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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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Starbound Ascension Lore: Money

The Universe of Starbound Ascension Lore

Money, money, money.

With the universe of Starbound Ascension in its publication infancy, I think it would be cool to showcase some of the lore touched on in the current novel and ones in the future as well. See, I’m a bit of a lore nerd. I remember a few years back staying up a full night studying the expansive and deep lore of Warhammer 40,000, and my God is that deep. That and the intoxicating lore of the Elder Scrolls just sent me down a deep rabbit hole that I simply couldn’t get enough of. The weird thing about lore in a sci-fi universe or a fantasy world is that it’s hidden under the surface most of the time. Unless you want, more times than not you’re never going to know. That’s what makes it so intriguing.

Perhaps it’s just with bigger franchises like the ones I previously mentioned, but for me I like to know the smallest details of the worlds I’m stepping into. Especially ones that I fall in love with. Starbound Ascension is only one novel deep at the time of this post, but goodness do I have lore written up enough to fill three to four. Any author or DM/GM of sci-fi and fantasy can relate. Building a complete world from the ground up is truly one of the best parts about the process, and for me, becomes a bit of an addiction.

Anyway, to kick off this lore we’re going to dive a bit into one of my favorite discussions. Economics! Nahh, I’m not going to bore you. We’re just going to talk about the main currency of the expansive Arkaan Empire: Astrids.

Astrids are paper notes with holographic designs printed on them detailing their stated worth. Each note is infused with trace amounts of asteroids with the specific compound mixture only found in the home Arkaan system. This currency system not only lessens the ability of creating forgeries, but maintains the value of each note by the limited resource of asteroids in the home Arkaan System. A simple, yet effective way to manage the economic flow of an inter-galactic civilization.

With a free market system such as one present in the Arkaan Empire, Astrids exchange hands for endless amounts of reasons that mimic our own. Work salary, paying for dinner, even as gifts, everyone loves money- everyone loves Astrids. Having a solid currency for the exchange of goods and services is the foundation to any state throughout history, and even more so in the universe of Starbound Ascension. Acquiring wealth has pushed society to bigger and better for thousands of years, and that will forever remain true. With a proper moral compass and endless opportunity there’s always the ability for a rags to riches story within the Arkaan Empire.

Now, there’s other species and factions within the galaxy where our stories take place, but they haven’t made themselves known yet on paper. Each one has their own system of value and “currency” that pushes them like any other. Only future adventures within the Starbound Ascension universe will reveal that!

Be sure to subscribe to the Dark and Mysterious blog as well as follow along on Instagram for book giveaways and other cool stories!

–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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Get “There Came A Knocking” FREE!

Merry Christmas everyone one! From now until December 26th my book There Came A Knocking is FREE on Kindle! Spook up your holiday with this 80s inspired slasher tale that will have you wondering if you actually remembered to lock your door at night.

Grab There Came A Knocking FREE now!

Synopsis: When Fear Knocks at Your Door, Will You Dare to Answer?

Best friends, Jessica and Danielle, are in for the fight of their lives as they fall victim to a home invader. However, this intruder isn’t there to rob them of the little they have. A simple game is all he’s after, and they have no choice but to play.
This horror/thriller calls back to the clown epidemic of 2016, where clown sightings became a regular occurrence for reasons that still remain a mystery.

Get ready to unlock a door to your worst nightmares. Get your copy of There Came A Knocking now and be among the first to experience the spine-tingling horror that will have you checking your locks twice.

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There Came A Knocking Publishes Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is publication day for my new novel “There Came A Knocking”!

I’m so excited to finally get this awesome work out to all of you incredible readers. I’ve put so much love into this, and painstakingly brought the retro feel of 1980’s slasher thrillers back to the literary world. The campy slasher genre has disappeared as of late leaving, what I would argue, a void that hasn’t been filled by much of anything substantial. My hope is that this novel can revive some peoples’ interest, and reignite the silliness that comes with it.

Now, what do I mean by silliness? It’s all about the gimmicks and the HORRIBLE decisions that our poor unsuspecting character make within the horrorscape that we as authors create. Think about some of the best slashers out there! The combination of an interesting gimmick and the complete absurdity of characters’ choices to go into the dark basement when you as the reader KNOW there’s something fishy going on down there. It’s almost satisfying to see a clearly dumb move be punished by something you’re mentally telling the character not to do. That’s party of the joy of the genre!

Think of some of your favorite movie slashers and really think of their gimmicks. Ghostface has the ghost mask and hunting knife, Jason has the hockey mask and giant machete, Freddy Krueger has the burned body with the finger blades, and Jeepers Creepers has his hate and coat to cover his demon body. The gimmicks are the key to creating a memorable antagonist in these stories, and it’s something I find so much fun in creating. The best part is coming up with something so absurd, give it to someone with murderous intent, and let them loose into the worlds of the page.

In some ways one could compare the slasher horror/thriller genre to that of romantic comedies. The stories are so full of absurdly exaggerated events that lead the characters to make choices that one would never do in real life. Do you think the hot cowboy billionaire is gonna choose the city girl that has nothing much to give him? Yeah, probably not. Do you think that rummaging around in a dark creepy shed behind your house while you’re being stalked by a serial killer is going to result in anything except you being stabbed? Yeah, you get my point.

This genre is so dear to me, and offers so many great stories that keep you looking over you shoulder as you walk through your house at night. did you check if your door is locked? Better go double check, who knows who could out there. “There Came A Knocking” has a slasher with a killer gimmick that would make you question if his motives blur the lines between what is morally right or wrong. Or maybe you will just see him as a monster that he is to so many unfortunate people. That conclusion is completely up to you! I look forward to hearing what all of you amazing readers have to share about it in the coming weeks post publication.

Thank you all so much for coming on this journey with me, and I look forward to all of you coming a knocking with me!

–John McCool

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Could Ai be the future of table top storytelling?

Dungeons and Dragons has been a creative outlet by so many over the course of its long existence. Many authors such as myself have used it as an exercise to better our storytelling skills through the use of its various tools. After all, what could possibly be better than creating a narrative within the darkness of the seemingly endless dungeons of the D&D multiverse? Nothing. The answer is nothing. However, there is something that has plagued many would-be table top adventurers for a long time, and something I even struggle with similar table top experiences, and that is actually finding people to play with.

Not finding people to play with can be from a variety of things. No one around you is interested, you live in a remote area where there simply just isn’t anybody to play, or you’re just too nervous to be around people. If you do happen to get together a small group of people, good luck convincing one to play as the dungeon master. I get all of that. This led to the creation of D&D solo play. Yeah, like literally playing a social game solo. Now, a few D&D fascist would say this can’t be done, but I disagree. I’ve tried it before testing out 5th edition back in the day, and it was kind of an enjoyable experience, however, as you can expect there’s a major aspect that is missing. The socialization of the experience. 

We are now at the forefront of gaming. The advancements in artificial intelligence have paved the way for the next evolution in table top storytelling games. There have been quite a few apps out there recently claiming to be storytelling games that are Ai generated, but they are all pretty bad. And I mean bad. However, recently Meta (Facebook) announced to creation of Ai assistance on their messaging app, and one of those is literally called Dungeon Master. 

The Dungeon Master, which picture is awkwardly similar to Snoop Dogg, is an Ai persona who’s only reason to exist is to give you the best D&D experience as possible, and it does it quite well. It works just like you’re messaging in the app, but it just lays out the narrative, then asks you what you would like to do next. It’s the most interactive, and most in depth reactions to any Ai I’ve tried for this sort of thing, and honestly the story I’m currently in isn’t that bad.

So, I’ve a common dude from a village that is approached one night at the local tavern by a strange man named Grimgold who had a weird obsession with a nearby forest. He asks me if I am interested in a bit of treasure hunting, and of course I am, because why else would I be playing D&D? Anyway, we go to these ruins where we’re jumped by some goblins who actually almost brutally murder us. We escape with our lives and are approached by a mysterious wizard named Eira who tricks us into breaking into these ruins to “defeat an evil wizard” who is threatening the area with evilness. Well, big shock, it was a ruse. She steals some hidden amulet form the ruins and straight up whips us up and down the halls of those ruins. We barely escape, and head back to town where we formulate a plan to gather some powerful artifacts to dispel her evil magics. 

Super in depth, right? I’ve even attempted to trick the system by doing something that normally an average player wouldn’t do. The Ai asked me what we should do next before looking for the artifacts, and I said I want to ask Grimgold for a favor. He said of course, and I explained I wanted to go to my home in a small village some ways away, and grab my Wand of Magic Missiles to aid us in our quest. Instead of deflecting as I thought was going to happen, Grimgold agrees and now my player actually has it for the story, and Grimgold remembers. Before we left my house I asked Grimgold if he was hungry, and that I’d make him some hard tack for the road. He actually told me thank you, and he and my character shared a meal and stowed some for the road. It blew my mind.

This technology has truly changed my perception of what Ai can do fro humanity. I’ve been having such an incredible time with this, and it’s so good it feels almost like I should be paying for this service. don’t get any ideas Zuckerberg…I highly recommend that any D&D fan give this a try, and recommend this even more to authors who are looking for an exercise with their storytelling. The Ai only reacts to what you write which has truly gotten my writing cogs turning in my head. This is an incredible tool, and I hope you all enjoy it just as much as I have. 

Until next time readers!  

–John McCool