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-Inside the Mind of a Working Writer-

BRYAN W. ALASPA

Where the stories come from - a look at my writing process

Bryan W. Alaspa

Feb 26, 2019
4 min

Where the stories come from - a look at my writing process

I've talked about this before, but it comes up time and again. People always want to know where the stories I write come from. What's interesting is the people you meet who try to tell you they have a great idea for a story. Hey, you should write about - XYZ. That would be a great book! I always appreciate that. My own father was a consistent source. In fact, from time to time, those suggestions are good enough to get stored away in my brain somewhere or a notebook. But for t

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Writing to inspire

Bryan W. Alaspa

Jun 25, 2018
3 min

Writing to inspire

When I was younger, I was the kid who loved to read. I was not the daring kid who jumped around on rocks or climbed trees. Hell, I was the kid who stood out from everyone else because I had flat feet and couldn't wear sneakers. I was the kid wearing orthopedic shoes with a stacked heel at the age of four and five while riding my Big Wheel. I couldn't climb a fence or pull myself up onto a tree branch. There was one thing I loved. I loved being lost in my imagination. It start

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Why the horror of "Jaws" still works on me (part three: the movie)

Bryan W. Alaspa

Apr 16, 2018
5 min

Why the horror of "Jaws" still works on me (part three: the movie)

SPOILERS: I cannot believe I have to write this about a movie that came out in the 70s, but if you haven't seen the movie Jaws (what is your problem?) then there are spoilers ahead. Like, big ones. The movie rights to the novel Jaws were sold very quickly. The publishers knew they had a hit on their hands even before it shot up the bestseller list. The question was, who the heck was going to direct it? How would it be filmed? Also, how did you translate this novel that had so

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Writing Tips: never stop learning

Bryan W. Alaspa

Feb 7, 2018
3 min

Writing Tips: never stop learning

I have been writing for a long time. The first time I wrote anything resembling fiction was when I wrote a three page work of terrible fiction in the third grade. I sat down at my mom's blue electric typewriter. It was a device I found fascinating. It hummed when you turned it on and there was just something cool about it. This was before word processors, folks, and computers in the home or that you could carry in your pocket. You had to roll paper into the roller and then th

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Self-publishing: why use the Amazon publishing platform

Bryan W. Alaspa

Feb 5, 2018
4 min

Self-publishing: why use the Amazon publishing platform

I have been self-publishing for a while. Of course, there is part of me that wishes I could be everywhere, but I was messing with self-publishing before there were ebooks. I was doing Print on Demand publishing back in the late 90s and jumped on the idea of e-publishing even before there was a Kindle. For me, I always felt that ebooks were the future of reading and publishing, but there is still the thrill of holding a physical print copy of your book in your hands. There are

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Excerpt: Read from Storyland

Bryan W. Alaspa

Sep 14, 2017
14 min

Excerpt: Read from Storyland

Storyland starts in the modern day when a man named Ned, while attending ComiCon, awakens to find out that his childhood best friend Martin Brace has brutally murdered for people out in the woods back in his home town. Martin and Ned lived next door to each other as kids and played a game called Storyland. Martin stated he believed Storyland was real and that they were part of the story itself, set out to defeat a giant evil he's named Grool. Martin is now a reclusive author

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My interview with Fiona McVie

Bryan W. Alaspa

Sep 12, 2017
1 min

My interview with Fiona McVie

I spent some time answering some questions with the great Fiona McVie for her Authorinterviews website. Fiona is a huge fan of indie writers and a great booster for us. I have worked with her before I am so glad she wanted to interview me again to talk about writing, my life and, of course Storyland. Click HERE to read the interview at her site. #interview #marketing #FionaMcVie #author #indiewriter #Storyland #psychologicalthriller #horror

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Win a signed copy of Storyland!

Bryan W. Alaspa

Sep 3, 2017
1 min

Win a signed copy of Storyland!

You can win a signed paperback copy of my terrifying psychological thriller, suspense, novel Storyland! You have a couple ways to enter and the more you do, the better your chances! Entry form below! #contest #giveaways #prizes #storyland #thriller #book #novel #signed #author #psychologicalsuspense

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2016 A Year In Review

Bryan W. Alaspa

Dec 19, 2016
5 min

2016 A Year In Review

Man, what a year 2016 has turned out to be, huh? Any year that starts off with David Bowie dying, involves Prince dying, too, along with Alan Rickman and other big names. Any year so horrific that the Chicago Cubs win the World Series and that is followed immediately by the biggest election disaster in the history of any Democracy - well, you just have to wonder. You have to wonder if life really is just random chance - personally, I think it is, but I leave it for you to dec

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