Chapter 21 – Payday!

Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s Friday. There’s a blizzard on its way over here, at least according to the news. I’m trying it ignore its presence seeing as it might spoil my weekend plans.

 

Life has become rather busy in the last two weeks. I’ve had to rearrange a few things to get this latest chapter of “Unbreakable” to my present and future readers in a timely fashion. Once again, J. Marie Ravenshaw has been kind and brave enough to help me with the editing process. I can write all I want to, but I cannot continue to infuse my work with excellence without her help. It’s not just about her discerning eye as a reader and a writer. She knows me, she knows my writing style, and she pulls no punches when it comes to her suggestions for improvement. Few can say that about their editors. Even fewer can say that about their truest friends. To me, she happens to be both.

 

Without further ado, I present chapter 21 of Unbreakable for your reading pleasure. Read it. Vote on it. Tell your friends about the craziness that ensues when two warriors attempt to keep monsters away from a boy with a dark past and no knowledge of his own potential.

 

Spread the word like butter.

 

-Callido

 

And Then There Were 16 –

Of course, by 16, I mean chapters to my serial, ‘Unbreakable’ which can be found on Jukepopserials.com. If you follow the ‘Unbreakable’ link, this will take you to the beginning of my serial. If you follow the ’16′ link, you’ll come to the latest chapter of this ever-growing story. To make things a tad easier, I set up the links so that you can open them in other tabs. This way, you don’t leave my blog right away unless you really want to. It’s a simple thing, but I haven’t been doing it, so my apologies. Anyways, chapter 16 involves a bit more of your friendly neighborhood, rifle toting Asian bad ass. The things I’ve learned about him as he’s told me his story are incredible.

I guess that’s one of the things about writing that always strikes me. Characters are always telling me their stories, and I am finding new ways to sort of translate what they say to me in whispers (or in many cases, shouts). I bring these stories to all my readers in the most exciting ways that I know how simply because my characters deserve that kind of attention.

But they say that real life is stranger than fiction. Think about this, and then ask yourself why so many fiction writers are working so hard to come up with original ideas for their readers? A journal of my time spent in mental health work will always read like something out of a novel, but that’s only because I wouldn’t pull any punches in its writing. I might leave out names for legal reasons, but the stories are no less real, and in some ways, no less heartbreaking.

So I leave you with that tidbit of information about my writing process. I know there are miles to go before I perfect any parts of my writing. Even when I feel I can do no wrong in a serial like this, that doesn’t mean that my audience has to agree with me. I guess in this case, votes tell me a story as well. I’m sitting on 85 votes. That’s not terrible for 16 weeks of work brought to you commercial free (I hope). But I know I can do better. It seems strange to me that I would ever write for votes, but at the same time, it does a heart good to know that my writing is being read and appreciated.

But I will earn every vote that I get. That’s a fact. There’s no excuse for pandering or milking connections. When it comes to the quality of my work, I ultimately leave it up to my audience to decide if it holds up.

So come read and enjoy. If you like what you read, vote on my chapters. Somehow, I don’t think my readers want me to cancel this series. I don’t get to keep it going without your votes.

Chapter 15 of Unbreakable Arrives Post Holiday Madness – Read all About it! Then go READ IT!

Well, actually my holiday was quiet. I wouldn’t have called it all that merry only because I was surrounded by sick people. My loved ones are recovering though, so maybe the new year will have a better beginning.

 

I’ll make this short and sweet so you can all get back to celebrating with your libation of choice. Read. Enjoy. Vote. Tell your friends.

 

Happy Chrismakwanzaramakah with a dash of Dia de los Reyes for flavor.

 

 

In the Rain

I’m used to writing. It’s odd to me when I open my blog page and I don’t want to write something. When they say a picture is worth a thousand words, first of all, I wonder who THEY are. Then I accept the statement as true.

These are some lucky shots I took in the city just before or during a rain. I suppose I should consider this a new hobby, but I’ve only been at it for about two weeks. Enjoy!

Gathering of ducks at my favorite “pond”

“Meh. I’m tired of your quackin’”

Skyline at the edge of the pond. Gorgeous!

Another shot of the skyline. The tree wanted in this pic. I had to oblige.

This is just a punk rock squirrel!

Chapter 12

No, my faithful readers, I have not forsaken thee.

I’m simply tired. This has been a full work week. Yet I’ve managed to come up with another chapter for my Serial, Unbreakable. Be sure to read chapter 12, vote for it (because let’s face it, why the hell wouldn’t you?) and then get your friends to vote on my serial, and get their friends and family to sign up, read it, and cast many votes in my favor.

 

Bribery doesn’t work when you don’t have any money, folks, so I’ll have to rely on your good judgment.

…

 

Fuck that shit. Free Aikido lessons to the next fifty voters.  :P

On another note, it’s come to my attention that links to my current chapter may only work if one is signed in with an account already. This is strange, and not at all convenient. Methinks a conversation with my lovely editor is in order

 

Adios for now.

 

 

NYC in Pictures

Getting out there is hard. I know some people think it’s easy to go out in public, meet new people, hang out with them over a few drinks, cut a rug, shoot the shit, whatever the hell it is that they’re into. But for me, that’s never been an easy task. I’ve always been incredibly shy. I’ve also learned to out-muscle that shyness and put myself in heart-pounding situations that seem so simple for the socially apt. I wouldn’t say I was socially challenged, but I have my days where all I want to do is curl up and forget that anyone else exists in the world.

But those are becoming less and less common.

Part of that for me is having a reason to have fun out there. I’m not going to actively pursue conversation with random strangers, but it seems to happen more and more of late. It helps that someone dear to me was thoughtful enough to get me the best early Christmas gift ever. Nikon is the name of the new love of my life.

I know I have waxed pretty about the New York City. I like to write posts where I explain what it is that I see when I walk down these streets.

But sometimes, words just won’t do it.

Now I’ve been given an opportunity to show you some of what I truly see.

I hope you enjoy it.

I’m sort of relearning Christmas in New York. Some would argue that it’s been blunted by the effects of Hurricane Sandy and the Presidential Election. Who am I to argue? I’m too busy noting how beautiful New York is at this time of year.

Hard Rock Cafe

Times Square in the daytime.

Rockefeller Center Tree. The best Christmas Tree in the world to me …

Christmas Snake?

Taken on a recent night walk

A famous Jewelry store on 5th Avenue

Same store ..

Chapter 11 Arriveth.

As promised, Chapter 11 of my Serial, ‘Unbreakable’ is finished and posted at Jukpopserials.com for your reading pleasure.

Much has happened in the last few days. An unexpected bit of news has left its mark. But I will keep writing. That is really my best choice at the present.

Enjoy.

 

 

It’s Here, It’s Here!

I hadn’t been able to do much about this until now. But I’m SO LOVING this night!

 

A two part anthology was released today from Siren’s Call Publications. The name of the anthology is ‘Carnage : After the End.’  Aside from the fact that there are many twisted versions of a post apocalyptic world, the coolest part  of this release is that I am a part of it! I am a featured writer in the second volume! Just check out the link above, search for a story called ‘Juliana’ by Angel D. Callido. That’s me! Volume one and volume two are available on amazon.com. I urge you to get both volumes, but pay special attention to volume two if you’re looking for my story!

You can also look for versions of the Anthology on Createspace and on Smashwords.com

I’m on cloud nine! HAH!!

 

Oh Yeah? Well read this!

That’s right, ladies and germs. The ninth chapter of my serial, ‘Unbreakable’ is up and ready for your reading pleasure at Jukepopserials.com. As always, remember to cast your vote for me if this meets with your approval. I’ve worked hard to eliminate the formatting issue that I encountered just after I posted chapter eight last week.  It takes quite a bit to write and edit these chapters. Fun as it is to come up with a great end product, I don’t enjoy editing as much as I enjoy writing, but it matters a great deal to me. Just ask anyone who’s ever seen me review the writing of others on writing.com sometime.

Read, enjoy, vote, and tell your friends to read and vote on Unbreakable if they like paranormal horror. Tell your friends to tell their friends too! The more the merrier! I think there may be something for everyone in this story (unless you’re looking for erotica. That will come with my first book )

On an even happier note, I’ve just hit 50 votes! I’m stoked. Now it’s time to push that number up even higher. Got comments? Bring ‘em!

Got milk? Meh. I’ll take a Guiness instead.

Pushing 40

No, that is not the new title of an autobiography!

That is the result of the votes I’ve gotten so far for all the chapters of my serial, ‘Unbreakable’ at Jukepopserials.com. I’m sitting at 39. I want to hit forty and go WAY beyond that. Take a few minutes and read Chapter 8 and vote on it if you haven’t done so already. If you’ve got longer and haven’t done so yet, read and vote for all eight chapters. You can’t lose if you love horror and paranormal writing!