“Diary of a Madman” is a story about a serial killer who is manipulated by a mysterious stranger. Thematically, it is a story about the loss of identity and the loss of self. Throughout the entire book, which is told in first person, we never even learn the name of our protagonist (which is intentional).

Some of you know that the Shadow Falls books, “Badlands” and “Angel of Death” are tales about a man who discovers that he is in fact, the embodiment of “Death.” If you have either read “Angel of Death” or heard the audio book version, you are probably already familiar with how it directly relates to the ending of “Diary of a Madman.”

Diary/Badlands/Angel of Death make up the heart of what I refer to as The Angel of Death Chronicles (AODC).

Yes, INFINITY is a book that is riddled with AODC references and Easter eggs. No, you do not have to have previously read any of the AODC books to understand what INFINITY is all about. That being said, let me peel back another layer…

Think of the concept of “demons.” What does it mean to you? Who are demons? How do they manipulate people? What is their purpose? What do they want? More importantly, where do they come from? Those voices inside of your head compelling you to do bad things. Are they part of your consciousness? Or did they originate from somewhere else, infecting you and your mind like some kind of parasite?

INFINITY exists in a world where all of those questions are answered. The AODC books exist in a world where all those questions are asked.

In “Badlands” Galan Altos (an anagram for “a lost angel”) is a killer who is haunted by his past and is tormented by the ghosts that follow him. At the end of the book he comes to a startling realization about his true identity. In “Angel of Death” we fast-forward 150 years in time to find that Galen’s consciousness is being manipulated from one life to the next in order to send him down a darkened path of no return. He is a being with no control over his existence. In “Angel of Death” he finally becomes aware of this lack of control and fights to alter the destiny that has been chosen for him by his father. Standing in Galen’s way is his brother, also chosen to assume the mantle of “Death”–with the two brothers fighting to see who will ultimately become Death. Whereas Galen is a being that will only kill for a reason, his brother is a cold-hearted murderer happy to see the streets run red with blood… (and yes, there is a strong Cain and Abel reference in the Shadow Falls books that I blogged about here).

Consider then our titular character from “Diary of a Madman” and how he is manipulated by a stranger named Eddy into choosing other killers as his victims. who is Eddy? Could Eddy in fact, be a demon?

Now, the true relationship between INFINITY and the AODC books can only be revealed once you have read INFINITY and INFINITY Rising, the direct sequel that picks up right where infinity leaves off. all of these books make up a very layered overall universe. The INFINITY books are just the top-most layer of it all.

I will tell you this much. There are things referenced in the infinity books that take place in the as-yet-to-be-written “Diary of a Madman” sequel that have to do with Ian’s past before he became part of this demon-hunting cult known as the Church of Infinity. Also, some of you may recognize passages from “Badlands” that are in a book Ian reads called “Exit the Valley” penned by “Thomas Holt” — the same name used by the Preacher who burns down his own church with his entire congregation inside (as revealed in Badlands). The story behind how Thomas Holt wrote “Exit the Valley” is a part of the Shadow Falls canon that hasn’t been told yet.

So yes, it’s complicated… some may say convoluted, but these three different universes and how they all are essentially concentric circles of one another has been something I’ve been working on for nearly a decade. It’s only now that I’m able to reveal how these puzzle pieces all fit together.

For every light that shines… a SHADOW FALLS…

Happy Halloween. I thought in honor of All Hallow’s Eve Weekend, I’d dig up the original 6 episodes of the Shadow Falls audiodrama. Meet for the first time, the mysterious Galen Altos, who knows not where he is or why he is there… and visit the town that holds a darkness far beyond his control.

Boo!

SHADOW FALLS – Episode One – Click here to listen

SHADOW FALLS – Episode Two – Click here to listen

SHADOW FALLS – Episode Three – Click here to listen

SHADOW FALLS – Episode Four – Click here to listen

SHADOW FALLS – Episode Five – Click here to listen

SHADOW FALLS – Episode Six – Click here to listen

And of course you can discover more about poor lost Galen Altos and the meanings behind his nightmares in Shadow Falls: Badlands and Shadow Falls: Angel of Death.

You know, I’m getting more serious about offering to hire myself out to design ebook covers for other people. Super pro Joel Friedlander from TheBookDesigner.com had this to say about the artwork I created for SHADOW FALLS: ANGEL OF DEATH:

“…he has quite a knack at graphic design…”

Hey, that’s enough for me!

I submitted it for his monthly ebook cover design awards for Sept 2011. Winners get announced tomorrow. Wish me luck!

It takes a couple of weeks to get a book up in Apple’s iBookstore but I’m happy to announce that finally, SHADOW FALLS: ANGEL OF DEATH is now available in iBooks for just $2.99.

To help promote the release of SHADOW FALLS: ANGEL OF DEATH, for a limited time, SHADOW FALLS: BADLANDS is just 99 cents for Kindle and Nook.  As I announced last week, it’s FREE at Apple’s iBookstore. SF: AOD is a sequel to Badlands so even if you heard the original audiobook version, you may want to brush up on your Shadow Falls lore or just, ahem… support the artist… because artists like that kind of thing.

And of course, if you don’t have a Kindle or a device that can run the free Kindle apps, you can always use the Kindle Cloud Reader for free in your browser!

Some of you already know I design most of my own book covers. This one, for the upcoming release of SHADOW FALLS: ANGEL OF DEATH, I think, came out exactly right. I just finished the last few details with the manuscript including thanking all of you who helped me shape the original draft of the story when it was a serialized audio podcast. I gotta say, I’m really proud of the way this book came out and paired with BADLANDS, it really makes one amazing epic tale.

Enough procrastinating… I’m gonna finish formatting the book and get it submitted for Kindle, Nook and iBooks. Keep an eye out for it!

New releases by branded artists benefit greatly from the hype they generate. Hype is the launchpad for monetization. However hype is an elusive state that is almost always temporary. Hype burns fast and dies away just like lighting a whole pack of matches at once.

The only way to keep that flame going would be to light another pack of matches from the first. Continue lighting pack after pack after pack. Who in their right mind would do that?

People who were dedicated to keeping the flame alive. True believers. A cult.

Indie publishers (like me) don’t have the resources to generate instant hype. My marketing budget isn’t spent with dollars but with time. I post here on Wordsushi, I throw a few tweets out from the @MYN Twitter account. I post on my Facebook profile. Lately, I created my first video book trailer with no budget, just using a great voice over I already had and some free stock footage and a bit of creativity.

Is it working? So far, yes.

With my next round of ebook releases, I’m striving to create and further some cult-worthy franchises that you, the faithful reader will hopefully not only enjoy, but also help further fan the flames for.

Up next, will be SHADOW FALLS: ANGEL OF DEATH, the sequel to SHADOW FALLS: BADLANDS (and as some call it, the third installment of the Shadow Falls saga if you include the original audio drama series).

What some of you already know is that ANGEL OF DEATH and BADLANDS are part of a larger body of work that I’ve been calling THE ANGEL OF DEATH CHRONICLES.

Soon after, I will be releasing two separate ebook versions of TRANSISTOR RODEO. Unlike some of my edgier, blood-soaked tales, TR is a very kid-friendly kinetic adventure about a robot rodeo that goes haywire and runs amok in the city of Los Angeles and the very human broken down cowboy who has to not only save the day but save his young son from danger. The first version will be just text but those of you who heard the serialized audio podcast version will remember the original music score I wrote to go along with it. The second version of TR will be an enhanced ebook that includes sections of the more than 3 hours of cinematic music I wrote, played and a produced.

And yes, there is much, much more on tap including the sequel to DIARY OF A MADMAN and lots of other wild and entertaining books I’m currently developing. As always, I look forward to your thoughts and I continue to be humbled by your support. Let’s keep that flame burning!

Right now, I’m still tweaking the cover for ANGEL OF DEATH. It’ll be similar to the design seen in the ANGEL OF DEATH “coming soon” announcement post but with a few changes. My editor is finishing up the manuscript and with a little luck, ANGEL OF DEATH will be out very soon.

Stay tuned…

I’m happy to announce that SHADOW FALLS: ANGEL OF DEATH, the long-awaited sequel to SHADOW FALLS: BADLANDS (and the next part in the ongoing Angel of Death Chronicles) will be the next mindproduct from Glenneyre Press to come to the Kindle, Nook and iBooks. AOD is in the final edit phase and should be out in eBook form soon.

Stay tuned…

DIARY OF A MADMAN
by Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff

CHAPTER 1

Dear Diary,

Today, I woke up at 7 a.m., stretched for 20 minutes and made myself an egg white and spinach omelet with two pieces of wheat toast and the last of the margarine. Watched the news on KTLA for fifteen minutes. Caught a story about a possible teachers’ strike. Afterwards, I took a shower and got dressed (white buttoned-down JC Penney shirt, tan Dockers pants). Grabbed my gym bag and went into the office to pick up some new brochures. Told my supervisor I had a sales call in Torrance, but instead drove three hours to Bakersfield and murdered a man named Phil Testaleone.

Phil’s house was located in a tract of small and inelegant homes built in the 1950s. Two bedrooms, one bath, twelve hundred square feet, including one-car garage, all perched atop less than a quarter acre of land. Original brick exterior. Twenty-year-old aluminum windows (why people don’t replace those awful things is beyond me?). Roof that appears to have last been shingled more than a decade ago. Chain-link fence in the front. Old picket fence in need of a coat of paint on the south side belonging to the neighbors. Slightly bent screen door (lock already broken). Schlage doorknob lock with two deadbolts on the front and two on the back door leading out into the yard behind the house.

Grass was freshly cut, possibly yesterday (I love that smell). A rusted and forgotten swing set idles near the fence (made back when they used to build them out of steel, and not plastic) right next to a dirty and spider-infested pile of firewood. It was almost 2 p.m. when I got there. I circled the block and saw nobody, which was exactly what I was expecting since in the weeks I had been casing Phil’s house nothing in this neighborhood had changed. A few doors down, the one house on the street for sale still had the same sign on the lawn. (And someone please tell me why the hell do realty whores think they need to put their mug shot on everything? Sheesh!).

Three blocks away, I parked on the street with several other cars near the Von’s market on Henderson. In the back seat I took the grey meter reader’s coverall out of my gym bag and put it on. (It’s a bit looser after I dropped those five pounds). The surgical gloves, I slipped into my pocket.

Because there was no need, I didn’t bother appearing to be checking meters until I was on Phil’s block, and with the hat pulled down on my head and these fake eyeglasses, I was nobody. I once read somewhere that the whole idea when they designed these uniforms was to make the wearer invisible. (I should have thought of getting one of these outfits sooner, but what can you do? Live and learn.)

At Phil’s house, I made it into his backyard by hopping over the gate when nobody was looking.

One scary moment, I caught my leg on the top of the fence and slightly ripped the coverall. Quickly checked the fence for fibers and my leg to see if I was bleeding. Luckily no on both, but decided I should seriously consider dropping another five pounds.

With no one home and both neighbors at work, it took me less than a minute to pry one of the flimsy aluminum windows with a screwdriver. As I got it open, I thought of the combined four deadbolts on both doors and had to stifle a small laugh.

I pulled myself into the second bedroom and, once inside, tried to take in the aroma of Phil’s house but was denied the home’s natural scent by way of a Glade plug-in air freshener trying to convince me summer lilacs smell like something from Dow Chemical.

I’m almost convinced people are so accustomed to what’s fake that they prefer it to the real thing. I mean, when the fuck have you ever had grape soda that actually tasted like grapes?

In the hallway, I could catch the hint of bleach in the air and followed it to a pair of accordion doors hiding an old washer/dryer pair. Inside the washer was a load of whites. Hanes underpants and T-shirts, socks. Probably all new, as of two Christmases ago.

The dryer was empty.

Very little in the fridge except for tomato juice, eggs, bread, mayonnaise, mustard, deli-cut lunchmeat (ham and beef tongue) and Swiss cheese. In the cupboards, I found mostly soup and one bottle of imitation maple syrup. There was hardly any doubt in my mind Phil has lived alone here ever since his mother passed away a year and a half ago. Throughout the house, I counted three photos of her. One faded black and white snapshot of a young woman with wavy hair wearing the uniform of a WAC from the Second World War, reminds me of an old postcard.

At some point, I realized I’d been staring at the WAC photo for fifteen minutes. Honestly, it started to give me the creeps, so I pushed it off the wall. After that, I went into the garage to hunt around.

Phil came home right on time, a little past six. I had been waiting just behind the door and when he closed it while flipping through his mail, I grabbed him from behind. I clamped my right hand over his mouth very tightly and used my left to hit him in the neck with the stun gun. He reacted quickly, quicker than I thought, trying to elbow me. Everybody gets one good shot thanks to the adrenaline. Thankfully he didn’t get the lucky shot.

His elbow to my ribs didn’t hurt at all and as I kicked his legs out from under him and brought him to the floor I could feel the fight go right out of his body. I waited for the stun gun to recharge and hit Phil again, holding it to his skin until he passed out.

I originally had thought I would drag him to the kitchen but after some thought I finally decided on the small dining area.

Phil awoke a half hour later, and as expected, tried to scream through the duct tape covering his mouth. I had wrapped it three times around his head to make sure there was no chance—better safe than sorry. He was secured to a chair at the head of the table, wrists and ankles taped to the thick armrests and legs. They really don’t make furniture like that anymore.

I kept the light low and the shades drawn, nothing out of the ordinary. I even put the TV on in the living room. (It’s the small details that matter. Remembering them reminds me I’m in control.)

When Phil came to, his eyes went so wide I nearly had to laugh. He looked like one of those old Bugs Bunny cartoons when Elmer Fudd sits on a thumbtack or something. I could see that he was scared, even though he tried to pull it together quickly.

But once he saw what I had taken from his garage, he broke down. He had to have known what was going to happen next.

Truth was, I hadn’t expected to find a cordless drill, but I did come across an old plug-in Craftsman that was heavier than a brick along with a nicely coiled twenty-five-foot orange extension cord. The drill bits found in the box nearby were old and needed sharpening, but I was pretty certain they’d be good enough to go through skin, muscle and bone.

Hovering over Phil, I held up the drill and gunned it once for effect. I watched him begin rocking back and forth in the heavy chair, struggling to break free out of instinct. Had he been thinking, he would have realized it was a completely fruitless effort.

Where does the saying “fruitless” come from? Archaic from when folks used to go out foraging to survive and the resulting feeling of coming back empty-handed? I can’t understand it. Why not take a crossbow with you? You’re bound to find something to eat if you look hard enough.

I let Phil rock back and forth a bit because I could finally smell the acrid scent of sweat coming off him. Eventually, I pushed him backward, tipping him over until he and the chair slammed on the floor half on and half off the Persian rug. I’d bet anything that was a real Persian too, not some made-in-Mexico knockoff.

I leaned down and pushed the point of the bit against Phil’s shoulder and the moment I hit the trigger his body jolted as if struck by lightning. I put my other hand on his chest to hold him in place and drilled until I hit bone. I was feeling good so I drilled a second hole before moving to the other shoulder. Then I decided the holes weren’t big enough so I went back to the garage. There, hanging on an old pegboard, was a thick, half-inch masonry bit I’d missed before, still wrapped in the blister pack it had been sealed in sometime during the 1970s.

When I’d gotten back to Phil’s dining room, he had managed to roll over onto his side in a lame effort to get to the door. I kicked him back over and told him I was going to punish him for his disobedience, and I used the masonry bit on his hip, actually feeling it snap once I punched through the thick bone.

The other thing I’d brought back with me from the garage was a nice old-fashioned claw hammer. I actually had to hold each of his knees down with one hand while I went to work on them with the other. (Five whacks to shatter the left one. Seven for the right.) It had always been my feeling that if you break the knees first, it makes it easier to do the feet without too much of a fight.

I took Phil’s shoes off (Florsheim, nice!) but left his socks on (one black, one blue—colorblind, Phil? Maybe?) before using the claw end of the hammer on his feet. Within two or three swings, I’d lacerated them, tearing flesh away with each successive blow. I’d even managed to splatter myself in the process so it was probably a good thing I had on an old apron I found in the kitchen.

Phil squeezed his eyes shut from the pain and it annoyed me so I went through the drawers in the kitchen and found a pair of orange-handled scissors. I put my knee into Phil’s chest as I pulled his eyelids up and cut them away. There. The last thing I wanted was to have all this hard work of mine go unappreciated.

I took the scissors in my hand and used one of the points to stab right through Phil’s cheek into his mouth where it made a slight popping sound. I kept stabbing his cheek until I’d punched a hole big enough to see his tongue then I began stabbing that as well until it looked like a lump of bloody hamburger. I hadn’t been planning on doing that. I love it when I improvise.

Phil had weakened immensely from the blood loss, so I decided to think about wrapping things up a bit. I went into his bedroom to get the items I’d found earlier.

When I showed them to Phil, he began crying and it occurred to me that he hadn’t even shed a tear until this very moment. I told him what I like about older gardening shears is that they’re made from cold-forged steel. Steel made in the U.S., and not this imported Chinese garbage.

“But I guess you know that by now, huh Phil?” I told him.

When I showed him the cigar box I had found hidden high on a shelf in his closet, he tried to turn away. I opened the lid to reveal all of the tiny severed fingers. Most of them shriveled and blackened with age. One, maybe half the size of my own fingers, looked fairly fresh, maybe a month old.

I held the tiny finger up to him. There was a hint of pink polish on a chipped nail and I thought of a news story I’d seen weeks ago about an eight year-old girl who’d vanished from a playground as her mother’s attention was focused on a cell phone. I’d seen the posters with the girl’s face as far away as L.A.

Jody Sue Montgomery.

They never found her, and right now I was pretty certain I was holding up her ring finger. One that would never see an engagement or wedding ring because of Phil Testaleone, a forty-seven-year-old pedophile who, as the cigar box would testify, apparently loved to collect trophies.

I put the small and delicate finger back into the box and closed the lid. I picked up the claw hammer and used the head to smash into the duct tape covering his mouth, bringing it down hard as I heard his teeth shatter underneath. I believe I said something to him, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what. It’ll probably come back to me later.

At some point, I must have turned the hammer around to the claw end because when I looked down, Phil’s face had caved in on one side. Quickly, I stopped because I wanted to make sure he was positively identified.

So then I picked up the drill and used the masonry bit on his abdomen and chest, trying to remember where all of the major organs were located. After several tries, I found his heart and sometime during the second hole I’d put in it, it must have given out.

I slipped out of Phil’s shirt (and the pair of his shoes I’d squeezed into). In the kitchen sink, I used a lighter to completely melt the surgical gloves I’d been wearing before dropping them down the disposal. I took off my coveralls and put on the dark sweatpants and shirt in my gym bag and left out the back door sometime after 1 a.m. The street was dark and quiet and I walked to my car and drove home. All the way back, I fought the urge to stop and pick up a pack of cigarettes.

*****

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What listeners are saying on iTunes about DIARY OF A MADMAN

Wonderfully Delicious – A Window Into the Darkness.

The author/narrator truly captures the deviancy of a serial killer’s mind, heart and soul. The author paints an authentic profile of a killer. It appears the author has done a commendable job on his research. As a professor of child psychology, with a strong interest in violent behavior disorders, I enjoyed peering inside the mind (while fictional) of a serial killer. Thank you, Mark.

-JamesPh.D.

…His precise knowledge of human physiology lends an almost Tom-Clancy-like second-by-second suspense to the actual description of this murderous efficiency, which is very very chiling (Nemcoff must have some medical traiing)… this book was an unexpected guilty pleasure, and I found myself checking my earbuds to make sure no one was overhearing his wickedly delicious narrative.

-stacy_a_lbc

I have to say the first chapter threw me for a loop. The detail of the murders and the language were a bit unsettling. After the second chapter… I have become addicted to the book. The description, from the point of view of a killer, is definitely colorful, insightful and entertaining. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a beautifully written thriller.

-BOLESE

WOW! Truly twisted and unavoidably addicting.

-Fergibaby

WHAT IS SHADOW FALLS ALL ABOUT? – LISTEN NOW!

Let me tell you of a story about two brothers
Sons of the immortal demonic impulse known as Death
For centuries, groomed to succeed their father
One brother, the Wolf, is the judge of souls
The other, known as the Coyote, thirsts for the blood of the innocent and not so innocent alike
Time and again, across countless lifetimes, the brothers have battled

This is their story.

Go ahead, say that the SHADOW FALLS series, the first installment of the ANGEL OF DEATH CHRONICLES sounds loosely-based upon the story of Cain and Abel. I won’t tell you you’re wrong.

In BADLANDS, a killer wakes up on the day of his hanging to find his jail cell door open and everyone in town has been slaughtered. After fleeing in search of the meanings inside his constant nightmares, he discovers he has lived many lifetimes and though all of them he has been pursued by evil spirits, including that of his brother who allow Galen to realize he is actually, in fact, “Death”.

In ANGEL OF DEATH, Galen wakes in another life in a motel room covered in blood, laying next to a mutilated corpse. He is “rescued” by his sister who tells Galen they have to “break the cycle” that continues to catapult them through countless lifetimes full of misery and bloodshed.  But it is Galen’s brother who discovers he enjoys killing too much to make it stop. In the final confrontation, Galen is forced to kill his own brother (mirror to Badlands)… he loses consciousness and wakes up back in the jail cell, this time the door is closed. He goes to his hanging to atone for his sins but wakes up again, this time as a serial killer who has been in pursuit of another, more grisly killer, the Freeway Slasher… who of course, is… well, I’ll let you guess who he is.

A man discovers he is the embodiment of DEATH and then as the events of his past come to light he comes to believe he can alter his destiny. Shadow Falls is an allegory about THE HIGH COST OF REPEATING THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST.

Plus, updates on the TV series, the animated feature, etc… things are moving forward!

LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 19 COMMENTARY

Chapter 19… Brother vs. Brother… Listen to the ANGEL OF DEATH FINALE – dropping Oct 31st!

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So my intention, as of right now, is to record both Chapter 19 and 20 next week. Drop Chapter 19 here on Wordsushi on Wednesday the 27th as usual, with the normal commentary podcast in tow.

And then, because it seems too perfect not to, I will drop Chapter 20, the big finale to SHADOW FALLS on Oct 31, 2010. I’ll try to set it to release at 12:01 am on the 31st so you can get it early if you want.

And then, depending upon my schedule, I’ll do a wrap-up commentary episode either that following week or the next. Given the double dip of episodes, I may wait until the second week of November. We’ll see.

Plus, at that time, I will also reveal exactly what Shadow Falls was all about and what, at least thematically, lays ahead for the Angel of Death Chronicles.

So, set your calendars… Oct 31 it is.

LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 18 COMMENTARY

Chapter 18… Butterfly!

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Clockwise from top left: Galen awakes in the motel in Episode 1, Flashback from Episode 8, Galen in the stock/pillory in Episode 16, and Darvos (the sexier TV version).

Seriously, how incredibly awesome are these? Dude has some real talent.

Give Alex some love by leaving a comment and/or go check out his website:

http://alexmercado.blogspot.com/2010/10/shadow-falls-angel-of-death.html

LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 17 COMMENTARY

Chapter 17… We are ramping up for the big finish! Your comments, some updates on the TV pilot and animated feature and more!

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LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 15 COMMENTARY

Chapter 16… The beginning of the end… Plus we talk about the Turtle and RapidEye catches a mistake in the text!

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LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 15 COMMENTARY

Chapter 15… the end of act 2… the turtle and the duality of it all.

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LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 14 COMMENTARY

Chapter 14 takes Galen/Thomas into the woods… so to speak. Plus, your emails and some story theory for you writers out there.

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LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 13 COMMENTARY

Chapter 13 is all about “the curse”… Listen as I explain.

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LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 12 COMMENTARY

Plus I spend the first half hour talking about what its like to find myself kinda unexpectedly being in a TV pilot of all things.

Along with your comments, emails and some serious discussion of the underlying psychological and theological themes going on in Angel of Death

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LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 11 COMMENTARY

This week I get all existential on your asses. I know you can handle it.

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MYN4 = 20% off 1,2 or 3 year shared hosting plans
MYN5 = $12.99 SSL certificates

LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 10 COMMENTARY

Your awesome comments lead the way again this week and we get into some seriously deep stuff including how “the anagram” fits in.

Please hit up the Wordsush.com/TIPJAR and leave a comment about how you enjoy my work.

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I went to email the Angel of Death draft-in-progress to myself and saw the file size came out to 666K… is this a sign of things to come?

LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 9 COMMENTARY

As we get deeper into the story, I discuss in more detail the relationship to Season One of Shadow Falls as well as read your very intelligent comments and reveal more of my motivations.

LINKS TO STUFF:

Flying Spaghetti Monster

Please hit up the Wordsush.com/TIPJAR Every time you buy something from one of my links, it helps further the cause of bringing more great content to you.

Get the FREE MYN APP for iPhone/iPad

MYN1 = 10% off your entire order
MYN2 = $5 off any order of $30 or more!
MYN3 = $7.49 .com domains
MYN4 = 20% off 1,2 or 3 year shared hosting plans
MYN5 = $12.99 SSL certificates

Can I just tell you how blown away I am by all of your comments on ANGEL OF DEATH?

Over the past few weeks, I have seen in your emails and comments some of the most in-depth, insightful and just downright incredible analysis of what you think is going on and where it’s all headed.

And a couple of you are really on target. Others of you are close…

But remember that the whole story isn’t written yet. In fact, as of this post, I’ve only written up to the end of chapter 9… but I do know what the major story beats are and how it ends.

What I don’t know, and this is how I think our experiences with ANGEL OF DEATH somewhat parallel as author and audience… is exactly how that all happens or how long it will take to get there.

The story is always constantly evolving. It truly is alive in its own crazy way.

But this has always been the case with Shadow Falls, Badlands and now Angel of Death. What I write down is the movie that plays in my head, as closely as I can describe it but I too, only get to see so much at one time… and even like Galen with his copy of BADLANDS, I can’t really jump ahead because THE BOOK WON’T LET ME.

Yes, I know that sounds crazy but I can promise you this. The book has told me there are some really wicked twists and turns coming and next week’s Chapter 9 is no exception.

I do consider myself very lucky to have such great listeners as you folks and your continuing analysis, hypotheses and just plain wild and crazy guesses are a huge help in the creation of one of my best works of fiction to date. HUGE.

Keep that feedback coming… It’s truly, truly awesome.

Best,
MYN

LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 8 COMMENTARY

Some commentary and analysis on what’s happening in the story so far along with this week’s big developments, your email and comments and a whole lotta chatter from me.

LINKS TO STUFF:

www.jointhecolony.com

Old Spice Guy, You Suck – Music Video

Please hit up the Wordsush.com/TIPJAR Every time you buy something from one of my links, it helps further the cause of bringing more great content to you.

Get the FREE MYN APP for iPhone/iPad

MYN1 = 10% off your entire order
MYN2 = $5 off any order of $30 or more!
MYN3 = $7.49 .com domains
MYN4 = 20% off 1,2 or 3 year shared hosting plans
MYN5 = $12.99 SSL certificates

LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 7 COMMENTARY

Some commentary and analysis on what’s happening in the story so far along with this week’s big developments, your email and comments and a whole lotta chatter from me.

Please hit up the Wordsush.com/TIPJAR Every time you buy something from one of my links, it helps further the cause of bringing more great content to you.

Get the FREE MYN APP for iPhone/iPad

MYN1 = 10% off your entire order
MYN2 = $5 off any order of $30 or more!
MYN3 = $7.49 .com domains
MYN4 = 20% off 1,2 or 3 year shared hosting plans
MYN5 = $12.99 SSL certificates

Previously on Angel of Death: After getting Nena and Galen to a safehouse way outside of the city, The Freak goes back to retrieve the artifact, the petrified eyeball, he inadvertently left behind in their rush to escape attack. Meanwhile, Galen’s insistence to know the truth brings Nena to reveal two important details of Galen’s previous existence. The eyeball in question used to be his and a book given to her by a man named Mathers inexplicably details the events of their past lives from 150 years ago–a book titled BADLANDS.

LISTEN TO ANGEL OF DEATH – EPISODE SIX!

Tell me what you think. Leave a comment. I HIGHLY VALUE YOUR FEEDBACK.

Episode Six commentary is available as a separate podcast download. Click here.

Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to my audiobook feed

Visit the Tip Jar if you’ve enjoyed this FREE AUDIOBOOK. Every purchase from one of my sponsors helps keep the free entertainment coming.

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LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 6 COMMENTARY

Some commentary and analysis on what’s happening in the story so far along with this week’s big developments, your email and comments and a whole lotta chatter from me.

Plus promos from: Mostly Trivial and John Mierau’s ENEMY LINES. Check ‘em out!

Please hit up the Wordsush.com/TIPJAR Every time you buy something from one of my links, it helps further the cause of bringing more great content to you.

MYN1 = 10% off your entire order
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MYN3 = $7.49 .com domains
MYN4 = 20% off 1,2 or 3 year shared hosting plans
MYN5 = $12.99 SSL certificates

Previously on Angel of Death: Galen Altos wakes in a tenement apartment where he meets his long lost sister, Nena. Someone who he hadn’t seen for over 150 years or possibly several lifetimes. Their reunion is interrupted however by gunfire coming from a mysterious man named Darvos who has come looking for… something… but what he instead finds in Nena’s vacant apartment is a relic, a petrified eyeball. However, it is a discovery that makes Darvos break out in a devilish grin.

LISTEN TO ANGEL OF DEATH – EPISODE FIVE!

Tell me what you think. Leave a comment.

Episode Five commentary is available as a separate podcast download. Click here.

New to Shadow Falls? You don’t have to have listened to Season One or Badlands to enjoy ANGEL OF DEATH.

Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to my audiobook feed

Visit the Tip Jar if you’ve enjoyed this FREE AUDIOBOOK. Every purchase from one of my sponsors helps keep the free entertainment coming.

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LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 5 COMMENTARY

Just a handful of comments and emails. What happened? Plus, I talk a bit about Angel of Death Episode 5′s big reveal. Enjoy!

Please hit up the Wordsush.com/TIPJAR Every time you buy something from one of my links, it helps further the cause of bringing more great content to you.

MYN1 = 10% off your entire order
MYN2 = $5 off any order of $30 or more!
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Maybe you heard me talk about it in the Angel of Death Episode 4 Commentary episode. Shame, shame, shame on you if you didn’t. Okay, maybe not shame but for those of you who missed it, here’s the skinny on the “Win a Sony EBook Reader by Listening to ANGEL OF DEATH and Commenting Contest”.

One lucky Wordsushi.com community member from anywhere in the world will win my lightly used SONY PR-505 EBOOK READER. The battery holds a good charge. There is no WiFi or 3G but you can connect the PR-505 to a computer via USB and buy/download best sellers and new ebooks from the Sony E-reader online store. The Sony eBook reader client software is a free download from their site. What you get is just my Sony PR-505 but I will put a couple of public domain pulp crime novels on it as well as a couple of my own books for your instant reading pleasure. As you can see from the photo above, the device also comes with a cover to protect it. PLUS: if the winner likes, I will autograph it inside the back cover or on the back of the device.

Here is how you can win my Sony PR-505 eBook reader for FREE:

1. LIsten to episodes of Angel of Death and comment on them here on Wordsushi.com.

While I do appreciate all the emails and comments on Facebook, only comments here on Wordsushi will count as entries.

or:

2. Listen to Angel of Death Commentary episodes and comment.

3. Read Shadow Falls: Badlands chapters and comment.

Only comments on these types of Wordsushi posts will count as entries.

ONLY REAL COMMENTS THAT DEMONSTRATE YOU LISTENED TO OR READ THE POST CONTENT WILL COUNT AS ENTRIES! – Any bullshit comments thrown in there just as an entry will not count as an entry.

To make sure you don’t miss a chance to win – SUBSCRIBE TO THE FULL WORDSUSHI FEED

You can comment multiple times but you will only get One entry per person per post.

TO BE ELIGIBLE YOU MUST ALSO BE FOLLOWING ME ON TWITTER! TWITTER.com/MYN

PLUS: FIRST (REAL) COMMENT ON ANY OF THE ELIGIBLE POSTS WILL COUNT AS A DOUBLE ENTRY – so be first to listen/read and comment

So there you go… LISTEN/READ, COMMENT and WIN!

GOOD LUCK!

ADDITIONAL RULES:

One winner will be picked at random from all of the comments. Winner will be picked after the final Angel of Death episode and commentary episodes and Badlands chapters are posted. I make no guarantees that these will continue to post on a weekly basis due to my schedule so I cannot speculate as to when the contest will actually end. I will be the final judge as to what is an acceptable entry and reserve the right to disqualify any entry or entrant for any reason whatsoever. I also reserve the right to change the rules, prizes or cancel the contest for any reason at any time (though it is not my intention to). Winner cannot substitute prize for cash or any other prize. If you live outside the USA, prize will probably be shipped in the most affordable method, i.e. cheaply. PR-505 will be sent AS IS.

Entrants assume all responsibility if entering such a contest is prohibited by law in the jurisdiction in which they live and as such indemnify me from any such liability.

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Previously on Angel of Death: After Galen is killed. A flashback takes us back to a time long ago where something evil is definitely born. But now we return to present day…

LISTEN TO ANGEL OF DEATH – EPISODE FOUR!

Tell me what you think. Leave a comment.

Episode Four commentary is available as a separate podcast download. Click here.

New to Shadow Falls? You don’t have to have listened to Season One or Badlands to enjoy ANGEL OF DEATH.

Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to my audiobook feed

Visit the Tip Jar if you’ve enjoyed this FREE AUDIOBOOK. Every purchase from one of my sponsors helps keep the free entertainment coming.

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LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 4 COMMENTARY

Lots and lots of emails and comments this week. Plus a contest to win my Sony PR-505 ebook reader! Also a lot of spoiler-esque chatter about what’s going on in ANGEL OF DEATH so if you haven’t heard Chapter 4 of Angel of Death yet, you may want to listen to that first.

I’ll post the contest rules but basically, you’re automatically entered if you write a REAL comment on any AOD Chapter, Commentary of Badlands text posts on this blog. Get to it!

Please hit up the Wordsush.com/TIPJAR Every time you buy something from one of my links, it helps further the cause of bringing more great content to you.

MYN1 = 10% off your entire order
MYN2 = $5 off any order of $30 or more!
MYN3 = $7.49 .com domains
MYN4 = 20% off 1,2 or 3 year shared hosting plans
MYN5 = $12.99 SSL certificates

Previously on Angel of Death: Galen Altos is rescued from the motel by a tattooed man known as The Freak. The Freak questions Galen and when he doesn’t like the answers, introduces him to his knife.

Listen to ANGEL OF DEATH: EPISODE THREE

Tell me what you think. Leave a comment.

Episode Three commentary is available as a separate podcast download. Click here.

New to Shadow Falls? You don’t have to have listened to Season One or Badlands to enjoy ANGEL OF DEATH.

Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to my audiobook feed

Visit the Tip Jar if you’ve enjoyed this FREE AUDIOBOOK. Every purchase from one of my sponsors helps keep the free entertainment coming.

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Listen to the Episode 3 Commentary Episode

A reasonably short commentary episode. Possibly the last one.

Again, if you like what you’re hearing, please check out Wordsush.com/TIPJAR and some of the great sponsor deals there. Every time you buy something from one of my links, it helps further the cause of bringing more great content to you.

Promo: Murder at Avedon Hill by P.G. Holyfield

PREVIOUSLY ON ANGEL OF DEATH: Galen Altos hears a disturbing message whispered to him in the moments before death. But as the Stranger is awoken by a phone call, this time in a motel room next to the mutilated and very dead body of a naked woman, he has no recollection of how he got there or even who he is. But now the police are beating at the door and with only one way out, the Stranger sees something he hadn’t noticed before. A purse presumably belonging to the corpse he woke up with.

LISTEN TO ANGEL OF DEATH-EPISODE TWO

Tell me what you think. Leave a comment.

Episode Two commentary is available as a separate podcast download. Click here.

New to Shadow Falls? You don’t have to have listened to Season One or Badlands to enjoy ANGEL OF DEATH.

Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to my audiobook feed

Visit the Tip Jar if you’ve enjoyed this FREE AUDIOBOOK. Every purchase from one of my sponsors helps keep the free entertainment coming.

@astralaudio on Twitter asked me if I had an audio promo for Angel of Death. Embarrassingly, I didn’t at the time but I put together one for him and anyone else who’d be willing to play it on their podcast. If you can and will, feel free to download the mp3 or aiff file.

Of course, I’d be happy to reciprocate. If there’s a promo of yours I can tack onto the commentary episodes, shoot it my way for sure.

SHADOW FALLS: ANGEL OF DEATH PROMO (mp3)

SHADOW FALLS: ANGEL OF DEATH PROMO (aiff)

Oh, and Angel of Death Episode 2 is coming tomorrow…

Shadow Falls returns with a nightmarish tale of gripping horror. In the final brief moments before death, something is whispered into Galen Altos’ ear. However, what happens afterward will only propel him toward a final date with what lay behind destiny’s door.

LISTEN TO ANGEL OF DEATH-EPISODE ONE

Tell me what you think. Leave a comment.

Episode One commentary is available as a separate podcast download. Click here.

New to Shadow Falls? You don’t have to have listened to Season One or Badlands to enjoy ANGEL OF DEATH.

Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to my audiobook feed

Enjoyed this FREE AUDIOBOOK? Visit the Tip Jar. Every purchase from one of my sponsors helps keep the free entertainment coming.

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LISTEN TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH EPISODE 1 COMMENTARY

Welcome to the first SHADOW FALLS: ANGEL OF DEATH episode commentary. I know its early in the game but I try to give you a bit more background into what you should expect plus I talk about the 699 day delay in launching a SF3 and answer your questions about PCH and my health among other things. LOL. Mostly, though it’s time to just shake the rust off and have some fun again.

And as I talk about here in this half hour gabfest, you don’t need to have heard Shadow Falls: Season One or Badlands to follow the action here in Angel of Death.

As mentioned in this commentary, a song you should own if only to get a better understanding of one of the dramatic themes in ANGEL OF DEATH.

Kevin Gilbert – SHADOW SELF from the album “Thud”

Also, if you like what you’re hearing, please check out Wordsush.com/TIPJAR and some of the great sponsor deals there. Every time you buy something from one of my links, it helps further the cause of bringing more great content to you.

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Click to listen

And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to Wordsushi

Find out more about different subscription options for ANGEL OF DEATH here

Help spread the word. Post this link to Twitter or Facebook and tell your friends about ANGEL OF DEATH.

And of course, support the cause. Visit the Tip Jar

That’s right. SHADOW FALLS: ANGEL OF DEATH, all new serialized horror fiction audiobook by me will launch on Wednesday June 2, 2010 and trust me when I say it will melt your face.

Stare deep into this picture because it will become the face of your nightmares.

I will be posting the episodes and the commentary as separate podcasts available on this site. Subscribe to the FULL WORDSUSHI FEED to get everything as it is published (all audiobook episodes, commentary podcasts and blog posts) at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/wordsushi

Or you can just subscribe to the audiobook episodes: http://feeds.feedburner.com/mynaudiobooks

Or just the commentary podcasts (I will put out a pre-launch commentary podcast soon) along with some other podcast stuff I have planned: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Wordsushipodcasts

And the way I’m writing this book, you don’t have to have heard Season One or Badlands first to jump right into the action… but if you have, you’ll just enjoy it all the more.