The Death of Publishing

I was reading Annelie Wendeberg's blog (yes, I did use the same template for mine, I admit) for The Devil's Grin and she was nice enough to post this article title the Death of Publishing. I have to say, reading it definitely alleviated any remaining misgivings about going "indie" with Jump When Ready.

It starts like this...

The world around me was dark green and silent except for the sound of my own heart, still beating, but slowly now. I took another breath that wasn’t really a breath, just my lungs trying again. Nothing more than a reflex at this point. The battle was already lost, I felt pretty sure. Still, I hoped because that’s what we do until the very end.

I hoped someone would rescue me, even when I knew that wasn’t going to happen. The rapids must have pulled me too far; otherwise, someone would have gotten to me by now. It seems strange, but in those final moments I still imagined a future. A reflex of the brain, I guess, that refusal to quit, to give up and accept the truth. I thought about starting high school next fall. Not much to look forward to, from what I’d heard, but I’d still been sure it would be better. I thought about my family and the trip we had planned for visiting the Northwest. I’d been looking forward to seeing Seattle and Portland, getting out of the Virginia heat for a few weeks that summer. Part of me hoped we could still make that trip together. I couldn’t help it—I still wanted these things to happen. That was my world, the small one I knew, and I kept hoping to hang onto it.

But even now my heart was slowing more, the time between each beat getting longer. There was a light above me—I could see it through the murky water. Maybe it had been there the whole time and I’d been too scared to notice. Then there were voices, the muffled sound of people calling my name, and I wondered if someone had gotten there in time. I kept staring up at the light, which kept growing brighter.

Then the voices were fading.

I didn’t hear my heart anymore.

There was just the light above me. I swam toward it.

Book Trailer Script

Working on some book trailer script...not sure...

In the afterlife, you will be grouped with others for reasons you can’t know. They might be from entirely different places and times. But you will have something in common.

Very rarely, some will have the ability to make themselves noticed by the living. Very rarely, the living will notice.

But if something bad happens to someone you knew…

If telling someone what you witnessed is that person’s only hope…

There will only be the dead to help you.

Since he drowned, Henry has remained with the same group of teenagers and he keeps wondering why. After all, what could he possibly have in common with a Mohawk-sporting punker from the 80s, a roller skater from the 70s with a thing for kimonos, and an English "rocker" from the 60s? Add to that, Henry can hear the other groups—their conversations, laughter and music. He can even smell the food they cook. But he never sees them. 

One day while poltergeisting with Curtis—a kid with both anger management issues and the ability to move objects in the physical realm—Henry finds he too has a previously undiscovered skill. He can speak to those on the other side. Soon, Henry learns that his new friends all possess unique skills for making themselves noticed by the living. Is Henry’s group kept isolated because of their abilities? If so, are they considered gifted or seen only as a potential bad influence?

Before Henry can reach any conclusions, he crosses over to check on his family and witnesses his sister being kidnapped. He sees and hears everything that happens. He knows who did it, where she’s being held and what will happen if the kidnappers don’t get what they want. As the police chase false leads, Henry comes to realize he’s his sister’s only hope. But for Henry to even have a chance, he has to convince a group of teenagers that dead doesn’t mean helpless.

Jump When Ready will be published in May, 2013.