Stories Will Resume

 

Sunrise

My fans, there is no longer reason to fret for soon on this blog my stories will resume! Indeed, it’s time for the glorious return of James Kirst and his Short Story and Novel Blog!

Kidding. Actually, I just wanted to a quick post to announce that I hope to be more active on this blog shortly. I haven’t made a post in the last two years. Part of that was due to life concerns. I’m sure everyone understands. However, it is not as though I haven’t been writing at all during my absence. Quite the contrary. If you’d allow me to brag, I’ve been relatively prolific. This is another reason why I haven’t been very active here or on social media lately. I have been working on and now have new short stories, story snippets, and even chapters to share.

One of the first novels that I’ve written is a tale of love, broken dreams, adversity, and finding ways of progressing and moving forward. All of which is framed under the backdrop of boxing, specifically the biggest match of the protagonist Fergus Kelly’s career. As you might have inferred from the last two sentences, the story focuses more on the characters and their interactions than the pugilistic sport. It’s also a very grounded story and at times a bit gritty. Yet, it never becomes grim or dark. For a boxing tale, it is very optimistic and light. Perhaps it’s a little more realistic than the movie Rocky or my favorite boxing movie Diggstown but it is certainly more reminiscent of those films than something like The Fighter.

This upcoming novel is also bereft of supernatural elements. This might seem like a deviation from my previous works. I’d argue it is not for my stories always are more about social interactions, character growth, and the human experience than the mechanics of my supernatural worlds. That’s not to say the plots don’t matter. They most certainly do which is why I take so much care to eloquently craft them. The more grounded human struggles are just carefully interwoven into the tales. Besides, at the risk of spoiling too much, the novel is actually a stealth prequel for several novels that I hope will become part of a much larger series, all of which are set in the same supernatural world as my first two books

However, these tales will feature a new main character along with a diverse and eclectic supporting cast. They will be much more action-oriented and fantastic while still being somewhat grounded. Indeed, I hope this will be the start of what I call, “Stories of the supernatural variety to explain the mundane.”

Now, though, it’s time to get those stories either into the hands or onto the screens of my loyal readers and my fans. I’m starting that process now.  It’ll just be a matter of time before you start seeing new stories appear on this blog. Whether they be of the supernatural variety or star that aforementioned cast I’m only coyly referring to right now, well, I’m afraid you’ll have to continue keeping track of updates to find out more. Let’s just say that though I’m excited about my aforementioned paranormal works, I have a lot of stories I’m eager to share as well.

Don’t worry, too. The wait won’t be for much longer. I’m predicting within the next month or so at most before I start posting semi-regularly again. I just want to find the optimal time to post when I can get the most eyeballs on my stories. It’s a difficult thing because people live busy lives and I’m competing against literal millions for your time.

If I might brag one more time, though. I know what I write will be worth everyone’s time. My stories are enjoyable experience, entertaining, and perhaps even at times educational, along with a whole slew of words that have the equivalent definitions. Some of them might also begin with ‘e’.

If you haven’t already, please consider registering to my blog’s mailing list to remain up to date. Please also consider following me on the following social media:

https://twitter.com/writerjrk/

https://www.facebook.com/jameskirstauthor

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18534226.James_Kirst

Please provide feedback whenever possible as well. I love reading what my listeners have to say. I’d especially like to know what types of stories you like to read and what would be good times for me to make my posts.

If you’re interested in finding out about the novels I wrote, please click on the following links: Ghosts are Assholes, Magic Once Removed, and The Crumbling World. If you like any of the books, perhaps you’d be interested in just reading about my other assorted short stories instead. If you’d like to find out more about me, check out this page.

Anyway, thanks for reading this post! Hope to hear from you soon!

Welcome Page

 

Welcome Page Photo
James Kirst

Hello everyone! Welcome to my page! This is the welcome page for James Kirst’s Short Story and Novel page, aka James Kirst’s Short Story Emporium and Creativity Outlet. If you’re here, perhaps you’d be interested in finding out about the novels I wrote, Ghosts are Assholes, Magic Once Removed, and The Crumbling World. If you like any of the books, perhaps you’d be interested in just reading about my other assorted short stories instead. If you’d like to find out more about me, check out this page.

The goal of this site chiefly is to entertain. I like to think of my short stories like something you can read during your lunch break but leaves you with a bit of an emotional impact, whether it be laughter, tears, joy, or something in between.

Will I always succeed in that goal? Hopefully, but odds are I won’t, so I’d love to hear from you to see what you think. I hope to add more topics and features onto this site in the future. My topics can range from anything such as my thoughts on certain tropes, entertainment today, the trials and tribulations of being a writer, who knows? I have so many stories to write that I feel that the sky is truly the limit.

My obligatory social media links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/writerjrk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writerjrk/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18534226.James_Kirst

I have a lot of big and exciting plans for the future. I hope that you come along for the wild ride.

Thank you for visiting. I hope to see you again.

The Writer Jerk Podcast

The Writer Jerk Podcast Logo
The Writer Jerk Podcast Logo

Hey! Check out this test podcast episode I made called The Writer Jerk:

https://youtu.be/MV88HyYUK7Y

The basic theme of The Writer Jerk Podcast is any and all topics tangentially related to writing. Whether the medium is novels, short stories, movies, television shows, comic books, and even video games, if it has a story, I will want to talk about it. I’m planning to make this a mostly family-friendly show that has something for anyone that has even the smallest interest in writing.

Just to give you a bit of a preview, the next two episodes will be a brief discussion of my first two novels, Ghosts are Assholes and Magic Once Removed. There won’t be any spoilers, naturally, but it will provide a bit of an inside look. That is where a cohost could help as he or would be able to provide questions that I did not consider. Afterward, I plan to branch out into different topics including a discussion of witches and witchcraft and how they’ve been historically used in storytelling, an analysis of an essay, and how its lessons are applied to the critiques of fiction today, and a deep dive into a short story. There are a couple of movies I’d like to take a deeper look at as well along with a music video that I feel was deeply symbolic and worthy of further discussion.

I’m very curious about what everyone thinks of it, whether it be content, audio quality, whether you’d listen, or even think this is a good idea at all! Any feedback would be appreciated. Like I said in the episode, please feel to dm me if you want to be a cohost but even if you don’t, I’ll probably continue this because they are fun to make and are a good outlet for my thoughts. Thanks in advance!

Follow the writer jerk on twitter for updates and more! www.twitter.com/writerjerk

Magic Once Removed is Available Now

The kindle version of my paranormal love story combined with a buddy cop movie, AKA Lethal Weapon with witches, Magic Once Removed, is available now.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B5JWQQV

Booksprout for reviews: https://booksprout.co/arc/39426/magic-once-removed

The paperback version should be available soon if it is not available already. Let me know if you want a signed copy and I’ll hook you up.

Thanks again to Karen Fuller and World Castle Publishing. Nothing left to say but:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDTwO0TlwOU

Hiatus

Hello all. I am taking a hiatus from short-story writing to work on what I hope to be a series of novels as well as the promotion of the two novels I have written and I am hoping to get a third novel in the publishing phase soon. I may post periodically here or there but it will probably be inconsistent and if I do post, the story will probably be very short.

I’d like to ask while you wait to check out all of my short stories by pressing “short story” tag below or clicking this(short story) link or this(genre and tags) link or this(story list) link. I would also urge you to share this story with others and comment below. Please check out my books page as well by pressing hereMagic Once Removed will be available soon, so please check out the FAQ. Thank you for your patience and all the support you have given me throughout the year.

Magic Once Removed Announcement and General FAQ

Magic Once Removed Announcement and General FAQ

New Novel Questions

Q: So you’ve written another novel?

A: Yes.

Q: What’s it called?

A: Magic Once Removed.

Q: Who’s the publisher?

A: World Castle Publishing, Inc.

Q: What’s the book about?

A: Down on his luck former police detective turned private investigator Peter Cunningham thought the beautiful Abigail Mitchell was just another crazy client. Now he’s entangled in an ancient conspiracy that dates back to the Salem Witch Trials, a far cry from the simple assault case the woman wanted him to solve.

His budding romance with the witch Abigail will have to be put aside as he travels the Pacific Northwest with estranged friend and former partner Kelly Martinez to discover who these people are and their goals.

A coin, a five-year-old case, the Malleus Maleficarum, televangelist and motivational speaker Tony O’Stein, Pope Innocent VIII, and a secret society all tie back to a tragedy from Peter’s childhood and he will need to figure out what it all means and a solution.

Though many witches live amongst us, they are also part of a secret society but their clandestine organization seems to have been discovered which has led to a new wave of persecution. Internal tensions were already high and the attacks have only exasperated the issues. Peter must expose the members of the conspiracy and thwart their nefarious plans before an even bigger tragedy strikes.

Q: Neat.

A: Thanks.

Q: What genres is it?

A: It’s an action-adventure mystery with large elements of magical realism and romance.

Q: Magic and witches? Is this story anything like Harry Potter?

A: Not particularly. The story doesn’t really revolve around witchcraft. It’s more about how society reacts to those who are different.

I’d be lying if I said there isn’t a lot of magic in the tale. There is, but mostly because I felt it would be pointless to write about witches and not include any magic. That’s where a lot of the fun lies.

Having said that, I tried not to use magic as a crutch. I’ll admit that in a few places in the story I use magic as a way to bypass a few steps or make tasks a little bit easier for the protagonists (such as unlocking a locked door).

However, I still limited the magic and never allowed it to get too powerful. I never allowed the main characters to be “saved” because of magic or had them solve a problem due to a spell. I felt doing something like that was cheating.

Q: How long is the story?

A: About 100,000 words, over twice the length of Ghosts are Assholes.

Q: When’s it going to be released?

A: June 29th. It is available to be preordered now: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B5JWQQV.

Q: Since you brought up your last book, what if I didn’t like Ghosts are Assholes?

A: 🙁

Q: I’m not saying I didn’t like it. I’m just asking “what if”?

A: I suppose everyone is entitled to their opinions.

Q: All right, let me put it this way. Is Magic Once Removed anything like Ghosts are Assholes?

A: Why didn’t you ask that in the first place? Other than Vincent Pietro receiving a passing mention and police detective Kelly Martinez becoming a major character in Magic Once Removed whereas he was a minor character in Ghosts are Assholes, there is nothing tying the two stories together. Perhaps they are set in the same universe but are otherwise completely distinct tales.

The main characters of Magic Once Removed may share a similar dynamic to the ones in Ghosts are Assholes but their interactions are much less sardonic and much more mature, which is to be expected, as the characters are older and wiser. It is also a far more somber tale and much less irreverent. The story still has its humorous moments but overall, it is far more serious.

To put it differently, if you enjoyed Ghosts are Assholes, I think you will enjoy this one as well. If you didn’t enjoy Ghosts are Assholes, you may still enjoy this one anyway as it is a completely independent story.

Q: What was your inspiration?

A: I’ve always been interested in history and the time period of the Salem Witch Trials was something that always particularly fascinated me. However, while knowledge of that time period helped me write the story, it was not the initial inspiration.

A long time ago I used to be really into webcomics and wanted to write one of my own. My initial concept was to write a story about a cartoon witch that solved mysteries chiefly because I wanted to throw in the line “Burning at the stake may have been the end for Joan of Arc but for me, it was just the beginning”.

Not to give too much away, but I managed to wrench that line into my novel and I think it fits though not in the way I intended when I initially wrote that line. I originally thought the line would lead to a greater story where my witch main character was over five hundred years old or something like that. I never solidified the plot so I’m not quite sure where I would have gone had I kept the original concept. Who knows? I might still do something with that concept at a later date.

Though I have to admit if I ever decide to use that premise, I really need to make it distinct from the comic Fables written by Bill Willingham. My original idea was incredibly similar in that I wanted my witch character to solve mysteries in a fairy tale world. Bill Willingham’s comic is incredibly similar as it stars characters from folk tales living amongst regular people in our world.

From what little I’ve read, it’s not bad, though I must admit that my chief exposure to the world is through The Wolf Among Us, one of the few video games I truly think has an excellent story. Part of the reason why I abandoned my original idea was that I felt it would be too similar to Willingham’s work which is okay because I think what I came up with is a lot better than what I would have had before.

It’s a far more grounded story and because of that, events have more weight, tragedies feel more real and you feel more empathy for the characters.

A man like Bill Willingham can take a silly concept such as fairy tales living in the real world and make it work but I don’t think I could have. What I had before could have easily become a farce so I think the new premise allows me to write a much stronger story especially with my style of writing.

Q: Anybody you’d like to thank?

A: I want to thank my mom for all she’s done in my life and my dad as he was an invaluable resource. He was someone I could bounce ideas off of and he helped me throughout the editing process, helping me reduce the story down to a manageable size and at times he gave me a few pointers when I needed them. I couldn’t have written the story without him so I’d like to give him special thanks here.

Miscellaneous Questions

Q: What are your plans for the future?

A: I’m hoping to get a young adult fantasy novel published and I have a plethora of other novels that I’d eventually like to write. In fact, I have a list of about three or four more relatively solid ideas for novels that I would like to work on in the near future and about twelve ideas total, though the rest of my ideas are a little bit more tenuous. Also, my list is quite flexible and you never know when I’ll add or subtract from it.

Otherwise, I’ll just keep working on short stories when I’m not working on a novel. Perhaps you’d be so kind as to check some of them out? I have at least thirty-five written and they have been broken down into twelve genres available here, or you can take a look at all of them by clicking on this link. I admit that they vary in quality and some of them need a revision or two as they are mostly rough drafts but I still feel like they are well worth the read. Please check them out and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you. Please subscribe too if you want to get an e-mail alerting you of new posts and new short stories.

Q: I ordered your last book but didn’t receive it. What should I do?

A: If you ordered my book and didn’t get it, first I apologize. I blame Amazon for the mistake. Second, please DM on facebook or please e-mail me at: writerjrk@jameskirst.com. Don’t worry. I’ll hook you up.

Q: Is there anything I can do for you?

A: I’m glad you asked. I am a total dunce when it comes to marketing so if you have any tips or tricks and are willing to share, please contact me via one of the links below:

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jamesromankirst
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jameskirstauthor
E-mail: writerjrk@jameskirst.com

Any sort of advice would be helpful, whether it be social media tips and tricks or people I could contact to get my book reviewed or just a link to a site where I can advertise my book or my blog, anything would be appreciated.

If you can advertise in any way that would help immensely even if it’s just a matter of telling your friends or sharing a link to my blog on your Facebook page or even shouting on the highest mountain top, anything would help.

Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you soon!

A True Friend, Part of Short Story Saturday!

A True Friend, Part of Short Story Saturday! - Photo by pixabay.com from Pexels
Photo by pixabay.com from Pexels

Hello everyone! Introducing for the first time a new feature on my blog called Short Story Saturday! Every Saturday I will be posting a short story for your perusal. While some may be connected to other stories, they are going to be, for the most part, one-offs. I hope you enjoy them. The first one is entitled A True Friend.

I gradually awake from my unconscious slumber. I’m lying on my side on the cold, damp muddied dirt on this foreboding night struggling to breathe. My chest heaves up and down deliberately as I take deep, measured pants of the air, each gasp sending shockwaves of pain in my chest as if tiny little knives were stabbing my ribs. An oppressive cold seizes my shivering body. The trees that surround me with their limb-like branches that extend towards the heavens like giant, arboreal fingers shield even the most basic illumination making visibility an issue.

Continue reading “A True Friend, Part of Short Story Saturday!”

Ghosts are Assholes Launches Today!

Ghosts are Assholes Launches Today!

Happy to announce that my first book, Ghosts are Assholes, published by World Castle Publishing, LLC, is launched today on Amazon and other online sites in e-book and paperback form. Please see the main page for more details or click on the image above to get to the Amazon order page. If you enjoy the story, please feel free to submit a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or any other review site you can think of. Please subscribe to the blog for more updates and short stories in the future. I hope to write more novels in the future as well so please look out for that too.

As a bit of a celebration of the release, please read a bonus short story involving the adventures of everyone’s favorite medium, Vincent Pietro. It is entitled The Friendliest Ghost I Know:

“Are you sure you want to go in here?” Vincent asked. He was directing his question toward the apparition standing beside him. Both were near a blue door outside a white rambler.

“I have to know exactly what happened,” the poltergeist explained.

“Ed pretty much told us. He’s one of my closest friends and the most trustworthy man I know.”

“It’s not that I doubt the veracity of your friend the desk sergeant. I just need to confirm.”

“Your memories still haven’t returned?”

Continue reading “Ghosts are Assholes Launches Today!”

Celebration Week for my first novel Ghosts are Assholes

Photo by Ylanite Koppens from Pexels
Photo by Ylanite Koppens from Pexels

Hello everyone. This is my first real blog post and it is really just an announcement of sorts. We’re just over a week away from the release of my first novel Ghosts are Assholes and to celebrate this, I will be posting vignettes during the course of this upcoming week to give you a taste and flavor of my writing style and to whet your appetite for my upcoming book. The first short story will be posted tomorrow and expect at least vignettes if not more. It really depends on what my muse is doing this week. Short stories are going to become a regular feature of this blog too so please look for them in the future.

Continue reading “Celebration Week for my first novel Ghosts are Assholes”

WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com