Kingdom of the Dead

I haven't really experienced writer's block.  I don't know what it's like.  There have been times in the past where, for a day, I had no inspiration, but that goes away very quickly.  Inspiration is always just around the corner be it a song, an experience, a news story, a conversation.  Life is a series of stories that we all go through from the mundane to the extraordinary.  Within the reality of the daily grind there are stories of the fantastic, lurking and waiting for someone to see them where others can't and put them to paper for others to read.

No writer's block here.  In fact, I have so many stories to tell that it is, at times, maddening.  There aren't enough hours in the day, and I am a slow writer.  On a good day I can pen 2,000 words, but my average is probably more like 500 words, depending on the project, of course.

So what's with the title of this blog post?  let me tell you.  It's the title of my latest endeavor, a three part series.  There, I said it: a three part series.  That's something I didn't think I would ever do.  I'm not the biggest fan of serial novels or sequels, but it's all mapped out in my mind, and the first installment, Kingdom of the Dead, is well on its way.

Kingdom of the Dead is the story of a Carlo Arpado, a depraved man who has spent all his life searching for the grim reaper, lusting for a glimpse of that moment when the soul is taken from the body.  His obsession is so strong that he kills people for the sole purpose of witnessing Death at work.  Eventually he begins to hoard the dead, and that's when he comes face to face with Madam Death...and she's nothing like what he expected.

This is Carlo's story, as well as his trials and tribulations through Madam Death's Kingdom of the Dead.  The second book will be titled Kingdom of the Damned, which is another realm deeper in the abyss and closer to Hell, which is the subject of the third book: Kingdom of Hell.  I've already developed the major sub-plots for the following books, and I hope that they read as their own story rather than parts two and three, but who knows.  I really can't cross any bridges until I get to them.  Things have a way of changing, and everything, it seems, is under construction.

This is a hell of a project (no pun intended) and far out of the realm I'm used to.  After the first book is finished I'll probably write some other stuff and return to this project if there is any outside interest in it, or if it just has to be freed from my mind.

Cheers!