Cheating, Death – chapter 4

Go read Cheating, Death now.

Chatper 4 is the longest, yet, clocking in at over 3500 words.  (And without any zombies!)  If you’ve been reading along you’ve probably noticed that structurally I’m writing each chapter in two parts: First a brief scene someplace Melvin Spall (my main character) isn’t, then a longer scene featuring Melvin’s misadventures in the zombie outbreak – which relates directly to the other scene of the chapter.  With chapter 4, the initial scene is over a thousand words and, while it somewhat mirrors scenes we’ve already been through in the book (the family being woken in the early morning to evacuate), it also shows the danger of keeping secrets.  Secrets that, by the end of the chapter, end up putting a lot of people’s lives in danger.

I spent a lot of time working on this chapter (relatively), which is usually a sign that I’m forcing it rather than following the flow – and usually results in a lower quality of writing.  I would especially appreciate any feedback or criticism (preferably constructive) on chapter 4, for this reason.  Having worked so hard on it, I might not be able to see what’s wrong with it, right now.

Also, chapter 4 pushes the length of the book-so-far over 10k words (Smashwords estimates 10,853 words right now, though that includes the copyright page & foreward – Scrivener says it’s 10,295 words when I just select the contents of the chapters themselves), so while I’m currently leaving the eBook at “name your own price” on Smashwords, as soon as I (write and) upload chapter 5 I’ll bump it to $0.99.  I’ll try to get the sample% to still give you the first four full chapters, but from then on you’ll have to pay to read it as I finish it.  If you’ve downloaded a sample without signing up for a Smashwords account, now is the time to sign up.

Remember, once you’ve paid for it you don’t have to pay for it again, and you have access to all future updates.  Of course, I do welcome your money, so feel free to pay $100 rather than $0 when you “name your own price” at Smashwords:

Go read Cheating, Death now.

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Teel

Author, artist, romantic, insomniac, exorcist, creative visionary, lover, and all-around-crazy-person.

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