A Spring Poem

Spring yawns, stretches, and rises from slumber
The seeds in the ground rise up from under
I suck in the fresh air,
The weather is fair,
The earth on my shoes is umber

The Writing Bug

Some say that the fiction writing bug is closely related to the schizo bug. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” the character Joe Heston that I just came up with would say to that.

Working

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apology, author, awake, Awake Matthew Blake, blog, blogging, dimensions, duel, editing, factory, ghosts, good night, horror, Matthew Blake, monsters, novel, novels, reader, short story, snake, snake duel, story, update, writing

Hey there, everyone! Just wanted to make a quick post apologizing for not updating recently–I’ve been working a new temporary gig that hasn’t left me with a lot of time to blog, but has given me a story idea or four. I’m working in the office of a factory, and the factory floor is dark and ominous. Every time I walk through it, I can’t help but imagine horrible creatures from different worlds that have somehow infiltrated our dimension hiding in dark corners and underneath shelves.

Anyhow, I’m still working, albeit at a slower pace. On page 133 of the novel I’m working on now, almost halfway through editing my second novel, and gearing up to promote my first novel. I’m also finishing up a short story about a duel between a man and a poisonous snake that pops up unexpectedly in the man’s house. Busy times.

Take care, dear reader. I hope you have a great night, and I’ll be back to you soon.

Tree Hugger

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fun, Kimya Dawson, music, songs, Tree Huger

Oh wow, I just discovered this video by Antsy Pants and Kimya Dawson, and it’s awesome! I feel like it contains, deep down, what the creative process/being creative is like. Hope you enjoy it, dearest friend.

Novel Released!

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awake, blurb, book, book release, demon, ebook, friendship, horror, kindle book, Lost Generation, love, monster, new Lost Generation, novel, publishing, scary, scary book, terror, travel, writing

Hello, faithful reader.  I just wanted to let you know that my first novel is out in ebook form on Amazon here. I’d love it if you check it out.  Here’s the blurb:

What would you do if you were literally dying from lack of sleep? That’s what happens to Lee Fenton. A young, successful author, he seems to have it good. His books sell, and because of them he is well off and doesn’t have to work a 9-5 job.

But then, one day, he starts having a particularly bad bout of insomnia. It gets bad enough that he has to go to the doctor. The doctor tells him something terrible: that he has a rare, terminal form of insomnia called Fatal Familial Insomnia. He will sleep less and less until finally he won’t be able sleep at all, going insane and dying shortly thereafter.

Deciding to make the most of the time he has left, Lee buys a luxury RV, hires his best friend as his driver, and sets out on a trip across the United States. They meet a couple of girls along the way who join their journey, and for a short time things look bright again.

But as he sleeps less and less, Lee starts to see things, awful visions. There’s something following them, something evil and relentless…and it wants them all.

A story of terror, friendship, romance, and America, through the eyes of our new Lost Generation of twenty-somethings.

For my blog readers, if you’ve gotten this far down and are still interested, I’ll send you the book for free.  All I ask is that you consider leaving me a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.  Take care everyone!

On Absence

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absence, amazon, awake, death, debut novel, drafts, ebook, editing, funeral, funeral home, grandmother, horror, hospital, kindle, love, Matthew Blake, novel, story, writing, writing break

Hey, everyone! Sorry I’ve been on a bit of a prolonged absence.

I know the old saying goes something like “like assholes, everyone has excuses and they all think,” but in my defense I had a death in the family. You never think of all the work that goes into a death until it happens, and thank god for that. You have the hospital and funeral home to deal with, an obituary to write, flowers to arrange, resolving finances with debtors, the list goes on and on. (This wasn’t all on me, by far, but just to give you a picture of the situation. A “pic of the sitch”, as the imaginary future kids in my head put it.)

I spoke at the funeral. That may not seem like a big thing, but there was (I’d estimate) 200 people packed into that tiny church.  When the time came where the priest invited anyone to “stand up and share some memories”, my legs made me stand up as if on their own accord, and I spoke a short paragraph about how my grandmother would have loved to see the turnout.

On a less somber note, nearly everything has come together for my first novel, Awake. After three drafts, editorial review, cover design, and ebook formatting, things are looking great. As soon as I publish the book, probably in the next week and possibly in the next few days, you’ll be  among the first to know. Hit me up on here if you want a free copy, I’m glad to bypass Amazon’s paywall for you, dearest reader

I must sleep, but thank you for catching up on current events to me. I write for you.

The Knocking

Tags

beast, creature, evil, fear, horror, horror poetry, knocking, monster, panic, poetry

Something’s knock, knock, knocking,
Knocking at my bedroom door
As I lay here trembling,
Trembling on the cold, wet floor

I must wait, must wait it out,
Not make a noise, not scream nor shout
For if it hears me, it will know,
That I’m in here trembling, hoping it will go

The knocking gets louder, and I’m chilled with fear,
There’s nothing to do but hope and pray
I can feel the horrible presence, oh so near,
I hope, I hope the monster goes away

What Writing’s About

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author, authors, authorship, craft, creative, creativity, depression, editing, getting happy, happiness, King, love, motive, reasons to write, Stephen King, talent, writing, writing ethics

My favorite quote from my favorite writer, not sure who did the illustration or where it’s from. His daughter recently provided some amazing bible versus for my grandmother’s funeral, and I’m so grateful to the King family.

Fighting Sleep

Tags

drafts, haiku, late, late night poetry, night, poem, poetry, writing

Fighting sleep:

Swimming;
Dreaming that I’m winning,

I must succumb,
Though I have not won,

And now I must sleep deep.

Projects Update

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author, awake, editing, flow, novel, pace, projects, projects update, word count, work ethic, working, writer, writing, writing diary, writing ethic, writing pace, writing update

Hey everyone, just wanted to check back in and let you all know what I’m up to. I’ve been doing a lot of work writing and editing, delayed for a bit by a death in the family. Writing seems to be the best medicine for everything, and it’s really helped me through all this.

The novel that my editor was working on is completed, after three long drafts and his draft on top of it. I found a great cover designer from Latvia, and he’s currently working on the cover for the book. I have high hopes for what he comes up with, as his examples were nothing short of excellent.

I’m editing another novel now, one that I wrote even before this one that’s coming out soon, and am on the second draft of it. I let two novels build up before starting to edit either of them, and I must say from the amount of work I have in store for me now that I don’t advise it.

Finally, I’m working on the first draft for a new novel in the spare time I find away from editing or other work. It was a bit of a struggle to find my pace, but I’m a little past the fiftieth page now and I think I’ve found my groove. It’s much more fun for me to write than edit, so it’s currently my baby.

Anyhow, hope everything is going well with all of you! If there’s anyone who would like to take a look at an advance copy of my novel that’s coming out soon, Awake, I’d love to send over a free copy when the cover is done in exchange for fair reviews when the book is released.

Take care everyone!