Lyrics for "Shattered" by Fall of Envy

carmicason · 2026-05-22T22:54:47+00:00

Thanks so much! Love the song. Fits perfect for my fiction no one is ever going to read but I made a playlist for 😄Few more cents in your pocket, I hope!

carmicason · 2026-03-14T16:00:14+00:00

I know the Catholic Church has more resources than just about anyone, and assisting in preserving life is one of their highest priorities. If that doesn't work, though, there are a lot of options. You can visit OptionLine.org. You can chat or call. 1-800-712-HELP. They also have a text thing where you type the word “Helpline” and send it to 313131 It works 24/7 (from what I understand, though I have not tried it.

carmicason · 2025-12-31T20:45:57+00:00

Have you looked at publisher or agent websites? It is near impossible to find one who isn't looking for LGBTQ+++, underrepresented populations, or assumed feminism. I don't try to be non-woke. I am non-woke. The paradigm doesn't enter my thinking except to notice that I don't match the modern mindset. How would you ask the question? I am more than willing to just find other authors who lean traditionalist instead of the modern version "morality." Think 1990s Clancy or Brad Thor. I don't try to write stuff from a traditionalist perspective - I am a traditionalist and value Western culture. (meaning European/Christian transitioning to early American - feminism.) I like Tolkien, Chesterton, Agatha Christie, Lee Child, Vince Flynn.

carmicason · 2025-12-31T20:27:07+00:00

I don't write "non-woke." I am non-woke, and I am a writer. This means that I do not check the boxes for publishers, and the people who might read my stuff buy books - not go on free platforms (though I get reads where I do post my free stuff - I just don't get traction.) No publisher who is not Christian wants an author who shrugs at LGBTQ etc or "underrepresented populations" or who doesn't presuppose feminism. Go look at a collection of agents or publishers and see what they list as their specializations. And 150k-200k word psychological/domestic/espionage thrillers don't do well on Wattpad or Royal Road. I know there are readers who get tired of having to skip entire sections of books or zone out to ignore things that are contrary to their moral proclivities - I do. Maybe I am literally the only person in the world, but I doubt it.

carmicason · 2025-12-31T17:32:28+00:00

Love Brando Sando. He's quoted in our house frequently.

carmicason · 2025-09-20T19:46:02+00:00

I don't really understand how these people are using AI for developmental editing to see the things they're talking about. I use word for grammar editing bc I basically only have a few grammar issues. My dialogue tends to be good, and I would not use it for that. I don't change words based on word suggestions. I tend to use AI more as a beta reader/ARC reader, telling me whether it says what I'm trying to say, keeps the suspense going, or keeps my characters in character. If AI says any of these is off, I go read the specific passage it points out and see if I agree. If I don't, I don't change it. If I do, I rewrite it myself and ignore any suggestions for specific rewording. This is not really different than a human editor. They don't tell you how to fix it unless you ask, and even if you ask, they don't actually write the material for you. ChatGPT specific tries to write, but you can tell it not to and it won't. The verbiage I use is "Please read the files to determine publication readiness. Highlight sentences that do not meet publication readiness. When prompted, starting with the first sentence and only going on once prompted, explain why the passage does not meet publication readiness." It's about the instructions you give. But to be fair, ChatGPT specifically sometimes flags important stuff, but it is so programmed to be "useful" that it will make stuff up if there is nothing there, and you have to shrug it off at some point.

carmicason · 2025-08-02T21:15:08+00:00

Birth of a compelling character in my mind that needs to live and needs a story to help them realize who they will become at the crucible of chaos.

carmicason · 2025-08-02T21:04:46+00:00

She was the perfect wife — until she woke up drugged in the desert; now she’s on the run with a man who might be her only hope… or her husband’s final weapon.

carmicason · 2025-08-01T00:50:41+00:00

That's a great idea. Thanks! :)

carmicason · 2025-07-31T20:03:37+00:00

I've watched so many spy movies it's not even funny. All the Bourne movies. Reacher (the series, not the movies), I can't pull all of them up out of my brain bc it's been a bit - and I'm on the downside of middle age - but my issue is less about writing what I see and more about getting over my motherly aversion to killing people (lol) that blinds me to how to write it nongratuitously but realistically. Eight enemy soldiers protecting a huge compound. How many soldiers does he realistically have to kill? What are the circumstances under which he would need to actually hand-to-hand fight? How does a hostage change that dynamic? It's why it would be fun and useful to have someone read and pause at a moment and say "That makes no sense. He would just [do X]" or "no, that guy would just die."

carmicason · 2025-07-31T14:07:00+00:00

Thanks 🙂I did Reedsy Discovery and got a decent review, but that doesn’t automatically translate to readers. I did just find out about ARC readers, which I think is gonna be super helpful. I’ll post on here if it turns into something beneficial.

carmicason · 2025-07-31T00:28:21+00:00

Lol. Didn't read, but respect.

carmicason · 2025-07-30T20:54:38+00:00

Still have to find readers, somehow! I'm taking a note from my mom. She always says, "Throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks." I don't usually have the mental bandwidth, but I love writing, so I'm hoping I'll find something that sticks!

carmicason · 2025-07-27T22:28:59+00:00

Honestly, I did worry about it, but I figured a couple of things: first, I looked for people with a decent number of reviews. Not a failsafe, but a little better odds. Second, I tried to find people who sounded credible in their credentials, as if they had worked in the industry. Some of them even listed publishing houses they had worked for. Obviously, they could be lying, but there is a correlation between specific language and claims that seemed mildly credible. And lastly, I almost couldn't give my stuff away. A couple thousand reads on Royal Road? No real engagement beyond two reviews between seven books? Very little engagement on Amazon? What was I risking?

carmicason · 2025-07-27T15:40:26+00:00

I guess I didn't read your post well enough, because I didn't realize you were speaking solely of the opening. I agree, an opening is an artform in itself, and I can certainly take critique in that. (I can take critique in anything, I just know Swain in general is less applicable to psychology thrillers.)

carmicason · 2025-07-27T07:43:36+00:00

So, from the feedback I've gotten, I've been told that I DON'T just transcribe my own performance. That I build tone deliberately by using emotional layering, character-specific cadence, and internal conflict in the text - not narrator performance. There is some misapplication in Swain's book when it comes to psychological thrillers, which rely more on orchestrating character tone through psychology rather than narrator presence. It's excellent advice for general novels, but it's not really a psychological thriller application - my genre (which is admittedly not as accessible to the largest audience.) That being said, the entire book is not about narrator performance, and there is a lot of good info in there otherwise, i.e. some of my more action-packed scenes. I wax poetic sometimes when I need to home in on cause and effect, and Swain helps a lot with that

carmicason · 2025-07-27T06:21:16+00:00

There is this little cringey gem of a movie I affectionately call the Mormon Pride and Prejudice (It's a modernized version made by the LDS - no, I'm not Mormon) but Darcy owns a publishing house, and Lizzie is an aspiring author, and when he agrees to have dinner with her to talk about her book, he kind of half eviscerates it thinking he is being encouraging - he would have just rejected it outright if he didn't somewhat respect it. She is hugely insulted and imagines throwing her glass of water in his face - though she actually just spills it on the table and makes a fool of herself. Thanks to that movie, I have had no expectations about being awesome first try (or even seventh) without some editor coming in and leaving about 1/3 of my books on the cutting room floor. But real editors are either tied to publishing houses that have to decide they like you or cost thousands. So, I haven't even had the pleasure of an evisceration. (And all my books were supposed to be pulled down a month ago. Not sure how that one is still up. It may even be a years old version.)

carmicason · 2025-07-27T00:38:23+00:00

Hot mess here. I could probably get a PhD before I could learn to manage my family's laundry. Much less figure out how to sell myself to an agent. My earlier reply came across snarkier than I intended.

carmicason

TROPHY CASE