F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction (New Weird) Author

Erotica

Canceled Voice Pre-Order

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Need I Say More? (By Granny Enchanted [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons)
Need I Say More? (By Granny Enchanted [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons)
I decided to cancel the Amazon pre-order of Voice, initially expected to be released August 7th. Turns out I only had one pre-order (and it’s a friend of mine and we’d already talked), I still have a lot to do, my proofer is still hard at work, and, well, I’m getting a bit burned out.

So.

I’m gonna take a break from my Voice redlines all of next week. I need to air my head out. Have a lot of things going on and there’s no real reason to [once again] force myself to meet some arbitrary deadline of my own making when there’s no real need. I just thought I’d try it. It’s a cool function.

Voice will get released when it’s ready. Apparently now’s not the time.

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Voice–An Erotic Tale of Nonphysical Love

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Voice. (© 2015, F. P. Dorchak and Lon Kirschner)
Voice. (© 2015, F. P. Dorchak and Lon Kirschner)

I must admit, this cover near brought tears to my eyes!

Here—at last!—is the title and cover for my sexy new paranormal/ psychological mainstream (erotica?) novel, due late July/early August! Yes, the genre is mixed, but it will make for quite the steamy summer read!

Voice.

The cover is yet another awesome, amazing, incredible, extraordinary effort by Lon Kirschner, of Kirschner Caroff Design Inc., out of East Chatham, NY! Lon did my ERO cover, and he continues to deliver extraordinary results! I first met Lon through author/teacher/musician all-around-Renaissance Man Marc Schuster, and Marc’s book, The Grievers.

I love everything about this cover!

I love the artwork. The spacing. The blackness. I love the blue of the lady and my name…what Lon did with the title—look closely at it and you’ll see the Adirondack Mountains…see and hear loons on the lake…smell the must of the woods—and the mysterious woman against the black background simply gives me chills.

This cover is absolutely stunning!

It packs a powerful, emotional punch to me on levels I simply can’t explain. Don’t want to. I want it to rip my innards, my soul apart…I want to feel the impending torment, tribulation, and mystery this artwork foreshadows….

I just can’t stop looking at it.

I love all my covers, but I have to say…this…may well be my favorite.

Check out this post on Lon’s work.

Not only am I psyched by revealing the cover artwork, but also finally being able to voice the title of this novel out into the world! It has been a real effort keeping it under wraps! It feels so goood!

Despite the paranormal/supernatural elements, this is the most mainstream effort I’ve ever produced. As I’ve mentioned before, it also features some quite explicit sex scenes and is not for the easily offended. Voice is a density of story…a love story…one of families…and a search for meaning in one’s life. Pain. Redemption. It has supernatural/paranormal elements, but not in a “monstery” way. In a deeply psychological, maybe even uncomfortable way. It may actually make you squirm a little as you sit and read it. It is a story I could not put down…could not put away. Sixteen years in the making, it kept whispering to me…calling out to me. It is my most daring effort. It will be sad to let it go…to stop working on it…stop thinking about it….

It touches me deeply…largely, perhaps, because of the setting…the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, where I grew up and continue to visit once a year. I so love that region, with its ancient mountains and dark, mysterious waters (another novel is forthcoming about this region and the dark, foreboding waters…). But I also love the characters…so flawed…so well-meaning…so enigmatic. It’s about what seemingly normal people who are conflicted…in love…do. How they wrestle with their demons. What they might do in the dark corners of their lives away from prying eyes….

What do you do in the wee hours of the night…and is it something you’re proud of?

It is fair to say I’m in love with this story.

Sigh.

The current status of Voice is that I am inputting copyediting redlines from my final reader. I then have to have the manuscript formatted for both e-book and trade softcopy (yes, I am doing both, the e-book first; I also hope to create an advance order selection on Amazon). The formatting could take as little as a week or as much as 2-3. So, this puts it at a late July or early August release. Stay tuned!

And in the next week or so look for a “faux interview” with me by one of the characters of Voice!

As always, feel free to use and e-mail and plaster the cover graphic around the globe—but, please, give proper copyright attribution to Lon and myself. If you’d like the actual files, request a review copy, e-mail me at fpdorchak at fpdorchak dot com, and as soon as they’re available, I’ll send them out!

And, write up a review once you’ve read it! Send me the link!

Thank you all for your support!

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Update on WIP: Second Set of Comments In!

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You're Such a Tease. (By Russ Anderson from London, UK (MGDK's middle) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
You’re Such a Tease. (By Russ Anderson from London, UK (MGDK’s middle) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
I received the next set of comments from a family member who is also a book editor. For professional reasons, I can only title this person as an “editor.” Here are some of the editor’s comments on my WIP…again, these are also quite encouraging! I’ve always been good with the idea of the story, but have not really been quite sure how this story might be received…but it’s looking like those who read it are quite taken—even “intrigued”—by it. And isn’t that what writers strive for? To write something that grabs or touches readers?

Of particular note, this editor even mentioned how “shocked” they (not giving away his or her gender) were by what I’d done with the ending. How cool is that?

Shocked.

Wow. Love it.

So, here are the editor’s comments. Again, as I’d stated in my previous blog on the subject, I’d sent the editor questions to help me assess my effort. I’ve included some of these questions where necessary, but those that give away too much of the story I’ve left out of this post or deleted content. I’ve also deleted content that is of a more personal note.

The editor’s comments:

It’s a different book than I remember looking at 10 years ago! The characters and some of the scenes seemed familiar, but more developed and focused.

From an editorial perspective, the manuscript works! It flows; it’s relevant; isn’t bogged down with unnecessary detail; avoids tangents; stays true to the plot.

From a reader’s perspective (if I can truly separate the two—editorial vs reader…), it’s a really powerful story! If I’m being honest, the fantasy/metaphysical genre isn’t my wheelhouse, but with respect to the story itself, <WIP> was intriguing. I wanted to understand the voice in Ben’s head more <deleted material>, so that definitely kept my interest. I liked the chemistry between Ben and Kendra, and the sex scenes (hello, pink elephant in the room!) could give E. L. James a run for her money.

(FPD: Really, I could give E. L James a run for her money? How cool!)

Question: So, did you think it all “fit” the story?

Answer: I do think it all “fit” when you consider the story as a whole and the different personalities of the characters, the infidelity, and Ben’s internal struggles—as well as his “fantasies.”

Question: Wasn’t “too much”? Yes, graphic, but did the scenes “work” for the given story? I was trying to strike a contrast between the mental and the physical. It had to be stark.

Answer: It was definitely graphic and definitely stark; and if the scenes had lacked the momentum you achieved—the buildup—they would have seemed too much; but given the context, the scenes absolutely worked.

Question: The ending make sense?

Answer: The ending definitely made sense! It wasn’t the ending I was expecting at all! <Deleted material—but some really cool comments on being shocked by what I’d done, but the editor’s comments gives away the ending! :-] >

Cool standalone comment: I think you highlighted the fact that everyone has skeletons and secrets; either we act on them, or we suppress them—whatever “they” may be.

Question: Any other comments?

Answer: If I’m being honest, the metaphysical content in the last couple chapters clouded things for me—but that’s a personal opinion. I see why you went there, and it worked in its own way. I mentioned before that metaphysical/fantasy is not my wheelhouse, but I respect its inclusion in <WIP>.

***

Thank you, “editor” for all your time and effort!

I still waiting on  two more readers, including my Cover Dude, Lon Kirschner (also keep an eye out for some near-future blog posts, probably starting this Fall, where Lon and I are going to highlight and comment on some of his work, which I love! I’m really looking forward to these posts!), then incorporate them, format them, then will shoot for a July/August 2015 release!

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Update on WIP: Out For Proofing

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Wailing Loon (2013, F. P. Dorchak and Lon Kirschner)
Wailing Loon (2013, F. P. Dorchak and Lon Kirschner)

After seven months of rework, I’ve completed going back through my current Work-in-Progress (WIP) and sent it out for my beta reader/proofreader review. I’ve also sent it off to my “Cover Guy,” Lon Kirschner, so he can read it and come up with the cover (Lon is one of the rare breed who actually reads all books he does covers for).

To me, it’s a powerful love story written with strong sexual elements. I wouldn’t necessarily call it “erotic fiction,” per se, as I’ve mentioned before…but can see how it could definitely be classified as such. Especially since I even subtitle it “an erotic tale of nonphysical love.”

Now, whether it succeeds or not will be interesting as I get my comments back from my readers. Hopefully the content justifies the story.

I’m looking to get comments back by the end of May, expect to incorporate them within a month or so, then get the manuscript formatted, which can take a couple weeks, depending on Pam’s schedule—but she already has me “penciled in” for the summer. So…if this passes muster…this should see the light of day around a June-ish/July timeframe. I’m also looking to do this as an e-book. If the sales do well, I’ll also publish as a softcover trade.

What’s next?

Well, that will be it for drawer-manuscripts (those manuscripts written and hidden away in drawers)…I mean, I have several other manuscripts (mss) I haven’t published, but I really want to get back to something new…and that means a couple years of work. It takes me on average about 2 1/2 years to complete a new manuscript. However, if my current novel sells well, I’m very interested in publishing some of my short stories…but that’s only if the income will carry the outflow of publishing said book.

And none of this considers promotion!

Yes, I plan on doing more promotion…and am trying to work up some ideas there. Hard to do when you have a more-than-full-time day job. So, if any of you have speaking engagements or signings you think might be a good idea for this or any of my other work, feel free to contact me, at fpdorchak at fpdorchak dot com. I can do telephone interviews, blog interviews, guest blogs, et cetera.

So, while you’re waiting for the final product, feel free to check out my Pinterest site for this WIP, to load up on some of the imagery this novel has to offer.

I thank all who have been supporting my (and other indie author) work—thank you all so damned much! Even “on your own” it takes a TEAM to publish a book! And part of that team is the readership!

Otherwise, it’s a return to more blogging and new writing!

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Righting Erotica

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This Novel's Got Legs---And, Well, A Few Other Things.... (By Jean-Christophe Destailleur [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
This Novel’s Got Legs—And, Well, A Few Other Things…. (By Jean-Christophe Destailleur [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
As I work on the my current work-in-progress (WIP)—the sex scenes—I realized that once I got past what I was actually writing (graphic as they are), that they were all “words.” And as such, I was (am) trying to put the best words forward. I am trying to make the best scenes possible—as I do with any of my work.

Words are words.

Yeah, some of this stuff is unnerving…but that’s what I want them to be.

Unsettling.

I want you all unsettled by what you read.

I want a little squirming going on.

That is what these scenes are about…on a “mechanical” level. They’re about “in-the-dark” behavior from everyday people. About behavior we might only think about…or do in the dark corners of our lives.

Admittedly, it’s one thing to think about some of this stuff, and (for some) an entirely different matter once written.

After all, writing something gives it permanence, right? Like voicing a thought?

Thoughts are hidden, our own. But once we voice them…write them out…its like they take on a whole new meaning. The phrase “Think before you speak,” comes to mind. And how we look at someone differently once they’ve spoken…the unspeakable….

Actions we only do in private are known only to ourselves…unless voiced or written. This is the kind of ground I’m treading.

I don’t read erotica, so I don’t know what’s acceptable, so maybe I’m really off base, here, with my thoughts. And those who do read erotica may think nothing of what I’ve done.  I’m sure my efforts are most likely quite tame in today’s erotica world…and that’s okay (though I consider what I’ve written not-so-tame at all to me….). Once I got into the writing of this novel, I liked that the erotica became what I thought of as “a different kind of erotica.” Granted, when I’d first written this novel, back in 1997, erotica most likely wasn’t what it is today…but I’d still like to think my work will hold up to itself (um, yeah, there is a pun here, you just don’t know about it, yet…) in today’s world.

I “just” want to be able to portray what my characters are going through in such a way that it…justifies the story…evokes powerful emotion…that you see a part of yourselves in them. That you squirm a little at what you’re reading…insidiously become one with the story…the scenes…the characters.

Okay, even the sex.

So, to that end, once I get past what it is I’m actually writing…I’m trying to write the scenes as best as possible. Use the best words. Invoke the best, most powerful imagery. To make each scene properly fit the story. The plot. The characters—

I’m trying to make the erotica right.

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What I'm Working On For 2015

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What do you do in the wee hours of the night...and is it something you're proud of? (By Mark J Sebastian (Jackie Martinez (#31827)) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
What do you do in the wee hours of the night…and is it something you’re proud of? (By Mark J Sebastian [Jackie Martinez (#31827)] [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
I’ve been working on another project that I’d started back 1997, then also put off for many years. But not without trying. I’d actually had a bite on it from Joelle Yudin, then Assistant Editor at William Morrow, who found my project “quite intriguing” in her 2003 letter to me. Alas, she could not interest her colleagues, who (I found out later, when I actually called her) found it “too small.”

So, you see, things get rejected not just because they suck.

“Too small.”

Yeah, that was “The Problem.”

I’m still keeping the title under wraps, but this project has been one of my favorites, and ranks up there with ERO. It had been forwarded to Joelle from another, who I’d originally sent it to; the man (Michael Morrison…who has moved up the rungs since this incident, I’m not sure was the original intended editor, but it had been he who had forwarded my query to Joelle) had been kind enough to forward it to Joelle to get her thoughts on it. I thank both of them for their efforts: thank you, Mr. Morrison and thank you, Joelle!

This project is about failed relationships. It’s the most mainstream effort I’ve ever written.

It also sports some hefty sex in it. I can’t really call it “erotica,” because I didn’t write those scenes with the intent to cause sexual feelings or arousal. That was never the intent (not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with that…). It was about the story and what the hell was happening to my protagonist.

I used to call it “my embarrassing book,” because I’ve never written nor read “erotica,” but I’ve finally gotten past that. I’m finally taking ownership of it…as in “own it, dude.” I figure, what’s “worse”: writing about nasty violence or writing sex scenes?

But, it’s not about the sex…in that I didn’t write the sex scenes in and of themselves…they were “just” integral to the story…what happened to the protagonist that further exacerbated his spiral of failed relationships. There’s more to it, but, the entire “thrust” of the book, if you’ll pardon the pun, is that the main character just can’t seem to get his life together because of what’s going on with him and his family…what’s going on in his head.

It is also a love story.

But I wanted to let you all in on this, because it is taking up all my writing time, and other things in my daily life are temporarily taking up more of my time, so my blogs are suffering. So, it’s not that I’m not doing anything…I’m just focusing all my efforts on getting this work out there next year—earlier rather than later are my hopes. So, please, bear with me on the lack of substantive posts. You can, however, check out my Pinterest board for this WIP, at http://www.pinterest.com/fpdorchak/next-work-in-progress/. These are all images that pertain to this effort. As you can see, photography, modeling, traveling, the Northeast all figure prominently in the novel. I hope you’ll “follow” and periodically check back.

But…be warned. I pull very few punches in this novel. When I tackled this project, I wanted to tackle something I felt was “out of my range,” something that would help me grow as a writer, even if somewhat “embarrassing.” I didn’t want to shy away from the subject matter…wanted to tackle it head on, no matter where it went. So, yes, this novel took me places I was (at first) hesitant to go…but to have “pulled those punches” would have killed the story. Believe me, I considered it. So…I did what any writer worth their salt would do to a compelling story that wouldn’t leave them alone…

I wrote it.

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