A Yearly Ritual

Posted on by Ty Schwamberger

My 32nd birthday is dead ahead…September 4th to be exact.  Every year as my birthday closes in, I begin to reflect on the previous year.  Not sure why I do this on my birthday and not New Years, as most people do, but I just do.

Lots of things have happened over the past year from  9/4/08 – 9/4/09:

  • My first novel was published in November 08.
  • Several short stories were published during this time.
  • One of my stories was optioned for a short film.
  • The reach of my writing started to move out from the Ohio area to the rest of the country and now beginning to pick up steam overseas.
  • A short story collection was completed and sent to the publisher for consideration (still awaiting word on this).
  • Completed a novella about a ‘doctor that makes a house call’ which will be one of three novellas written by three horror authors and packaged into one book.
  • And other various business and personal happens – some were not so good and some turned out great!

All of this makes me think about the upcoming year and what I want to have accomplished when the big ’33’ comes around in 2010.

My goals (as far as writing is concerned) are as follows:

  • Finish my novel-in-progress that I had to put on the back burner when Night School was accepted for publication (it is about a classic monster with a vary unique twist and parts of it are probably some of the most hardcore and best written stuff I have ever done).
  • Continue to pitch movie ideas to a certain major film studio.
  • Watch the short film (based on my short story) ‘Cake Batter’ come to life on the screen after it is finished shooting in the coming months.
  • Continue to work with Shadetree Films to produce more short stories and potentially a feature length film.
  • Besides finishing the aforementioned monster novel, I would also like to write two additional novels on top of that.
  • Would like to see the short story collection picked up.  If not, I will more than likely break apart a great collection and begin to submit them individually to various magazines.
  • Submit the 3-novella book to publishers and hopefully get it picked up.
  • And I’m sure there will be a few short stories and maybe another novella mixed in there as well.

Whew!  Sounds like a lot of work ahead of me, huh?!  Well, perhaps it is.  But, I also know that I need to start pushing myself harder than ever and really start to turn out some material over a relatively short period of time.

Those are my thoughts for now.  And since I’ve heard from a few of you about getting/sending me something for my birthday, feel free to shoot me an email and depending on what it is (ha ha), I’ll respond with my mailing address.

Review Found Published

Posted on by Ty Schwamberger

Back in April of this year I wrote a review for Withersin Magazine for an issue of their magazine – Withersin Magazine – Death 1.3.  I was unaware that it was ever published until now.

Click here to read the review.

A project dedicated to you, my fans

Posted on by Ty Schwamberger

I started this website on September 28, 2008.  As of this post, there have been 9,216 visitors to the site.  For that, I thank you!

Because of you, my new and old fans, being so dedicated coming back to the site over and over again and my writing, I have decided to give a little something back.  I am going to write a short story (the theme decided by YOU) and post it on the site when the ticker in the bottom right hand corner reaches 10,000.

Now it’s your turn.  Tell me via comment below what kind or theme of story you would like to read.  After a week or so I’ll then pick the most interesting idea, let you know what it’s going to be and start writing it. 

So…let me hear you…what do you want to read about?

Appearances Schedule

Posted on by Ty Schwamberger

Below are a few updates to my Appearances for the next few months.

Context 22 (August 28-30) at:

The Doubletree Hotel

175 Hutchinson

Columbus, OH  43235

Reservations:  (614) 885-3334 or (800) 222-3334

There are convention rates still available, but call soon to take advantage of them.

During the convention I will be on the following panels:

Trusting Your Reader on Friday at 9:00pm

Humor To Horror on Saturday at 10:00am

There might be copies of the book available for purchase at the event, but I can’t guarantee it.  So, if you want a book or magazine signed I would suggest bringing your own copy.  I should be easy enough to spot (if you don’t already know what I look like from a photo on here or Facebook) since I’ll be wearing a Night School T-Shirt at least one of the days (probably on Saturday). 

Hope to see some of you there to chat and party with after the events are over both days!

 

The next scheduled appearance will be at Homecoming weekend at Heidelberg College (Tiffin, OH) in the Bookstore located in the Campus Center on Friday, October 23rd from Noon – 1:30.  There should be a small supply of books on hand that you can purchase, although, I would suggest ordering your own copy of the book and/or magazines soon so you can come by, chat and have me sign it for you.

Hope to see you soon!

On The Lookout…

Posted on by Ty Schwamberger

The open casting call on Saturday went well for the film adaptation of my short story ‘Cake Batter’.  Although, Warren with Shadetree Films would still like some more people to audition for one of the three roles.

So if you’re interested in trying out, grab Warren’s email address off the casting call link above and let him know.

Horror: Sub-Genres & Terms

Posted on by Ty Schwamberger

One of the things I love about writing horror, is that you don’t always have to stick to the basic ideas of a group of teens going into the woods, a beast that scales the Empire State Building or a madman running loose in the streets.  Instead, you can include all different types of ideas and themes and still make the plot interesting and scary at the same time.

Having said that, I wanted to provide you with a list originally published by Dark Echo that can break it all down for you.  Click here to read the article.

Short Film Update

Posted on by Ty Schwamberger

I mentioned here that one of my short stories, ‘Cake Batter’ was optioned for a short film by Shadetree Films.

In the past day I have spoken with Warren Provencal, Owner and Director of Shadetree, and he informed me that he and his crew are ready to begin filming in the coming weeks.

There will also be an open casting call for the three roles (husband, wife and secretary), at which time I will provide the link so you can read about what he is looking for and how to go about contacting him to arrange a time for an audition.

Update: An open casting call will be held this Saturday, August 15th from 3 to 7pm in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.  Click here to read the entire casting call and what Warren is looking for in each role.

Win a Free Copy of Night School

Posted on by Ty Schwamberger

You asked for it, so here it is…starting at midnight (today) through the same time on September 4th, you can enter to win a FREE copy of my novel, Night School.

night-school-front-cover1

How To Enter:

Send me an email (ty_schwamberger@yahoo.com) with a subject line of ‘Night School Book Contest’ and include your name and mailing address (yes, this is open to residents of all countries) by midnight on Sept 4th.  One winner will be chosen at random from all entries received on Sept 5th and be notified via email on or about that date.  Please, only one entry per person.  The winner can choose to have it flat signed or personalized prior to shipping.

Good Luck!

Facebook Fan Club

Posted on by Ty Schwamberger

I was pleasantly surprised today when I opened my email to find that, Gina Kinsman, a fan from the UK (London), started a Facebook Fan Club for my writing.

Click here to view the page (if you don’t have a FB account yet, you might need to sign up in order to view/add the page).

Thanks Again, Gina.  You rock!