<![CDATA[Smuggler's Revenge all News Posts]]> http://www.smugglersrevenge.spruz.com en Sun, 13 May 2012 02:35:50 GMTSmuggler's Revenge all News Postshttp://www.smugglersrevenge.spruz.com<![CDATA[I'm Back!!]]> Okay, so it's been awhile since last posted anything.  I've been working on another project, a childrens book, which I've recently finished.  So now I can once again concentrate on Smuggller's Revenge.  Enjoy.

]]>Mon, 2 Jan 2012 23:37:07 GMT<![CDATA[New link]]>
I added a link to Colleen Sugden's website.  Colleen is the author of "Hatchet Man", a book about a woman who is forced, by the murder of her brother, into the life of an assassin.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it was exciting and intense with the woman starting a new life different and much more dangerous than the one she's used to.  Not only does she have to come to terms with her new profession, she has to deal with two men who both seem attracted to her and on top of all that, she needs to find and kill the man responsible for her brother's death.  (hmmm.   someone out for revenge....sounds familiar.).  This book is a fine read and I just bought the sequel,"Hatchet Woman" and can't wait to start reading it!

]]>Mon, 29 Nov 2010 05:25:46 GMT<![CDATA[He made me do it!!]]> It's interesting the way a story can take on a life of its own.  I think of a story, sit and imagine how everything plays out, then I start writing.  When I really get in to it, its like the story is writing itself.  I try to keep it close to my original ideas but very often it turns out different.  I think that's why I enjoy writing so much.  Most of the time even I don't  know how it's going to end until I get there.

]]>Sat, 30 Oct 2010 19:59:50 GMT<![CDATA[I feel so alone!!]]> I started this website in order to publish my novel in such a way as to let my readers make comments or suggestions as I write each chapter, thereby actually helping me in the development of the story.  But no one's been leaving any feedback.  How can I know how people like or dislike what I'm writing if no one will say anything?  So, please, let me haveit.  Don't be afraid of hurting my feelings.  I took a creative writing course where my instructor loved to tear apart my stories and feed me the pieces so, believe me, I can take it.  So go ahead, do youyr worst.
 

]]>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:34:16 GMT<![CDATA[Page length]]> I've noticed something.  The length of each chapter posted is about 3 to 5 pages long, I noticed each I've posted here equals 2 to 3 pages on my word processor, so each chapter, on paper is actually 6 to 12 pages long, which I think is more a more traditional size.
 

]]>Sat, 14 Aug 2010 03:35:24 GMT<![CDATA[Correction]]> I've made a small change to Chapter 5.  I though it important to make this change to help my readers understand the events that will happen in later chapters.  If you've already read that chapter, you might want to re-read it.  If you haven't read it yet, never mind.
 

]]>Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:28:50 GMT<![CDATA[Musings]]> What would it be like to be a space smuggler, living in a galactic society which would have to be a highly structured one in order to survive because of the great distances between stars.  Would it be easy because it would be difficult to enforce the laws or would it be hard because of the advanced tech available to the space patrol?

 And what would the typical space smuggler be like?  Would he be a smartly dressed rogue like Han Solo or more like a unwashed pirate who has no compunction about killing anyone who gets in his way?

]]>Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:02:46 GMT<![CDATA[Obsession and revenge]]> We all go through life wanting revenge.  When we're driving on the freeway and some idiot cuts us off just so they don;t miss the next exit. we honk the horn, yell at them, even though there's no way they can hear us and occasionally use sign language.  We'll speed up and crowd their bumper or flash our bright lights, trying our hardest to tick them off just because they did it to us.

But what does it take to make someone so obsessed that the desire for revenge becomes the very meaning of their existence?  What's it like to feel nothing but anger and hatred for someone, feelings so strong that they consume you, eating away at your heart and soul like battery acid?  And is it true that if you let these feelings live in you long enough that it becomes impossible to ever feel differently, that you become addicted to the anger and hatred and can't imagine ever feeling anything else?

 

One of my favorite tales is one written by Edgar Allen Poe.  It was called "The Cask of Amontillado".  It is about a man who becomes obsessed with the death of another man.  He plans long and hard.  He makes friends with this other man, always being exceptionally nice to him, until he finally lures him into some catacombs and buries him alive by chaining him into an alcove and walling it up with bricks.   The reason I love this story, along with most of Poe's stories, is the way he puts his readers into the mind of his characters, making the events more immediate and personal.

 

So how does this affect the characters in Smuggler's Revenge?  How should they react?  What is it that makes them hate this guy so much?  Was it the fact that he killed someone they cared about or was it that he betrayed their trust and they feel honor bound to make him pay?
 

]]>Mon, 19 Jul 2010 05:31:31 GMT<![CDATA[Idle thoughts]]> I love writing stories.  I used to read a lot but in the last ten years or so I've gotten more satisfaction writing my own stories.  I find more excitement when I strart with an idea and let it develop in the back of my mind for awhile, or I'll imagine a story in my mind and let it play out like a movie then write it down as I remember it.  It almost never ends up exactly as I imagined it but that is fun as well, watching a story develop on its own as I write it down. 

]]>Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:55:00 GMT<![CDATA[Chapter length]]>
The chapters so far have been rather short.  There's two reasons for this.  One, I think shorter chapters make for a faster paced story and second, I don't want to make my readers wait too long for new chapters to be posted.  I think If I ever do put this story in paperback form, I'll probably organize the chapters differently.

]]>Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:39:29 GMT