Tag: audiobooks

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Telling a Story

There’s so many different ways to tell a story. Although I am a writer, that just doesn’t cut it for me. If you really think about it, a writer does nothing more than just record the story that plays on their mind for later use. That’s truly all we’re doing when we sit down at the laptop or notebook. That’s why I usually refer to myself as a storyteller instead of just a writer. There’s so many incredible ways to tell a story that I refuse to limit myself to just one!

Only a few of my readers actually know this about me, but I actually started my journey not as an author, but as a filmmaker. I would spend hours upon hours drafting through short film scripts, some I would submit to festivals, while some I’d actually produce myself. I even won an award for horror for my short film The Outfit which funny enough inspired my debut novel There Came A Knocking. The last script I ever wrote actually won several awards, as well as became a finalist to be produced by a film production company in New Orleans. You can check it out here!

It’s crazy how many choices we have as storytellers as to how we want to deliver it to our audiences. Whether it’s through novelization, film, audio, or even the stage, the possibilities are endless and sometimes a bit overwhelming to those who reach out to me for tips. Here’s the best tip I can give anyone who would like to join me on this journey: craft a story you love and worry about the medium you use late. Trust me, that matters less than getting that story on paper, because that’s the hard part. Once you know what your story is, then you can transform it to the necessary format to pursue your vision.

Now, why am I making a blog post like this? Well, over the course of this year that I’ve “taken off writing”, it reminded me of exactly what that means to even be one. I’m not just a novelist, or a short story writer, of a screenplay writer, or even a playwright. I am all of these combined into one. All of those titles aren’t titles, they’re tools to be used to convey the stories which I craft and develop.

So, here’s the bottom line. I love telling stories and my “time off writing” has been anything but. I’ve been working on some really fun things that I’m so excited to share by the end of the year. Thank you to everyone who has followed along on this journey so far. There are some truly awesome Dark and Mysterious things happening at McCool Mythos.

We’ll talk soon, friends.

– John McCool

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Future Project

Hey Readers!

I hope everyone has been keeping up with their reading goals this year! I haven’t… but that’s okay! Those books aren’t going anywhere, and will always be around when the time is finally right. It seems like the only thing I have time for these days is listening to a chapter of an audio book during my commute to work, or taking in a few pages at 4am before heading out the door. It’s at least something so I can’t complain.

Life has kept me on my toes recently for sure. Between juggling 3 kids, becoming an owner at Mad Goat Coffee, and just the day to day challenges that come with life, it’s easy for hobbies like reading (writing for me) to fall to the side for a brief time. There’s an old gamer saying: Real life always comes first. That’s something that remains true no matter what your hobbies may be. There’s nothing more in this world that I love more than spending time with my family, even if it takes away from writing. Those two things just don’t compare. But I’m still a writer at the end of the day!

Of course, those of you who may know a writer will know that writing simply isn’t just the act of putting words on paper. No, it’s SO much more than that. Between brainstorming story ideas, world building, fleshing out characters, the entire process goes far beyond sitting at the computer. The process of writing a novel is just as many hours thinking about the damn thing as it is actually writing which I feel like is a part of the process not many people talk about. However, I pride myself on being a present father, and I will actively avoid any thought of anything outside of that moment with my kids. It’s all about balance, right?

Now that my youngest is growing like a weed, and actually letting my wife sleep a little bit, I feel the stories creep back into my thoughts. This is a great sign for me. I listen pretty closely to myself, and when the characters start wanting their stories heard, that means I’m almost ready to start putting words down on paper, starting the journey anew. Even though I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus from writing, I couldn’t help myself from dabbling in some outlining on a few projects that I’ve put on hold. Do I have three novels fully outlined? Maybe… Will I have time to write them all? Absolutely not. But that’s okay! Those stories will be told one day, and find themselves tucked nice in cozy on your bookshelves some day.

Now, what to expect in the future from this small time author living in the midwest? Nothing any time soon, but the time has almost come to expand upon the Starbound Ascension series! I’m torn between pushing the story of Locilette into his next phase or touching on the various other happenings across the galaxy. The possibilities are seemingly endless of what Starbound Ascension can offer, which was my biggest reason for spending several months world building it. From hunting down galactic serial killers to protecting a farm on a colonial world, to even dealing with a plague arriving from another distant galaxy, the stories I have shaping up for this series keeps me plenty distracted while I’m at work.

That being said, I was certain that my next novel wasn’t going to be a SBA book, but I was wrong. I have an overwhelming desire to push the narrative of that universe forward any way I can, and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m not going to announce what the novel is anytime soon, but the next novel I release WILL be a new Starbound Ascension novel. I’m super excited to continue on with this series that has captured my imagination like nothing else has up to this point, and I’m very thankful for all of your dedicated readers who has followed me on this incredible journey. I hope you enjoy these dark and mysterious tales, because more are on the way!

Follow along here at the Dark and Mysterious blog for the latest writing shenanigans and more on your favorite novels!

–John McCool

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There Came A Knocking Post Launch Update

Man, what a thrilling adventure it is being an indie author. When I conceived the idea to make the jump from being a short story anthology author to a full fledged novelist, I was a little intimidated not going to lie. The support I’ve received post launch has been more than I seriously thought I was going to get. I always try to shoot for the moon with everything I do, but keeping a low expectation on reader feedback is a self defense mechanism that I believe most authors have to develop in their journey. That wasn’t the case with my debut novel There Came A Knocking.

I’m not going to sit here and claim it’s a bestseller, cause it certainly isn’t. As of this post it has 16 reviews on Amazon and 52 on Goodreads which I love and appreciate more than anything! Review, either good or bad, are seriously gold for independent authors such as myself. Anyone of my readers that have received a book directly from me will recognize that line. In every book I personally send out, I ALWAYS write a personal letter with that line somewhere in there. I can not stress the importance of reviews for books. Even if you hate it, please review and let me know that! It helps me evolve into the best author I can be.

Reviews go such a long way, but what I enjoy more than anything is when you wonderful readers send me a DM on any of my social media. I love having deep conversations with y’all about the story devices used in my work, and why characters developed the way they did. Of course, those are things that can’t be made public because of spoilers, but after you read it, please send me a message and let’s discuss it and how it made you feel. I’m really interested in that sort of thing.

Anyway, There Came A Knocking is in a great place four months post launch. I’m very happy with its progress, and I’m more than pleased with the reviews all you incredible readers have given it. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, please go give it a read! If you want to hold off, I occasionally do free giveaways to my followers on Instagram, so if you aren’t keeping an eye on that, be sure to give a quick little follow!

What does the future hold?

A writer gonna write. I’m not in a position to announce anything quite yet, but my next novel is deep in the process and it’s…out of this world. Thanks everyone for your continued support!

Remember to read indie and stay creepy! 🤡🔪🩸

–John McCool

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Resurrection of Audio Dramas

“Radio affects most intimately, person-to-person, offering a world of unspoken communication between writer, the speaker, and the listener.”

Marshall McLuhan


Since I was pretty little I always had such a deep fascination with audio dramas. Yeah, I was secretly a weird kid. I remember listening to War of the Worlds for the first time after a deep interest in aliens developed after watching Signs. I would pop the audio on in the background on my computer, and usually play some sort of video game with the sound turned off. Oh the good old days.

Here recently I don’t really have too much time to enjoy TV or even movies really. I’ve considered listening to audiobooks, which I will on occasion on my commute, but I have rediscovered my long lost love for audio dramas. I searched through the deepest depths of Spotify to find some newer ones to dive into, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed with what I found.

The first one that really caught my eye was The White Vault. This is an INCREDIBLE horror audio show that delivers, quite literally, chilling tales from a research station in the frozen tundra of Iceland. The writer was great at writing the dialogue for each of the characters, and the audio engineers set the creepy atmosphere to 100% to set the stage. It was so well written, and was really what inspired me to look into writing audio dramas myself.

What a lot of people really don’t know about me is that I’m a superhero nerd. Yeah, I admit it. Growing up with Spider-Man and Batman has followed me into adulthood, and it’s something I hope I can enjoy with my kids one day. On my search for some new audio shows, I stumbled upon BatmanThe Audio Adventures. Now this one was truly next level in terms of production. The writing is like a mix between the 90’s animated show and the early 1960’s Batman. There was some awesome casting for voice actors too. Seth Myers plays Jack Ryder and Kenan Thompson plays commissioner Gordon. The show is actually created by Warner Bros, so the production value has a great deal of backing, and it definitely shows for the overall product. It’s a true thrill ride from beginning to end, and I highly recommend it for ANY superhero fan whether you are a DC or Marvel fanboy. We can like both brands I promise…

The one I’m actually currently in the middle of as of the writing of this post is Star Trek: Outpost. This is a fan production that you truly could’ve fooled me if you were to tell me this was a professional production created by Paramount. The story follows a StarFleet officer who is assigned his first executive officer position, and is assigned as Captain of his first ship. It’s quite the way to kick off the narrative, throwing the main character into the driver seat as soon as possible. The storytelling is that of true Star Trek fashion. It’s full of adventure, discovery, and the occasional filler episodes that really provides to plot at all except to develop characters a little more. That’s just Star Trek for you, and these fan writers do an excellent job replicating that.

Audio dramas are an old art form, but hasn’t died as some predicted it would. Especially in the age of streaming music and podcasts, an amature can make a solid show with nothing more than great wirting and a smart phone. Believe me, I’m working on one myself. It’s way easier than you think it is. I encourage all of my readers to give audio dramas a try. They can unlock your imagination the same as reading a book, and provide a higher level of immersion than TV could never do. On your next stormy or snowy day, grab yourself a nice cup of coffee, sit down in your comfy chair, and pop on one of these great shows. It’ll send you to worlds you couldn’t possibly imagine otherwise.

-John McCool