We’re a week into my August self-imposed vacation from writing, and the results so far have been interesting. I do feel like taking the time away from sitting down every evening to write has let my brain get some much-needed breathing room and as a result, new ideas are already beginning to flourish.
The biggest benefit of this has been that I think I finally nailed down what my next project will be. It’s an idea I first came up with like 5-10 years ago, but really, it was just a setting without an actual story attached, so the idea kinda just sat there waiting for an actual story to come along.
I think I finally have the beginnings of that story. Now, this comes along with a lot of big ol’ caveats. I only have a handful of story beats even remotely fleshed out in my head and on paper, but what I have is the general 10,000-foot up view of what acts 1, 2, and 3 will be about, along with some character notes, and some other general hodge-podge mish-mash of scene ideas and plot points.
Nothing that makes feel like I must cut the vacation short and rush back to the writing desk, but enough to also not make me dread that rapidly approaching time when I will. I’m excited about starting this new project but not necessarily chomping at the bit.
Yet.
So, what else have I been do with this time away from the literary grindstone? Mostly getting our new gaming rig set up with all the stores and emulators I’ll need for the next wave of games. I did treat myself and picked up the Silent Hill 2 remake from Bloober Team when it was 40% off on GOG.
Silent Hill 2 holds a special place in my heart as a video game. Both it and its precursor mark the first time a video game made me feel legitimate dread and unease while playing, which is quite the feat for any game from the PS1/PS2 era. The first game’s atmosphere was something that few “horror” games had attempted in the 90s, as most preferred to rely on the classic jump scare. The sequel, however, might just be not only the best written horror story in video game history, it might be one of the best stories, period. Now, nearly 25 years later, a remake built for modern graphics expectations arrived and I’ve been eagerly waiting to travel once more into the quiet, foggy town of Silent Hill.
I played the original PS2 version of Silent Hill 2 at least a half-dozen times, so I’m well versed in the story and the narrative twists and turns James’ journey takes him through. I wondered if I could possibly feel that same sense of dread and foreboding playing this graphically superior version.
The short answer: Yes. I find myself tensely gripping my controller as I try to navigate even the earliest parts of this story. The game not only looks absolutely gorgeous; the atmosphere of isolation and loneliness has been perfectly preserved. Logically, I KNOW I shouldn’t be running into anything too difficult or deadly this early on, and yet, I’m cautiously creeping along wondering if even the most basic monsters will eat my face. Indeed, the limit amount of combat I’ve seen makes me realize that if I can avoid it, that’s the smart play because James is as physically fragile as he is emotionally (which is as it should be, IMO.)
As it is a remake of a late 90s/early 2000s game, it definitely retained some game design elements from that era, for good and ill. Just been stabbed? Better drink an energy drink! That’ll patch you right up. Now, why would you think that you could walk up those stairs? Can’t you see the single bucket blocking your way affixed to the earth like it was Mjölnir waiting for Thor. That is something you absolutely definitely could never EVER just STEP OVER. Nope.
On the other hand, the voice acting is much improved from the original. I mean, the original part 2 was leagues above part 1’s, but even then, there were bits where you could tell Konami was not going to pay for a second take, which leads to some, um, interesting choices on how the actors read their lines. In the remake, it’s clear (so far) that the actors took the time to try and understand their characters and match the performance to them.
Anyway, I’m not even out of South Vale and I’m taking this playthrough deliciously slow (also, I’m avoiding playing too close to bedtime because I do not need THAT running through my brain as I sleep. Further updates as warranted.
Next, as we’re firmly into August, let’s look back at July’s sales figures for Tales of a Stranger Sister:
Well, it’s not zero, so that’s something, at least. Do I wish it was more? Oh, most definitely, but I won’t say that the two people who took a chance my debut novel is nothing, either. I’m still blown away that anyone would want to read my book, so the fact that there have been multiple someones is something I will celebrate.
I won’t post a graph of Kindle Unlimited page reads for July because, well, there were none. In the last five and a half months, there’s only been one complete readthrough and one where someone got five pages in and noped out (which is their right, and I won’t begrudge them that.)
That leads me to my next bit of business. My current term on Kindle Select / Kindle Unlimited runs out right before the end of August and I think it might be time to leave the program and go wide for the ebook version. It’s a shame, really, because Kindle Unlimited actually pays me MORE per full read than what I charge for the ebook version, but it doesn’t matter how good the royalty rate is if NO ONE is reading it there, so this is the official announcement: Tales of a Stranger Sister will be leaving Kindle Unlimited on August 27th. If you are interested in reading it with that service, please download it as soon as possible as if you download it before it leaves the program, you will still be able to read it using Kindle Unlimited after it leaves.
Once I get the book set up on other ebook services, I’ll make the announcement here, so stay tuned for that as well as for some other ebook-related news in the next week or so (fingers crossed.)
Okay, I’m gonna wrap up things here for now. I’m hoping to have some good/interesting news in the next week or so and if it comes, I’ll share it here. So, until then, stay cool folks.
