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Souled — John Dyer Writes

Intelligent and entertaining stories developed for a thoughtful audience.

What if science was to prove the doctrine of the immortal soul? Amil Leyta intended to work in orbital manufacturing, but his studies have taken an unexpected turn. He’s built a device that images the essence of life, evoking the discovery that there’s more than one type of soul.

They appear on his monitor at deathbed vigils, shining bright across the boundary between dimensions. He imagines they’re angels, guiding spirits to the between-life, and wonders if the Gods will allow what he must do next.

Because Amil knows how to bring them here.

All my titles are #KindleUnlimited.

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Free Blender 3D Model

Last year, I created a posable flying house model in Blender for a book cover, thinking I might later use it in Unreal Engine. I have since discovered there aren’t enough hours in the day for me to develop that skill set.

But it’s a cool model. Maybe there’s someone who’d like to fool around with it. There’s a narrative universe, and associated character art begging to be modeled and rigged. For a look at that, click here. For the story behind the model, click here.

If you’re interested, tell me in the comments.

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Crowdsourced — John Dyer Writes

Let’s share an experience. It won’t take more than a minute unless you want it to. Call it a favor, an act of generosity. Click in the box below the image where it says ‘Free Preview’.

Read a page or two. See what happens. I’ve been writing for ten years. This is my best work. It deserves an audience.

You can be part of that.

Please SHARE this post. Heading image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

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Near Disaster

After twenty-three years operating our elevator without mishap, our dog Ernie broke away from my grasp, poking his muzzle through the scissor gate at the worst possible moment. I hit the stop button. The car was three feet down from the middle floor landing. Ernie’s head and neck were squeezed between the gate and a concrete wall.

He cried, lost his water, strained to pull himself out. The gate was more robust than it needed to be. It took four tries to jerk it out of the track.

Ernie came away from the ordeal with a scuff on his neck. I pulled muscles in my back, neck, and hips during a last-ditch, adrenaline-fueled assault on the apparatus.

We were traumatized. Ernie trembled all night, going back and forth between us in the bed. I had to take him out at 3:30 this morning, something I haven’t had to do for two months.

Our friend and elevator mechanic Mike Zeller will install an accordion-style barrier. Until then, Ernie rides in my lap. Both my hands will be around his chest.

It’s Sunday. Linda’s at church, thanking God for a narrow escape.

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Contagious

Nobody in my circle of friends talks about Covid anymore, except to say how many times they’ve had it.

I haven’t felt left out. I had Type B Influenza during the same timeframe. I was sure I would die. That’s relevant.

Thursday morning I went to the dentist. That afternoon I felt terrible. Linda administered a home test kit, and we have a winner in the reverse lottery.

The dentist wasn’t worried. I respect that, although his staff might have had second thoughts if they’d had to take care of me. Not as bad as the flu, but bad enough.

I sweated it out last night. This morning, I went outside. Linda is washing the bed linens, again. According to prevailing etiquette, I will be judged free of contagion by tomorrow.

Is that like, first thing tomorrow, or do I have to wait until noon?

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Unfulfilled

It’s Tinkerer Wednesday! Today I’m contemplating the fill port on a West Bend Manufacturing Webalco 17209 liquid-core electric skillet, and wondering where I can get high-temperature silicone heat-transfer oil on the cheap.

Update: A reader recommended DOT5 silicone brake fluid. I tried it. It works!

#saladmaster #regalware #lifetime

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Contested

A solicitation for a First Chapter writing contest caused me to restart work on a Ghosts of Ancient Vidura follow-on — now at eight chapters, too sketchy to submit to a competition much less post any of it on my website, although that’s what I’m about to do.

Why? Because feedback is valuable, and one never knows where it’ll lead. As to the contest in question, even if the manuscript was ready-for-reading, terms of service didn’t stipulate sharing of judges’ notes with authors. Feedback is unlikely. I’ll save my twenty dollars for a better offer, but thanks for making me start writing again.

Meanwhile, I was curious enough to read the submissions of prior contest winners and runners-up, a reminder not to care a whole lot about what publishing gatekeepers are looking for in works of fiction. Thematically, not what I’m doing. In terms of voice, the experience left me uncertain about my approach.

I don’t wax lyrical in early chapters. I could. I know how to do it, but I don’t. In my view, and that of many authors, opening lines are best dedicated to arrival at the inciting event. Tell the reader what the grass smells like after you’ve dragged him into the story.

Here's my sketchy first chapter, first draft. The book is yet untitled. What do you think? Should this passage be more evocative? Tell me in the comments.
Continue reading “Contested” →
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Uncommon

I haven’t been an avid consumer of entertainment since I started writing, partly because I don’t want other authors’ stories in my head during the process. But there’s also the matter of what to consume — in that the quality of legacy media appears to be on the decline.

Essayist Derek Thompson (Is America Really Running Out of Original Ideas, The Atlantic, December 2021) proposes that the sorry state of the movie industry is founded not in a poverty of creativity but rather upon market dynamics that no longer reward innovation. To wit, the public patronizes familiar stories above all others, giving Hollywood motivation to publish a tedious litany of remakes.

But Hollywood no longer has a monopoly on filmic art, and Amazon has revolutionized book publishing. We are bombarded with content from every direction, and the challenge for a consumer seeking original, creative and uncommon entertainment is how to find it.

Continue reading “Uncommon” →
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Sci-Fi for those who don’t read Sci-Fi

The eBook edition of my latest novel is free today and tomorrow, February 9 &10 — an opportunity to try something completely different, whether or not you’re a follower of the genre.

Ghosts of Ancient Vidura is literary science fiction — action, adventure, and family drama against an SF landscape, with an underlying theme about what it takes to create a successful life. About the series, readers have said, “There’s nothing like it” and “Something for everybody”.

Helpful hint — If you’re not a fan of SF, the book really shifts gears in Part Two. But don’t skip. You’ll miss something important.

Elevator pitch — The year is 2025, and the aliens have arrived. Officially, not counting twenty-five-thousand years of under-the-table commerce, a secret that can no longer be kept.

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Validated

On February 2, following the launch of my novel Ghosts of Ancient Vidura, I wallpapered social media and then waited for those signs of acceptance one gets when generating his own publicity.

I sold an eBook the first day, and picked up a customer on Kindle Unlimited the next.

It’s impossible to know from KENP how many readers are engaged. Amazon lists the book at 381 pages, an average based on Kindle’s various presentation formats. I see 401 pages read since yesterday. I’m not famous. Let’s agree it’s one person who read the book in two days. The KU subscription motivates readers to give up on books they don’t enjoy, so I’ll take this one as an endorsement.

And then I received a lovely message from a lady who spotted my announcement on Retalk. She’s now reading Elbert, the first book in the AjJivadi trilogy. She said, “You have an engaging style. The book is intelligent and nuanced while still being easy/fun to read.”

So, that makes three new readers and fan mail in the first week. Woohoo!

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