Richard Schiver

Author: RichardSchiver

  • Are We First?

    For years it’s been accepted that the universe is 13.7 billion years old, but lately there has been speculation it might be twice as old as we believe. Last year the James Webb telescope focused on several distant galaxies that appear early but look more grown up. More details about this development can be found at Big Think .

    But what does that have to do with your creative process? You might be wondering.

    A lot, and we’ll get to that shortly. I’ve always had an interest in space and space travel, so I find myself drawn to articles of that nature. I uncovered something called the Silurian hypothesis. A thought experiment which assesses modern science’s ability to uncover evidence of a prior civilization. More information about the Silurian hypothesis can be found on the Discovery website.

    For those of you who are fans of Doctor Who, yes the hypothesis was named after the Silurian race featured on the show. Put forth by physicist Adam Frank and Climatologist Gavin Schmidt its purpose is to try to pinpoint the methods of spotting deep time civilizations in other planets. Every civilization leaves a mark after it’s passed. Be it an increase in carbon emissions from an industrial revolution, or the microplastics that will remain long after we’re gone. But these traces will be so small as to be missed unless we’re specifically looking for them.

    As a writer my mind is always working in “what if” mode.

    The Silurian hypothesis first came to my attention when I was working on the final book in my Shadows of the Past trilogy. I thought what if the creature threatening our future was an indigenous inhabitant of earth and we were the invaders, having come from the stars ourselves. The more I dug into the hypothesis, the more I came to understand their method might be a little short sighted. Using the effects of our current civilization would only locate those civilizations that mirrored our own historic timeline. How would you look for signs of a say silicon-based life form? What if the barren planet we ignore once carried life that was wiped out by a bomb we have no knowledge of? What if the emerging civilization took a path entirely different from our own because they viewed the world differently than we did? What if they discovered fission power early in the process and their industrial revolution did not leave the same traces as our own.

    I’m not saying I’m an expert at any of this, nor do I have a thorough understanding of how they go about searching for the clues they seek. But it’s something that sparked my interest, and my mind tends to wander in those directions when I’m confronted with new knowledge.

    What do you think?

    Are we indigenous to this planet?

    Or did we come from the stars?

  • Update 09/19/2023

    It’s been nearly a year since my last update. Work continues to progress, and the first draft for Faces of Our Fathers, book 5 in This Lawless Land is nearly complete.There’s a lot more to do yet, I’ve started tinkering with book six that will be titled Lair of the Broken Queen. Will it be the last in the series? I’m not sure. I’m just following along where the story leads me.

    I’m currently editing Zomething Dead This Way Comes to get it ready for my followers. If you’ve been here in the past you may have noticed the changes as I started working to improve my site. I struggled for a few months with the decision on where to place my site. Considered several alternative options for hosting, but finally settled on keeping everything on wordpress for the time being. If you have any suggestions on hosting options, or improvements for my site, I’d love to hear from you.

    Work continues on The Shadows of the Past trilogy. The first draft of Assimilation is finished. Now comes the overwhelming task of rewriting the entire trilogy to bring it in line with my original vision. Both my series and the trilogy have taught me a very valuable lesson. Don’t release book one of anything until at least the first draft of the remaining books has been written.

    This was really brought home to me when I was writing Faces of Our Fathers and a whole slew of new characters necessary to move the plot forward were introduced to me. I spent nearly a year just writing their story before incorporating it into the narrative of the series. All Roads Lead to Terror is pretty much set, just a few tweaks here and there before I update the files. Then it’s onto The Reaping Season, Legion of the Damned, and A Call to Arms. The last title feels sort of weak to me so I may update it.

    Beyond the series and trilogy are other works I want to dive into. Bitter Hollow needs to be finished. It’s siting on my desk waiting for me to dive back in. What’s stopping me is it’s a first person narrative and I worry that I’m not up to the task to bring it to the conclusion I see in my mind.

    There will be two more books tied to Cursed. A Bad Place and The Gathering, will feature Sheriff Paul Odenton from Cursed.

    That’s all for now, I’ll try better to keep everyone up to date as work progresses but it’s a slow process getting these stories exactly the way I originally envisioned them. When Zomething Dead This Way Comes is ready I’ll let everyone know. It will be a freebie for everyone who joins my mailing list. When it’s ready I’ll activate the links.

    On the reading front so far I recently finished Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. I’m now nearly through his Disappearance at Devil’s Rock. Strange Weather by Joe Hill, and Ghostwritten by Ronald Malfi.

    Have you read any good books lately?

  • Update 10/18/2022

    It’s been a while since I’ve been here. My last update was the end of May, so it’s been nearly five months since we’ve last spoken. To be honest I really don’t know what to write about in these updates aside from what I’ve been working on, and what’s been happening in my life. The biggest problem I have is I’m a private person who doesn’t like to air personal matters with others. As for updates on my writing I worry no one really cares. I could be wrong, I know.

    On the writing front I’ve been quite busy. Played around with Amazon Vella for a bit, posted a couple of short stories and an ongoing story that I eventually called complete and unpublished. The ongoing story was originally called This Way to Heaven, but the title didn’t really bring to mind the subject matter of the story.

    If you’d like to check out the two shorts they’re still available here:

    The Locked Room

    They Dance to Mother Moonlight

    This Way to Heaven is about four boys trapped in an apartment building during the opening days of the zombie apocalypse. I know original right? But there’s a little twist in the tale I’m not going to reveal, you have to read it to see what’s going on. Which you’ll get a chance once I’ve taken care of some other things.

    I re-titled the story to:  Zomething Dead This Way Comes. At it’s core it’s a coming of age story that delves into the extremes people will go to survive. Jimmy, Wayne, Todd, and Robert will be forced to grow up or die as the dead come back to life and attack the living. I’ve completed the first draft and it’s coming in at around 97,000 words. I’ll trim this to around 80k by the time It’s done.

    I know the title is a rip off of Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, it too was a coming of age story. But my book will be available as a reward for everyone who signs up for my newsletter when I get that started up again. I’m looking at the early part of next year. Each month subscribers will receive a free short story and updates on my current projects along with the occasional contest for unique swag only available to my followers.

    The biggest problem I face with my writing is I tend to compare everything I write to the writers I enjoy reading. At the top of this list of course is Stephen King, I’m a big fan of his work, but I don’t restrict myself just to his work alone. Two other writers get my money every time they release a new book. Ronald Malfi, and Greg Gifune. There are many other writers I enjoy as well. Dan Simmons, Christi Nogle, Ben Eads, just to name a few. Were I to sit down and focus on building a list I’d probably have a hundred names on it. But this post isn’t about them, it’s about me and my writing.

    As I said every time I write something I look at it and think, Would so and so do it this way? I’ve got to quit doing that and trust my own instincts about my writing. I feel like I’m good at what I do, and getting better, and I’m, confident there’s an audience out there for my work. I’m looking for my tribe, those people who enjoy the way I write. Are you one of them?

    Currently I’m working on Assimilation, book three of an alien invasion trilogy I started in 2012 with Adversary, then followed up in 2014 with Parasite. I’m about 40,000 words into the first draft and working strong towards the end, managing anywhere from 900 to 1800 words a day.

    After I finish Assimilation I will then turn my attention to my series, This Lawless Land.

    While writing book 5, Faces of Our Fathers, a new character introduced themselves and I realized they should have appeared at the beginning of the series. Work stopped on book five as I focused on this new character’s story, that is intertwined with the main characters of the series.

    There will be two other books after Faces of our Fathers. book 6 will be Lair of the Broken Queen where we will learn about what happened to Window’s mother after his birth. Book 7 is tentatively titled, Birth of a Gunslinger. The circle will close, and the trinity will be joined as the forces of evil face defeat. From this cataclysm one will emerge to embark upon a quest to bring order to this lawless land.

    Quick question, Who’s your favorite author?

  • Weekly Update 05/27/2022

    As a writer of dark fiction my thoughts tend to stray into some pretty strange territory from time to time. My wife is always complaining that sometimes I’m not really there, as my mind has wandered off following an errant thread in search of an answer, or the germ of a story idea. Most of these thoughts take on the form of a what if question. Of the notions I’ve followed with that question the most intriguing one to me is: What if the universe we live in is contained within one molecule in a drop of water. Surrounded by 1.5 sextillion molecules, each containing its own universe. A vast multiverse within a single drop of water.

    There have been multiple books written about the multiverse, of those I’ve read the best one in my opinion was Dark Matter by Blake Crouch.

    Naturally we have to take this thought one step further. Where is this drop of water? In my mind it resides in a cosmic garden, a drop of dew clinging to a blade of grass, surrounded by hundreds of billions of other drops of water, each filled with multiple universes. This patch of grass lies at the base of a tree whose shadow protects the droplets of water from the sun. But the sun is moving, following its course. In a short period of cosmic time, for us that would be hundreds of trillions of years, that light will fall upon our little drop, and we will evaporate. Pretty gloomy end huh?

    Writers typically begin their careers as readers. I’m no exception, and the musing above can find its genesis in Stephen King’s The Gunslinger, book one of his Dark Tower series. Instead of a dew drop on a blade of grass, the multi-verse is contained within the molecules of the grass itself lending it a more substantive future, that is until a cosmic gardener comes along to cut the grass.

    Everyone who writes knows there is really nothing new under the sun. It’s all been done before it’s been said. The only unique thing we bring is our own view of the world and our own voice.

    Work continues on This Way to Heaven.  

    Word count update.

    Beginning total : 64,575

    Written this week: 4,668  It was actually more but I tend to edit while I write.

    New total: 69,243

    Work continues on this as well as the two shorts I’ve been focusing on.

    Here’s a little taste of Nobody’s

    Excerpt

    Another dark alley opened before me, and I hurried through the gloom, ignoring the things in my peripheral vision. I believe they were human, as least I hoped they were. At the far end of the alley a car pulled up and Velma slipped into the passenger’s seat. She looked back at me, her mouth forming an oh of surprise, then she was gone as the car sped away.

    The alley spilled out onto forty second street where life continued at its hectic pace. I was trapped between my desire to learn what happened to Velma, and a moment of time that was slowly drifting from the consciousness of those all around me.

    Sure, they remembered where they were the moment it happened, but that moment had taken a back seat to life’s nature to move on, a feat I seemed unable to perform. When I returned home that day I realized the events I’d witnessed had changed me. I no longer felt the same desires as before. In their place a hollowness had opened. It was like I was no longer a part of the living organism that was society as a whole. I was an outsider, destined to spend my life looking in at what would have been my life if I could only bring myself to accept what happened and move on.

    How many others were out there like me? Survivors for whom a simple stroke of fate saved their lives when everyone else they knew perished. Office workers who woke up with a head cold, a hangover, or simply a desire to play hooky that day. A janitor who missed his mid-town connection only to arrive as the cries of a city under attack overwhelmed the usual bustle of everyday life. We were survivors in a sense. If I had not been dwelling on the events of the day before I might have gotten a good night’s sleep and arrived in time to take my place on the stage in destiny’s ongoing play. If the janitor left a couple of minute earlier instead of grabbing that extra slice to toast, or a last kiss from his wife, they might have shown up when they were supposed to and died as destiny demanded.

    End Excerpt

    That’s all I have for this week. If you like what you’ve read and want updates when I post I’d appreciate it if you hit the like and follow button for this post and my blog. I’ll soon be giving a free short story away every month for everyone who signs up for my newsletter. I’ll share more details when they’re available.

    What book or short story have you recently read that really stuck with you? Let me know in the comments.

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Have you read All Roads Lead to Terror?

    Click on the cover image to order.

    In a chaotic, post-apocalyptic world, an endless night is closing in, and only the strong will survive. In the midst of the turmoil, fourteen-year-old Meat, and his three closest friends, embark on a mission to rescue kidnapped children from the compound enslaving them.

    Battling their way through treacherous terrain and immeasurable odds, the boys must learn to lean on each other if they hope to survive. Little do they know fate has far greater plans for them. For they represent the trinity, a symbol older than time itself, that keeps the darkness at bay.

    They are three, bound by a fourth, destined to save mankind.

    With time running out, and the cloak of eternal night descending, can the boys find a way to turn the tables on evil?

    Or will they be the next to join the growing legion of the dead?

    Grab your copy of All Roads Led to Terror today!

    Amazon

  • Weekly Update 05/20/2022

    Welcome to my weekly update, if all goes well I’ll be posting every week with updates on my current works in progress along with comments about the books I’m reading and any movies I may have watched in the past.

    Current Project

    The biggest project I’m currently working on carries the title This Way to Heaven which will likely change once the book is finished. It was a story I started working on for Kindle Vella at the end of last year. I pulled it from the platform after Amazon wrongly accused me of having multiple accounts and closed my account. I managed to get my account reopened but the fact they could so easily close it without cause made me reconsider remaining exclusive with them.

    The story is tied to my series This Lawless Land that I will take up again this year. I started book 5 at the beginning of the pandemic, and as the story unfolded I came to understand where the series was headed. I realized I needed to take a step back to explore this new route in detail, which I have been doing. Stay tuned for more details.

    In This Way to Heaven, eleven-year-old Jimmy and his three friends bear witness to the dawn of the zombie apocalypse. The story follows the survivors who live in the Willowbrook apartments in Richmond, Virginia. Willowbrook is a stately old place constructed by the rich for the rich before the start of the civil war. Rebuilt afterwards it became a playground for those with means who had some rather unsavory appetites. There are many dark secrets hidden in the bowels of the building. Now in a state of disrepair and undergoing a conversion to offices, the few remaining tenants will struggle to survive in the dawn of this new age as the ghosts of the past emerge.

    The apartment building was featured in the first book of my post-apocalyptic series, All Roads Lead to Terror. Meat, the main character from all roads, and his friends are captured by a feral cult of children who inhabit the building and worship an ancient creature that lives in the basement.

    Word count update  

    Beginning: 61,238  

    Completed this week: 3,337

    New total: 64,575

    Sneak Peek:

    Tommy lay on the floor, whimpering as blood seeped from around the hand he’d clamped over his shoulder. Ronnie was on his knees beside him trying to see how bad the damage was, but every time he tried to move Tommy’s hand, the boy cried out in agony.

    “How is he? Randy said, standing above Ronnie the pipe still in his hands.

    “How do you think he is. One of them bastards bit him. If you had stayed where you were it wouldn’t have happened. But no, you gotta be Mr. smart ass.”

    “Are you done?” Randy said, unmoved by Ronnie’s rage.

    “You asshole, you don’t give a shit about anyone but yourself.” Ronnie was pushing himself up to his feet when Randy brought around the iron pipe and struck him across the back of his neck. Ronnie dropped with a grunt, sprawling across his brother. He struggled to pull his hand under him, to push himself up when Randy brought the pipe down and shattered his skull.

    “Whadidja do that for?” Tommy said, watching him with the glassy eyes of someone going into shock. Faint black lines were spreading up the flesh of his neck, growing from his injured shoulder.

    “Because I’m gonna have to kill you Tommy, you’re gonna become one of them, and I didn’t want your brother trying to stop me from what I’ve got to do.”

    “You son of a bitch,” Tommy said as he tried to push himself up.

    “I’m sorry,” Randy said before he jammed the end of the pipe into Tommy’s left eye, driving it down through the boy’s brain, killing him instantly.

    End Excerpt

    Short Stories

    I love reading short stories but have always found it difficult to write them, yet I persist.

    One of the best I’ve read recently is Christopher Golden’s God Bag. It appears in the anthology Beyond the Veil edited by Mark Morris, go look it up, it’s chock full of some good shorts.

    Comments from early readers of my 8500-word short story, Nobody’s, is promising. A first-person account that follows a character who was late to work and witnessed the fall of the twin towers. He then starts running into people from his office who should have perished that day.

    Moving forward with Laundromat People after some very illuminating comments from early readers. When he was six William uncovered a secret in the local laundromat. As an adult he will come face to face with that secret again and will never be the same after.

    Current reads:

    Beulah by Christi Nogle

    Do not Weep For Me by Tony Tremblay

    Recently completed.

    Come With Me by Ronald Malfi 5 stars. I’m a big fan of his work.

    Summer of Night by Dan Simmons 5 stars.

    Movies:

    Haven’t watched a movie in some time, not since I saw The Quiet Place for an assignment, but I am looking forward to the next season of Love Death & Robots on Netflix, which should drop today if I didn’t mess up the scheduling of this post.

    That’s all I have for this week. If you like what you’ve read and want updates when I post I’d appreciate it if you hit the like and follow button for this post and my blog. I’ll soon be giving a free short story away every month for everyone who signs up for my newsletter. I’ll share more details when they’re available.

    What book or short story have you recently read that really stuck with you? Let me know in the comments.

    Thanks for stopping by.