The Nian Hour

I had another short story published. “The Nian Hour” can be found in issue number 13 of Fantastic Horror.  Here’s a short recap of the story: mythical Chinese creature runs amok in Chicago’s Chinatown. Enjoy!

Am I the Next Mark Twain?

I'm not the next Mark Twain but came pretty close.

No. I am not. However, I was named an honorable mention in a contest. Border’s Bookstores and Harper Studio held a writing contest to finish a Mark Twain short story that was recently found unfinished. In three hundred words or less I did my best, but lost to a man who is a Mark Twain expert. His bio details that he performs as Mark Twain in one-man shows and plays. If I’m going lose to anyone, I’m glad it was that guy.

I liked the contest. The three hundred word limit was a challenge but saved me from stressing if I wrote too much or not enough.

Most of my writing falls into the horror or science fiction genre so this contest was a challenge in that regard. Placing in the top ten just re-emphasized that I have the writing chops to get noticed. Once I’m fiinished with my second revision of BA, I’m goign to pursue ghost story contests and some mainstream ones. Part of building my base is not only writing within the horror genre but also outside of it. I think it allows to work on mainstream/ commercial appeal.

You can view my entry at http://theharperstudio.com/tag/chris-narbone/.

Building a Base

Like many unpublished authors today, I’m blogging about my path to becoming published. I’m looking to chart my progress in revising my novel, landing an agent, and submitting short stories.

Right now, I’m going through a second revision of my novel, BLEED AMERICAN. I revised it once, my wife read it once, and now I’m taking another crack at it. I let BLEED AMERICAN (BA) breath for about 9 months. I’m glad I did because I’m catching a bunch of stuff I missed: missing words, poor dialogue, grammar, weak plot points, soft character development, etc. Most importantly, focusing on making my writing tighter during this process. I want it sharp so every page, paragraph, word affects the reader. A few agents provided constructive criticism that I originally ignored. Originally ignored. I set my pride to the side and took an honest look at BA, and that’s why I think this second revision will help.

So during those nine months of letting BA breath, I’ve written a couple of short stories and participated in a couple of contests. My goal was to build my base. I wanted to show agents that my work has merit just like my novel. Much like this blog I want to showcase what I’ve done. I’m going to detail my writing accomplishments, as well as BA, in future posts.

So now you know my base, where I’m starting, and this blog will document my path to publication.