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-Inside the Mind of a Working Writer-

BRYAN W. ALASPA

Meet Shawn Arscott - the artist behind the cover of Darkness Falls

Bryan W. Alaspa

Sep 8, 2019
2 min

Meet Shawn Arscott - the artist behind the cover of Darkness Falls

Shawn Arscott is a big bear of a man. He and I went to the same high school. He has not always had the easiest of lives, and I think he would agree with me there. However, he has a strong faith, and repeatedly seeks redemption for the wrongs he had done in life. He struggles with constant pain, not to mention some mental health issues. For him, art has become therapy. His online Facebook page dedicated to his art is full of his works both in progress and complete. It's here w

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The Wraith - available for pre-order: companion novel to The Man From Taured

Bryan W. Alaspa

May 5, 2019
2 min

The Wraith - available for pre-order: companion novel to The Man From Taured

Proud to announce that you can now pre-order my new novel The Wraith from Amazon. Coming this July, The Wraith is a companion novel to the bestselling The Man From Taured. It is not a sequel, but deals with alternate realities and features the Agents of IDEA first appearing in TMFT. Some of your favorite characters from that novel show up here again. The Wraith is also set in my fictional town of Knorr, which has been the site of other novels like The Dead Phone and Sapphire.

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The "real" story of The Man From Taured

Bryan W. Alaspa

Mar 4, 2019
3 min

The "real" story of The Man From Taured

The world of urban legend is one of the areas of the internet and the world prefer to live in. I love watching videos about UFOs and weird, mysterious things. I collect strange, mysterious stories like the Mad Gasser of Mattoon and other stories. One of my favorites, of course, is the supposedly true tale of The Man From Taured. Of course, I say "true" but the fact remains this story is just urban legend. Although people who like the idea of alternate dimensions love to cite

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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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How The Man From Taured led to The Revisionists

Bryan W. Alaspa

Feb 18, 2019
3 min

How The Man From Taured led to The Revisionists

A lot changed for me when I wrote the novel The Man from Taured. Not only has it slowly, over time, become one of my bestselling novels across all platforms, but it changed a lot of my own thinking and changed the course of my writing, too. Before TMfT I had written all kinds of weird stuff and thrillers, of course. I had toyed with the idea of alternate realities and perhaps dimensions, but as I toyed with those ideas, I began to research them, too. Of course, this ultimatel

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Books to watch for: Urbantasm by Connor Coyne

Bryan W. Alaspa

Jul 27, 2018
2 min

Books to watch for: Urbantasm by Connor Coyne

One of the great things about being a writer is the fact you often get to meet or become friends with other writers. In this world of social media and in a landscape where cross-promotion is often key to achieving any kind of publishing success, using social media and maintaining good relationships with other writers is so key. Authors really should not consider themselves competition, but colleagues in a tough industry. One of my favorite writer pals is a guy named Connor Co

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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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A healthy respect for spiders

Bryan W. Alaspa

Mar 25, 2018
3 min

A healthy respect for spiders

It's a funny thing how life works sometimes. Not too long ago (keep in mind, I still think the 90s were "just a few years ago"), I wrote a blog about how I hated and feared spiders. I killed spiders left and right anywhere and anytime I saw them around. I especially enjoyed spraying them with things so that I could see them crawling around before dying. Yeah, I was a spider serial killer. Then I started working for, of all things, a pest control company. Yeah, my day job invo

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Writing Tips: Know when to walk away

Bryan W. Alaspa

Feb 11, 2018
3 min

Writing Tips: Know when to walk away

This is the story of The Wraith. What the heck is The Wraith? The Wraith is a supernatural suspense/horror novel I wrote about a year or two ago. It's right here on my computer, in my drive, fully written in first draft form. It is, however, a novel that I have no intention of releasing anytime soon. You see, this is the thing I think young authors should understand. Sometimes, you have to be your own harshest critic and if you are going to be a self-published author, you nee

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The plans fror 2018

Bryan W. Alaspa

Jan 7, 2018
4 min

The plans fror 2018

Hey there! Happy new year. A little late here, but I spent the holidays dealing with a stomach flu at Christmas and then a nasty head cold at New Years. My wife brought home the stomach bug from her office and gave that to me, and I brought home the head cold and gave that to her. Great, huh? This is the first time I can honestly say I am glad the holiday season is over, the decorations down and we can just get back to relatively "normal" day-to-day activities. I do hope your

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Annual Christmas Sale & Giveaway: Dec 24 & 25

Bryan W. Alaspa

Dec 19, 2017
1 min

Annual Christmas Sale & Giveaway: Dec 24 & 25

Every year to help people who get new Kindles or tablets or phones and want to get some ebooks - I do a Christmas sale & giveaway. You just need to head over to my AMAZON STORE on December 24 & 25. This is for readers in the US and UK. Lots of stuff is free, but a lot more is just 99 cents (or the British equivalent). So, you can use your new device or gift certificate and get some great horror and thrillers! #Christmas #sale #giveaway #horror #book #books #novels #writer #su

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Word of mouth: How you can help me with Storyland

Bryan W. Alaspa

Sep 27, 2017
4 min

Word of mouth: How you can help me with Storyland

The fact is that the publishing world has changed. You can debate until the end of time if it's changed for the better or worse. I think it's changed for the better. I like the vast expanse of authors and works of fiction that I might not have had access to in the pre-Kindle world. I can go on and on about how I was there trying to push the idea of self-publishing before there was a Kindle, but even I can't inflate my ego that large. People have been self-publishing for centu

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OK - So what the hell is Storyland?

Bryan W. Alaspa

Sep 2, 2017
5 min

OK - So what the hell is Storyland?

You may have seen the announcement that my new novel, Storyland, is available for Kindle pre-order as well as in print. Both of them are at a special price for you early-birds. Technically, the official publication date is Halloween 2017 (October 31), but through various means, even you print folks can get early copies at a low, low price. OK - sales pitch is over... What is Storyland? Storyland isn't quite like anything I have written before. It's my first real attempt to wr

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Suspense author Bryan Alaspa releases novel “too dark” for traditional publishers

Bryan W. Alaspa

Aug 31, 2017
2 min

Suspense author Bryan Alaspa releases novel “too dark” for traditional publishers

Chicago suspense writer Bryan Alaspa continues to do things the hard way, announcing via his website and social media that he will be publishing his new psychological thriller novel Storyland under his own publishing label on Halloween, 2017. The reason? The feedback he got from publishing agents and traditional publishers said the novel was “too dark”, “disturbing” and “gritty” for them. “It was weird,” says the author, “several of them got back to me and the ones who provid

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Why Do I Write the Deklan Falls Detective Novels?

Bryan W. Alaspa

Apr 26, 2017
3 min

Why Do I Write the Deklan Falls Detective Novels?

So, I take pride in being a guy who writes thrillers. If you have been to this site and visited my work before, you know I have an obsession with murderers, ghosts and alternate realities with shadow people and black-eyed children. I like scary stuff. I always have. So, you may wonder, where does the Deklan Falls hard-boiled detective series fit in and why the hell do I write them if they don't sell as well as, say, The Man From Taured or Vicious? Well, the answer is - I just

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RADIOWAVES: Is Out Today!

Bryan W. Alaspa

Apr 25, 2017
2 min

RADIOWAVES: Is Out Today!

At long last - the third installment in the Deklan Falls hard-boiled detective story is out today! Radiowaves is available today, officially, for Kindle and in print! To get your copy click on the cover image below: What's it about? Things are going well for private detective Deklan Falls. He's sober and has a new love in his life. Plus, he and Oldtowne Chief of Police Ray Olderr have nearly rooted out all the corruption in the police department. Life is crazy, but calm, and

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Remember To Leave a Review at Amazon

Bryan W. Alaspa

Apr 7, 2017
1 min

Remember To Leave a Review at Amazon

Leaving a review is so important for those of us who look to sell books through Amazon. So, have you bought a book lately? Like it? Then, leave a review. Here's a simple infographic that explains why these are so key for authors like me. Then visit my Amazon store and leave a review! #Amazon #reviews #review #opinion #books #authors #indieauthors #independentauthors

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Hey, Webster U Film Students - Here's an Offer

Bryan W. Alaspa

Mar 23, 2017
1 min

Hey, Webster U Film Students - Here's an Offer

So, I am a graduate of Webster University in St. Louis. I graduated with a Communications degree and a desire to get into radio before eventually turning back to writing as my passion. What Webster had a lot of is theater students and media students who all thought they would become the next great film director. So, someone gave me this idea: reach out to your alma mater student paper and get them to promote the idea that any of their film students could reach out to you and

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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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It's Cyber Monday - Get Some Deals

Bryan W. Alaspa

Nov 28, 2016
1 min

It's Cyber Monday - Get Some Deals

Hey, Happy Cyber Monday! So, I have a whole BUNCH of stuff that's FREE and deeply discounted over at Amazon. Check out my Amazon Author Page for all of my books and for all of the deals. You can order them by price. The discounts are for Kindle & Kindle App people. Get 'em while they're hot and spread the word! TODAY ONLY! #cybermonday #freee #Kindle #sales #holidays #books #discount

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