensions are beginning to escalate for control over the lawless east, war is on the horizon, and the innocent human citizens have no idea it is happening.

Archer Mathews is a vampire hunter that has spent over ten years fighting the undead and protecting the human population of Danube. One terrible night, he is transformed into the creature that he hates most. Now a vampire himself, Archer is attempting to find purpose in his new un-life, while also trying to keep his vampirism a secret from his fellow hunters who would kill him, and the coven leaders who would use him. While figuring out how to survive his warring natures without going mad, Archer uncovers the dark plots unfolding within the heart of Danube. Can he stop the factions from going to war, or will he have to take a side and fight?

Blood Knights is something I've been writing on for quite some time. Currently I'm hovering at around 46,000 words. I'd like to get it up to 80,000 before calling it done. But what about the rest of the 16,000 words of NaNoWriMo? Well, Blood Knights is likely going to be a series of two, maybe three books. If I'm lucky I can get a-going on the sequel before NaNo is done.

Check out my NaNoWriMo profile to keep an eye on my progress or to become my writing buddy. Holler at me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or in the comments below if I get behind on my word count by more than 5000 words. I need a good kick in the pants for motivation sometimes.

If I'm ever ahead of my game, I have intentions to write about NaNoWriMo on this blog. How to stay motivated, how to get around writers block, tips and tricks to help you meet your goals. Take it with a grain of salt, because I've never actually won NaNo before. I've tried twice and failed both times. Third time is the charm?

Now get out there and write that novel!

-Dana Lockhart

PS. No, I'm not procrastinating by writing this blog post, I've written over 800 words in Blood Knights today! There's still time to meet the daily 1666 goal...There's still time.

I Am Myself Again

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 15:22:00 +0000

I came to realization that I finally feel like myself again. Considering I just turned 25 and the last time I felt like myself was 5th grade, that's really saying something.

-The Point of Impact-

Right around 6th grade a terrible rumor started spreading about me that turned everyone against me. The rumor being that I was a lesbian, which, fun fact, I'm not in the slightest. I'm so straight I don't even like being a woman, let alone touching another one (though it should also be noted that I do identify as a girl even if I don't like being one).

So this was like 2006, and back then being different, being a "lesbian," was a high crime and not nearly as tolerated as it is today. It was basically a death sentence for you socially. But did anyone ask me if it was true? Would anyone bother to believe me if they would have? No. My peers turned on me without question.

The rest of my school life up until 12th grade graduation was mostly a living hell as I dealt with bullies left and right tearing me down and excluding me. The way I was treated made me retreat far, far into myself to hide from it all. I became scared, anti-social, and so I thought, permanently damaged. When given the chance in 8th grade to make new friends at a 3 week summer camp, I thought that the real me - the me of pre-6th grade - was still in there somewhere ready to bust out and be social and lovable. I was wrong. I was as closed off as much with new people as I was with the people that already judged me. I concluded that I had been conditioned into being this submissive person and that I wasn't going to change. Or so I thought.

-It Wasn't All For Nothing-

But I don't regret this time period. I understand that kids are vicious. Stopping bullying is still being neglected and will probably never be solved. I don't hate the people that bullied me in the past - most of them grew up to be decent people - but I will never completely forgive them. And I'm sorry for that.

Being treated so badly had a positive affect on me that I am thankful for, in that I never wanted to cause that sort of suffering to anyone else. It made me a good person, one that wants to make other people happy because I know what it feels like to be miserable. It also made me into this extremely driven person always clawing my way up to the top in spite of everyone around me tearing me back down.

When college came, I was still anti-social. It took up until January of this year when I joined in with the Hannibal Writers Guild for me to really try and break out of this shell I've been hiding in so long. And it has occurred to me that I had succeeded.

-How I Used to Be-

I remember in 5th grade I had this best friend. She was always by my side. And stepping away from the memory, I realize that I was the leader and she was the follower. She did what I said and I took point on our adventures. Looking back even farther to 3rd grade I remember having a social status with my peers. I was best friends with the then most popular girl in our grade and had the most sought after boy as my "boyfriend." And even farther back than that in 1st grade I recall how I would often get in trouble for talking too much in class, so much so that I'd have to sit out of entire recesses sometimes as punishment.

And all it took was one rumor to send all that charisma crashing down.

-This is Who I Am-

Fast forward to me, today. Hard work and good friends have returned me to who I was. I am bold. I speak my mind without worrying about whether someone will hate me for my ideas. I am confident. I move forward knowing that each step I take is correct. I am excited. I have a passion for everything I do. I am smiling. I tell stories and collect friends with so much ease it's a wonder that I ever had trouble with it before. I am worth it. Since becoming single I've been attracting boys left and right, something that previously seemed like was never going to happen for me. I am happy. Despite all the tragedy that has happened to me this year, I am the happiest I have ever been.

I am everything that I was before 6th grade. I was hiding in that shell all along. And now I'm out, I'm an adult, and I'm tackling the world in the way I was always meant to.

I'm back, baby.

-Dana Lockhart

I'm Now a "Professional Gamer"

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Sun, 23 Sep 2018 23:30:00 +0000

I've been holding back announcing this until one of my articles actually went live, but here it is! I now have a writing gig with DVS Gaming as a game reviewer and other miscellaneous stuff. I put "professional gamer" in quotes because it is mostly volunteer work, though I get to keep some of the games I review. There is a possibility down the road for it being a paid-in-money gig, but I'm not expecting it anytime soon. For me, this is just an amazing opportunity and resume builder, and I do love me some resume building almost as much as money. Gotta earn me them XPs and achievements and level up IRL.

Image courtesy of DVS Gaming

-I Need the Experience-

When I went to Gateway Con earlier this year, I knew that I wanted to be a speaker. And it wasn't because I wanted to get paid or owed favors. I just wanted to talk about the things I know and share that knowledge with other writers. So far I've come up with a presentation on pen names, which is actually a reasonably long topic because there is a lot of intricacies on picking the right name and then knowing what to do with it.

But then came my mental hiccup: why would they want me to speak? Many of the speakers there were way more professional and fleshed out in their careers than me. Heck, I haven't even published anything yet. Sure, I got some poems in college anthologies and I won one tiny poetry contest. But all in all, I have little real-world experience in writing. Unless I managed to get something under my belt by next June, I saw my chances of being a speaker being low. Or, even if I did get the gig, why would anyone want to believe what I have to say when I have no significant credentials backing me up?

-Enter DVS Gaming-

This opportunity of writing for DVS Gaming doesn't have a price tag on it's value because it is priceless. Already in just these two articles I have learned so much about making a blog post readable and how to adjust your wording accordingly. I enjoy being able to learn more about writing in general and the various forms it takes. This information and experience is invaluable.

It also, in the long run, can be a great way to branch out and get my name out there more. My blog - this blog - is listed on my DVS Gaming profile. They post their articles on social media. With every article with my name on it my reputation can grow, my audience can grow. That possibility alone would be foolish to pass up.

And the experience. When I pitch to more agents I can brag about writing for a gaming website that is separate from myself. It's one thing to say I blog for myself, it's another to say I blog for someone else. It gives me more credit. That I have enough talent and attention to detail for people to want me to write for them. All humbleness aside, it says a lot about me and how seriously I take my writing career.

-In Other News, There's More Good News-

I got a full manuscript request from an agent, one of the ones that I pitched to at Gateway Con. It's not anything concrete, but it's a foot in the door and a chance to make it further. All depends on what she thinks of the finished product. So far she's made comments on some changes and that could take time to do. But hey, it's something. Baby steps.

I'm a big believer in baby steps. My dad spent 74 days in the hospital in critical condition and he's finally back home. He still has a long way to recover, but he's come so far, and it was all about the baby steps. So many small, tiny, even microscopic wins to advance us forward, and here we are, at least in sight of the finish line, even if it's going to take time to get there.

Things are looking up.

You can read my review of Oh My Godheads and my press release of Star Control: Origins at dvsgaming.org.

-Dana Lockhart

Dana Harts: Lightning Round

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 19:06:00 +0000

So this Dana Harts isn't recommending something called "Lightning Round," it's going to be a bunch of little things that I don't have enough to say about them to warrant an entire post about it.

While I'm bored waiting for my obsessions, Siren's Lament, Boyfriend of the Undead, and Nobelesse to update, I read other web comics on Line Webtoon. Not all of them are good. But they sure are conversation pieces.

I ♥ Blue Chair

You'll probably recognize this guy. I've seen his art on Facebook and imgur, sadly usually without credit. Blue Chair is a Line Webtoon webcomic by Shen. He's the one that did that existential crisis meme that is so relateable it hurts. You'll recognize his art style, too, as he has a bunch of other famous little comics too. There's hundreds of these comics, and from what I've read so far, they are all pretty funny. If you wanted more but didn't know where to find it, now you know! Blue Chair is still ongoing and has 555 chapters so far.

I ♥ Safely Endangered

Same thing as Blue Chair, this is a comic you might have actually seen before. Not much to say about it other than it is also super funny and relateable. Safely Endangered is by Chris McCoy and has 398 chapters so far.

I ♥ Eggnoid

Okay, this is about as weird as it gets. It was so weird I was like, what? How does this work? Why does it work? Why does this exist? Prepare yourself.

Eggnoid is a webcomic by Archie the Redcat. It's about a sad teenage girl feeling all alone so the universe sends her a giant egg that then hatches a full grown beautiful naked man that calls her mom.

What?

So I read it because I couldn't believe it could be a thing. And actually? I don't hate it. It's very weird for a long time, but it does eventually establish a somewhat plausible universe that is almost interesting. The art is pretty. If you're just as curious as I was about why this thing exists, I'd recommend it, but bewarned, it'll make you feel weird for liking it. Eggnoid is still ongoing with 125 chapters so far.

I ♥ Cartharsis

Now this one is pretty epic. Catharsis is by Ahniki, and is from, you guess it, Line Webtoon. It's a little hard to explain, but basically when someone's negative feelings get so bad they can actually summon/create a demon that then tries to eat them or their soul or both. Enter Catharsis, which is an organization you can hire to "fight your demons for you."

Our main character, Leon, is so prone to demons being attracted to his deliciousness that Catharsis actually hires him to fight demons so he can protect himself. To defeat a demon you literally have to enter this weird dimension that projects someone's mind into the environment around you or something where you then fight the demon. It's complicated and weird and I still don't quite get it. But it's awesome. Unfortunately, the author is prone to hiatuses for some reason (I think health reasons were quoted once), so it's slow going, but well worth the wait. The art is amazing. The demons are on the same level of creepy as the original Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark illustrations. So far it has 162 chapters.

I ♥ Tales of the Unusual

This. This. Thisssss. It's actually been a couple years since I've read this comic and I still feel messed up from it. Tales of the Unusual is a Line Webtoon by Seongdae Oh and it's horror at it's finest. Or worst. It's creepy, okay? Every few chapters there is a new story. Some of them aren't very clever, like a haunted painting that kills the girl sleeping beside it. But there's some genuine sick things that happen, usually because of a person's greed or other fatal flaws. Like how vanity destroys one fat girl's life when she uses a potion that melts away fat and accidentally falls asleep soaking in the bathtub (but that's not the end of that story, it gets much, much worse, and still has me freaked the heck out). Or a miserable kid that goes into a haunted elevator that is rumored your double will appear and if you kill them you get to start your life over again. Or if you write a spell on a piece of paper and put it under your pillow you go into this dream world where if you destroy someone's painting they will die in real life. It's some messed up stuff. And it's amazing and terrible and will probably change your life. Or keep you up at night. The reincarnation one still has me questioning what life actually means. Apparently it's still ongoing and I'm scared to pick it back up again (but you know I will) and is at 81 chapters.

I think that's enough for now. You'll be busy with all this for awhile. Happy reading!

-Dana Lockhart

Art in this blog post belongs to the respective artists.

Dana Harts: Nobelesse

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Lockhart) — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 19:03:00 +0000

Welcome to another episode of Dana Harts!

Today I'm going to be telling you how much I ♥ Nobelesse!

As is the trend with my last several recommendations, Nobelesse is a Line Webtoons web comic by Jeho Son and Kwangsu Lee. I'm into web comics right now, okay?! Nobelesse is basically a kick-ass, high powered anime, except the drawings don't move. This thing seriously needs to be an anime, I would watch the hell out of it. The fight sequences are so epic even when they aren't moving.

Nobelesse sort of follows the story of a super quiet, super powerful guy named Cadis Etrama Di Raziel. He wakes up after sleeping for 820 years and ends up in modern day Korea, where he meets up with his old servant, Frankenstein. Rai is technically a vampire but not in the traditional sense, the difference being that Rai has blood powers but doesn't really drink blood. Frankenstein is technically human, but he has experimented on himself so much that he has dark superpowers that threaten to consume his soul. Frankenstein is my favorite. Just in general. Of everything ever, he is my favorite. Better than chocolate.

The whole story boils down to bigger and badder guys coming from this evil organization that experiments on making superhumans and Rai and his crew trying to stop them. It is the duty of the Nobelesse (Rai) to protect humans, but the power he uses to do so has a price that might end up being the death of him. As the story progresses they pick up troubled superhuman experiments that feel obligated to help protect Rai since he saved them. It's these sidekicks that are really the focus of the story moreso than Rai, who just kind of is there until his companions lose and he steps in to win the day with his godly powers, if Frankenstein didn't finish the enemy first with his crazy powers.

This is a pretty serious comic, but the best part of it is when it takes a step back from that. Rai is very technologically illiterate and it's so amusing to see this ultra-powerful god-like guy unable to leave the apartment because he doesn't know how to open the electronic lock and doesn't want to break anything. Even when he does escape, he is cursed with the worse sense of direction ever and often gets lost. The human kids he goes to school with are clueless of who their friend secretly is and yet they are attuned to his slightest facial expression to know what he'd be saying if he'd open his mouth.

And even though I love Nobelesse, I honestly had trouble getting into this comic to begin with. It just didn't pull me in. But I was still in the webcomic mood so I pressed on, and man, did it latch it's claws into me unexpectedly. The bad guys never change their "humans are trash who deserve to die and we are amazing and deserve to rule the world" attitude which has gotten pretty old, but the good guys have such good character development, especially since a good chunk of them started out as bad guys. The comic is extremely male dominated in cast, which disappoints my girl-power instincts but doesn't disappoint my eyes.

I definitely recommend Nobelesse, and I definitely ship Rai and Frankenstein unabashedly despite being straight myself and would rather have Frankenstein to myself. There's basically zero romance between anyone in the comic, (in fact a lot of the experiments have had no life and don't even know what "dating" is) but that doesn't stop me from shipping. There are currently 523 chapters (wow!) for reading and it's still ongoing and updated every week. Took me over a month to catch up from chapter 1 and now I'm hanging by a thread waiting for the next chapter. There's also a little 10 chapter side comic about Rai getting lost and accidentally saving a small village from a hungry self-declared god. And while there is no official anime of it, there is a 30 minute OVA on CrunchyRoll to tease me.

Until I give you your next obession, enjoy Nobelesse!

-Dana Lockhart

All art in this blog post belongs to the artists.

EDIT: Nobelese has concluded as of January 2019. It was beautiful and sad.