Final Check on Killer Eyes

I'm doing one last check through Killer Eyes, and then it will be released. That was the wise decision by Melange Books, with which I completely agree. I wanted a couple things done since reading the print proof, and then Nancy suggested I go through it one last time, with emphasis on the word 'last.'

And I did fix a couple more things in there. I will probably finish the last read through by tonight or tomorrow, after which I will send the document back to Nancy, which is when she will release the book. And then I'll be the author of three published books.

And sometime coming up, probably within the next three or four months, which will go by quickly, like they always do, I'll be working with an editor for my John Dunn book. That should be exciting. It's a much longer manuscript, and it's a new publisher, with new editors, and maybe they have a new format, or different procedures, seeing as how they are a print run publisher.

I'm looking forward to having my book in a bookstore for once. One development is that the KRP publisher, Dana, sent out a message to all the KRP authors asking their opinion about the discontinuation of publishing hardcover copies. I voted to keep them, because when a publisher has hardcover copies, that conveys the image of an upper echelon publisher. I happen to know book collectors, and collectors prefer hardcover copies.

Plus, I was looking forward to have a hardcover copy of my John Dunn book. So here's to hoping KRP keeps the hardcover copies, at least as an option. Stay tuned.

Outlines Helpful, but not Necessary

When beginning a novel, outlines are helpful but not necessary. I wrote Killer of Killers with no outline. I had no clue what was going to happen, who was going to be in it, and how it was going to end. As I wrote it, however, the pieces just fell into place. When I wrote the sequel, Killer Eyes, which is coming out soon, I did use an outline. But after the book was finished, I really didn't follow the outline. At least not exactly. The outline helped, however, since it gave me a blueprint, so to speak to follow. But even  so, the final version was far from what was in the outline.

When I wrote The Vase, I  had a good idea what I wanted in that story. I used a sparse outline for that one, but like Killer Eyes, the final version bore little resemblance to the outline. And for John Dunn, well, since that was a true story, his real life, and the real historical events provided a ready made outline. I followed that, but added a couple fictitious events, which mostly centered on the doings of Dunn's first wife, Catherine Pierce.

For Second Chance, I followed the events as I dreamed them, but fleshed it out with additional characters and a rich story line. Which brings me to the third Killer story, Killer on the Payroll, and the YA story, Inside the Outhouse. I wrote an outline for Killer on the Payroll, but did not for Inside the Outhouse. And strangely, it's the latter book that's making more progress.

You'd think the book with the outline would be the one making more progress, but I'm finding that the book with no outline has more freedom to go wherever the story takes me. That's not to say that I can't throw out the outline, which I had done already. It's a fun process, but there's no strict rule to follow. I mean other than the 3rd person limited POV rule. That's one rule I'll never break again. Ever.

Reviews on Amazon

I finally got some reviews on Amazon, but for The Vase, I'm not sure they'll help with sales. It seems a couple students of mine, or their parents, had decided to leave a review. Thanks to both, but maybe mentioning that you're a student of mine, or the parent of a student of mine, isn't a good idea.

I've always been suspicious of reviews that are from the family or friends of the author. And I've always been suspicious that most five star reviews were paid for by the author. In both scenarios, the reviews are skewed. Or straight up phony. Well, I will be the first to admit that the reviews of The Vase, anyway, could be just a little bit biased.

Hey, at least I'm up front about it. I have to be. The reviews themselves are up front about it. So there you are. I'll take them, and hope maybe someone I don't know has the same opinion. Which was that the book was amazing. Well, fingers crossed anyway. It seems for me that getting reviews is harder than pulling teeth. And I have pulled a tooth or two. I'm a dad after all. I have two sons who are growing up too fast. But that's life. It goes by fast, and then it's over. For me, it's about what you can get done in the meantime.

Interesting News About The Martian

I just read that the new movie called The Martian was written by a man in Mt. View, California, which is in the area where I grew up. (I went to high school in Mt. View.) It was originally a self-published eBook, that became popular to the point where agents, publishers, and movie producers were contacting him instead of the other way around. Talk about a positive turn in a writer's life. Wow.

If only it could be so easy. Or maybe it wasn't. I understand it wasn't his first book. I read that he hates his first book, which wasn't published, and all copies but one have been destroyed. Well, so what. If agents, publishers, and movie producers are contacting you, you did something right, no matter how many books you've written.

But the guy was a computer engineer. He had a large following, I understand, since he was a program writer for some video game company. It wasn't just any company, I believe it was a big one, or at least the video game was big. I don't know much about video games, because I never play them. I'm from the generation right before the generation of video game junkies.

All I am is a teacher. I can reach some kids and maybe their parents, but I have no avenue to a large computer-based following, like this guy apparently did. Of course, the story must be compelling. As I understand it, it's about a manned mission to Mars, and a Martian storm separates one of the astronauts from the others, so they believe he's dead and take off without him. So the astronaut is stranded on Mars alone and figures out how to survive until a rescue mission saves him.

As I write this, I'm reminded of the 1964 movie, Robinson Crusoe on Mars. (I loved that movie, btw.) I wonder if this guy was influenced by that movie. Like The Martian, it was about an astronaut who was stranded on Mars. It seems like a similar plot, but what makes The Martian different is the fact that this writer used his computer knowledge to make the computer related elements accurate.

The only thing I read that wasn't accurate, was the fact that Mars doesn't have storms. So who knows. Maybe one day someone will like Killer of Killers or The Vase enough to contact me with the desire to make a movie. Maybe the day pigs fly. So let's get started on inventing pig wings. LOL.

Replacing Actors for Established Roles--Not Easy

I've already blogged that I'm not happy with the new star on the latest Transporter movie. Ed Skrein is no Jason Statham, not even close. Which means he's wrong for the role of Frank Martin, yet they made the movie anyway. I'm not going to see it. At least not in the theaters.

Speaking of replacing actors for established roles, Roger Moore, and all the other actors who have played James Bond were not close to being Sean Connery. I will concede that Daniel Craig made a good James Bond, however, but it took some forty years to finally find an actor right for the role since Connery.

Chris Pine is horrible as James Kirk, btw. I don't know why he got the role, but probably no one but William Shatner could play that part, so it didn't matter who they cast. Interestingly, Zach Quinto made a good Spock, but no one else in the Star Trek reboot worked as well as Quinto. Worse than Pine as Kirk was Zoe Saldana as Uhura. But then again, just as only William Shatner could play Kirk, only Nichelle Nichols could play Uhura, so it was another impossible task.

Probably the worst recasting of all time was Will Smith as James West. I mean, what were they thinking? Well, I know what they were thinking, but it was nothing but wrong. As for the Spider-man movies? It really didn't matter. Tobey Maguire was never right for the part, so replacing him was the right thing to do. Chris Reeves and Brandon Routh were good as Superman, but Henry Cavill I think plays the part better than all others before him. Cavill to me is Superman, just as Connery was Bond and Statham was Frank Martin.

One thing that disappoints me is they never found the right actor to be Conan. Arnold and Jason Mamoa were not good enough for the part, and I don't think the right actor even exists. Perhaps more importantly, you need the right director for a Conan movie. In a perfect world, it would have been Peter Jackson making Conan movies. The directors for the prior ones did nothing but butcher the Conan legend. I'd rather have no movie than the ones they made about Conan. But the world isn't perfect. That much is certain.

Killer of Killers Advertised on USA Today

I make a habit of going online in the morning and getting my news on the USA Today website. I was pleasantly surprised to see my novel, Killer of Killers, being advertised there. I'm concluding that the printing company, Lulu, is putting the advertisement on there, because not just Killer of Killers is being advertised. There's about a dozen or so books being advertised, and I feel honored, because Lulu prints thousands of books.

But it seems that Killer of Killers, (the new cover design KOK btw,) is one of the top featured books that are being advertised. Maybe that's the reason I saw a spike in sales recently. I had posted that KOK rose in the Amazon rankings by more than a million spots recently. So that could be the reason why. And I was thinking that perhaps some of my students convinced their parents to buy it. But now I think it's more likely the USA Today ad is responsible.

I figure it this way. I teach five classes with about 30 students in each class, which means I have a total of 150 students. Multiply that by three, for the three Trimesters, and I have 450 students per year. That number must pale in comparison to the amount of people who go online to read USA Today. (That number is probably in the millions.) So logic dictates that the USA Today website ad will result in more sales than the 450 parents whose kids tell them about my book.

Still, you never really know for sure. It could be true that more parents buy my books than readers of USA Today. Doesn't matter, though. Who cares where the buyers come from. As long as they buy it. And (hopefully) enjoy it. And (hopefully) write a nice review about it. Someone named Joumani gave KOK and The Vase five-star ratings recently. Well, Joumani, if you are reading this blog, let me thank you for that. I do appreciate that.

No Gratuitous Sex or Violence in Killer Series

I was watching Strike Back on the CineMax channel last night, hoping for another chance to see Dustin Clare, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen. What I did see was a ridiculous sex scene between Damien Scott, (played by Sullivan Stapleton,) and the newest hottie actress on the show. But it was a ridiculous scene. The female character's friend had just been murdered, and the woman asks Damien Scott to promise she can get revenge on the murderer, after which she proceeds to have sex with him, as if she had forgotten that her friend had just been murdered.

It was completely gratuitous. It did not advance the plot in any way. Of course it showed the complete act, nudity and all, as if it were a soft core porn show. Talk about gratuitous, it was the definition of it. It made me think about how my own Killer series doesn't do that. There is sex and violence in the Killer stories, but every sex scene has a plot advancing purpose, and none of them are graphic. There's a lot more violence, but those scenes are every bit necessary.

The word gratuitous connotes the scenes are unnecessary or overdone. In Strike Back, the latest sex scene was unnecessary. In my Killer Series, the sex scenes are not unnecessary, nor gratuitous, nor overdone. I still don't recommend them to anyone under eighteen, however. And being a Middle School teacher, I'm forever reminding my students that the stories are for their parents, not them. They can read The Vase. There's no sex scenes in that story. And my WIP, Inside the Outhouse is a story I'm writing specifically for them. Can't wait for that one to get finished. Time to go to work.

Inside the Outhouse breaks the 10,000 word range

As slowly as I'm writing Inside the Outhouse, it's actually an event, for me at least, to have reached the 10,000 word range. It's not uncommon for MG/YA books to only have 40,000 words, which means it's possible I'm one quarter through the story right now.

Does that mean I'm only planning it to be a 40,000 word story? I'm not even sure. I don't think it's going to be that short. It may or may not be my shortest novel. Right now my shortest novel is Second Chance - a Football Story, and it's 86,000 words, more than twice as long as a typical MG/YA novel.

I suppose MG/YA novels vary in length as do all novels. Just how long will Inside the Outhouse be? I won't know until it's done. As for where in the story does 10,000 words put the story of Inside the Outhouse? All I can say is it's still in the beginning stages. Which means there's a lot of writing left to do. We'll see how that goes.

Killer of Killers Moves Up in Amazon Sales Ranking

The sales ranking of Killer of Killers on Amazon Kindle has moved up. It's been pretty static recently at around the 1,700,000 range, but when I checked today, it had shot up to the 225,000 range. I suppose some sales must have taken place last night. That's nice to know. It's happened before. I think the highest ranking it's ever had was in the 100,000 range. I don't think it's ever broken the five digit range ranking.

But since it's not a Big Six publication, I don't think it will. Plus, the promotional efforts on the publisher's part are minimal, as far as I know. I think the publisher, Melange, focuses mostly on promoting their Romance line. That means for thrillers, like KOK, it's only getting exposure on their website. And that means only people who frequent their website will see it. Or people who I tell about it. Which isn't that many people. I should be more active in that regard.

What I'm looking forward to is that first review to be posted on Amazon.com. I see other books have reviews, and some books have tons of reviews. Who are the readers reviewing those books? Maybe those reviews are bought and paid for. Or those authors either have a lot of friends or awfully big families. I'm told reviews, particularly positive ones, help sales. Some people say they don't go by reviews when they want to buy a book. It's more about are they interested in the subject matter.

Well, the subject matter of Killer of Killers is martial arts. I believe a lot of people are interested in martial arts. The main character, Trent Smith, happens to be the world's greatest martial artist. But he's not a secret agent, and he's not a policeman. He's not a movie star and he's not an MMA fighter. But he does have an agenda. It's justice, and it's what drives the story. Trent Smith is a great hero, and he's featured in a great story. Check it out. You'll see.

And What's With Amber Heard?

I had commented in earlier posts that Amber Heard seemed to be having more success in Hollywood than Dustin Clare. (I had believed both of these actors were right for the male and female leads in Killer of Killers if it would ever be made into a movie.) But I'm not so sure Amber Heard is really having all that much success. Her biggest success seems to be that she married Johnny Depp.

Okay, Depp is a big movie star. But I was hoping that Amber Heard would become a big movie star, too. She really hasn't. She never gets any big roles in any movies or TV shows. For example, the role of Gannicus in the STARZ show Spartacus that Dustin Clare landed was a bigger role than any role Amber Heard ever had in anything. She's been relegated to small roles and bit parts in low grade movies her entire career. She hasn't made the splash I had thought she would make.

And if marrying a man twice her age is her biggest accomplishment, then I'm a little concerned she has reached her peak. I thought that maybe being Depp's wife might give her an inside route to some significant roles and accelerate her Hollywood career. The opposite seems to be the case. Since marrying Depp, the biggest thing that's happened to Amber Heard is her arrest in Australia as a result of Depp's dogs. It seemed ridiculous, but that's the fact.

I still believe Amber Heard is one of the most beautiful blonde actresses in Hollywood. Apparently Johnny Depp agrees with me. So why don't movie directors or casting directors also agree? What is wrong with this picture? Amber Heard belongs up there with Jessica Alba, Angelina Jolie, and Sharon Stone. Doesn't she? Apparently, she doesn't. At least, that's what Hollywood seems to think.

Dustin Clare in Strike Back

I had become somewhat of a Dustin Clare fan after seeing him in the STARZ show Spartacus, and I had been thinking he'd be right for the role of my Killer of Killers' main character Trent Smith, if a dream came true and it was made into a movie. But after starring in Spartacus and stealing the show, so to speak, Dustin Clare has been invisible on the big and small screens. Meaning he's had no significant roles in any show or movie since Spartacus.

I was glad to learn that he was going to return to TV in CineMax's  Strike Back series, and I was eager to see him again as a character in an Action show/series. But he only made an appearance in one or two of the episodes, and they were very small parts at that. Maybe he'll come back in some future episodes, but even so, the character he plays seems to be an underrepresentation of his potential.

Spartacus made the most of his potential, and he sprang into the world of TV shows with the character Gannicus, a gladiator champion. The role, albeit not the starring role, which was Spartacus himself, was still a major character in the Spartacus series, and in the prequel, which introduced the character Gannicus, he was the main character. And what a great job he did. He had a natural presence on the screen, and he pulled off the role beautifully.

I was convinced he'd make a great Trent Smith. Ideally, a real life martial arts champion would be cast in the role of Trent Smith, seeing as how I proclaim the character to be the world's greatest martial artist. But the great martial arts actors are getting too old at this time. Jean Claude Van Damm, Steven Seagal, and even Jet Li are in their fifties by now. But even in their prime none of them were right for the part. Of the three, only Jean Claude Van Damm might have worked. But he's a Belgian, and Trent Smith is American, and unless Van Damm was able to lose his French Accent, he wouldn't have been right for the part. Jet Li is Chinese, so that would eliminate him, because Trent Smith is not Chinese. And Steven Seagal, being a tall man, would not have been right for the role either.

It's about acting, however. The Kung Fu star David Carradine played a great martial artist, and he knew nothing of the martial arts. But it didn't matter. He was an actor, and he acted. That's why they call it acting. If anything it proved experience as a real life martial artist is not necessary. Dustin Clare has proven to me he's a solid actor, and even though he's from Australia, he could act like an American, which is what he plays in his role in Strike Back. If nothing else, his role in Strike Back proves he could play the part of an American.

I hope the Strike Back role expands for Clare, and if it does, he can show his acting ability is more than up to the task. Then he'd be ready to tackle his breakout role: Trent Smith, the world's greatest martial artist in Killer of Killers.

The Eternity Drug

In my story, Killer of Killers, and its sequel, Killer Eyes, I wrote about the Eternity drug. It's a drug that a pair of super scientists created which heals all wounds in a day. Soon they find out that, not only does it heal injuries rapidly, it cures all disease. Even cancer. Then they realize that, if used on a daily basis, the user stops aging. It's as if the serum reacts to the daily aging process as if it were an injury, or a disease. It's all about the mitochondria in our bodies. The medicine recharges the mitochondria, preventing it from breaking down over time.

Yes, I did my research. I read all about mitochondria and the role it plays in the human system. I invented the drug, Eternity, and made it so that daily injections enable a daily rejuvenation of the healing capability. But of course, as with all 'wonder drugs' there are side effects. And it's the side effects that draw the world's greatest martial artist into the story line. Like roid rage, the drug causes unpredictable events of murderous frenzy. And because Eternity's users are the rich and famous, they are found innocent and/or the charges are dropped.

It was the OJ Simpson trial that inspired the story line. OJ, the famous, rich celebrity, was acquitted of murder even though everyone and their dog knew he did it. Same with Robert Blake. I'm sure there are others, but off the top of my head, OJ and Blake are my examples. They were innocent by way of fame. And that's what's happening in my story, but on a much larger scale. Until Trent Smith has had enough. For every murderer who dodges justice, there is another tier of justice waiting in the street. And its name is Trent Smith. Buy Killer of Killers today, and part two, Killer Eyes, will be available perhaps as soon as next week!

Slow Time in the Writing World

I expect the print proof of Killer Eyes today. I received a copy of Killer of Killers with the new cover yesterday, and during this waiting period, (waiting for the release of both Killer Eyes and John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu,) it's pretty slow in the writing world. My writing world, that is.

I chronicled yesterday the slow pace in the writing of Inside the Outhouse, and ditto for Book Three in the Killer Series, Killer on the Payroll. It's like that sometimes. There are times when I can write a lot real quickly, and then other times, like now, I write slowly.

I plan on a total of seven or eight books total. Along with Killer of Killers, Killer Eyes, and Killer on the Payroll, I'll have The Vase, John Dunn, Second Chance, and Inside the Outhouse. Exactly what my eighth book will be, I haven't figured it out yet. Maybe I'll stop at seven.

Inside the Outhouse creeping along

My WIP, Inside the Outhouse is a slowly developing story. I hate using the first person narrative, but for the YA genre, I've found most POVs are first person, so I'm going with it. One thing for sure. I'm never writing in first person again. This will be my only time. I don't understand why so many authors write in first person. It's a very limited POV. You can't switch to anywhere else in the story, or write anything other than what the main character is experiencing.

So I'll ride this one out, if for no other reason, to see how it goes. But even if it goes well, I'm still not going to write in first person again. I remember HG Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote some first person books. I read Well's War of the Worlds and one of Burroughs' Venus books as a teenager, and the first person narrative in those books didn't bother me.

But lately, any  book that's first person is a book I will put down and never pick up again. As for Inside the Outhouse, it's a good thing most people are not like me. After all, I wouldn't want anyone to pick up my book and then, after learning it's first person, put it back down. Nevertheless, I'll proceed and keep everyone posted here on the blog how it's coming along. RIght now, I'm only on chapter two, so like I said, it's creeping along. Slowly.

New Cover Designs Posted

As you can see to the right of this post, the new cover designs are now available in the Killer Series. Killer of Killers and Killer Eyes look like they match and they should match, since they are parts one and two in the Killer Series. I hope that Book Three, when it's written, will be another matching cover. You never know, since I had two different cover artists for the first two books.

I would like, one day, to illustrate my own book covers. It is, after all, something that artists do. And since I am an artist, it would behoove me to illustrate my own covers. No one knows better than I do what my characters look like, and what my book covers should look like. Being an art teacher, I've kept my artistic skills in shape, and I've always had it in the back of my mind to illustrate my own book covers.

On that note, I think I'll start with the John Dunn cover. The Killer covers are done, so, for now anyway, they're already taken care of. As is The Vase. So John Dunn, being published next year, will benefit from my first endeavor at a book cover. Time to go to work.

Sweden Leading Blog Viewers

I happened to check my stats page and it seems that within the last week 76 of the blog's viewers were from Sweden. Sweden? I don't understand that. Germany came in second and the United States came in third. Do people understand English in Sweden? I suppose the Germans are bilingual, but Sweden? That's a mystery to me how they even heard of my blog.

I guess they Google stuff in Sweden and Germany, so that's how they come across the blog. Btw, Russia, too, is often a source of visitors to the blog, which I'll never understand why. Well if they speak English, here's to hoping all these people read English so they buy my books.

Killer Eyes will be released probably by mid September, so sorry for the delay. I expected it to be released by August, but it's no big deal, since September is still in plenty time for the holidays. So three books will be ready by Christmas. Killer of Killers and its sequel, Killer Eyes, and The Vase. Order one or all three of them today!

Full Cover Designs-Front and Back

With the imminent release of Killer Eyes, I thought I'd post in advance the full cover designs of both Killer of Killers and Killer Eyes. I like them well enough, and hopefully prospective buyers will, also. Here's Killer of Killers:

And here's Killer Eyes:

 

Buy your copies on the Melange website or at Amazon.com. Let me know what you think, and what you'd like to see in Book Three.

What's Up With Dustin Clare and Amber Heard?

I had written some posts about Dustin Clare and Amber Heard as up and coming actors who I thought would be right for the parts of Trent Smith and Samantha Jones in my book Killer of Killers. But that was two or three years ago, and the careers of neither have taken off. Since Spartacus, Dustin Clare hasn't done anything of note, although he's finally resurfaced in the CineMax TV series Strike Back. But it seems to be a very small role.

As for Amber Heard, the biggest news about her has been her marriage to Johnny Depp. Other than that, the news about Amber Heard seems to be legal trouble involving Depp's dogs in Australia. I know she had a role in a B movie Machete Kills, and she's had parts in other movies that never made it to the big screen.

So it looks like my judge of talent is far from exemplary. Maybe it takes a movie like, say, The Transporter, which made Jason Statham into a big time star. Wouldn't it be terrific if Killer of Killers was that movie for Dustin Clare?

Well, Killer of Killers is unlikely to be a movie in my lifetime, anyway, so it's not something to worry about. But if anyone were to read the Killer stories, and like the characters, those would be the faces you could put on the names. That's all.

Fear the Walking Dead

I like the AMC channel's Walking Dead series, so I gave the new series Fear the Walking Dead a chance last night. I didn't get past the first commercial. I may or may not get back to it and watch the entire series, but it reminds me of producers who want to capitalize on their popular show or heroes. Usually, it's a female version of whatever male hero that was a hit.

For example, The Six Million Dollar Man put out the Bionic Woman. The Man from Uncle put out The Girl from Uncle. Superman put out Supergirl, Bat Man put out Bat Girl, and Spider-man put out Spider-woman. I'm sure that list goes on and on.

Then there's the spin offs, which are innumerable. All in the Family spun off The Jeffersons, Happy Days spun off Laverne and Shirley, Mary Tyler Moore spun off Rhoda, etc.

But there is another version of this. It's when the producers of whatever popular series just go overboard with it. It happened in comics when you had the original Amazing Spider-man, then they put out the Spectacular Spider-man, Marvel Team-ups featuring Spider-man, and several more.

When the X-Men took over as the most popular comic book, the original series Uncanny X-Men put out just plain X-Men, then X-Factor, X-Force, Excalibur, The New Mutants, X-Man, and so many more I can't keep up with them.

I used to love Spider-man and the X-Men, now I can't stand any comics at all. I just got sick of them and I stopped collecting. The only reason for these producers going overboard is money. There's a point where the amount of a particular product is just right, and then there's the overboard point. Some call it the bottom line. Make as much money as possible. In my opinion, when it reaches that point, it's no longer art. It's nothing more than greed. And when it reaches that point, I lose interest. I wonder if anyone else is like me in that regard.

New Cover Design on Print Version, but...

The new cover design to Killer of Killers is on the print copies, but I'm not sure if it's on the digital copies yet. I don't suppose it matters one way or another which cover design is used. It's the inside that matters, and the writing and the story, characters, plot, etc. is the same no matter which cover is on it.

As for the sequel, Killer Eyes, I'm still waiting for my print copy, so I can't say yet when it will be released. I'm expecting it any day now. As for Killer on the Payroll, I'm still perfecting the plot in that one. Basically, it's about a martial arts tournament held on an unnamed island in the South China Sea. But unlike the underground fighting circuits held in Japan, which named the world's greatest martial artist, the winner of this tournament will be named the world's greatest killer.

Of course there will be a lot of other things going on in the story. Like the ultimate fate of the Eternity drug, and the characters from the first two books in the series. I haven't decided if I will leave the story open for a fourth book, but I don't think I will. That doesn't mean there won't be a fourth book. That's always possible. That's what series are...the continuation of a story.

I mean look at Batman, Superman, and Spider-man. Their stories didn't end after three episodes. Those characters have had literally hundreds of continuing stories or episodes, although they were comic books, not novels. James Bond is going on three dozen, I believe, at this time. But that includes a few rehashed stories with different actors in the role.

Whether or not the Killer Series exceeds three books is up in the air. I will write a third book. That much is certain. A fourth will depend on reader interest. If the readership increases to the level of a print run book, I will. If it remains small, like the POD versions, then I won't. It remains to be seen.

Trilogies

I've noticed that it's not unusual for movies or books to be trilogies. The Lord of the Rings is a perfect example of a book trilogy that became a movie trilogy. The Bourne movies/books are a more recent example of a trilogy. The Transporter, too. And the Godfather, unfortunately became a trilogy, but that should have just remained a two movie deal, since the third one sucked.

The thing is, however, if said trilogy became a money maker, the producers will want to extend the trilogy to more sequels or movies. That's why a fourth Bourne movie was made, albeit with another actor in the role, and even the Transporter is coming out with a fourth movie, and again with another actor in the role. The bottom line is money, so if the movies make money, they'll keep making movies. It's why there's twenty-plus James Bond movies, with a bevy of different actors in the role.

As for my book, Killer of Killers? It does need one more book. Which will make it a trilogy. Should I extend it to more books? Probably won't happen. I left the story open for a second book, which is why I wrote Killer Eyes, and even a third, but beyond that? Well, nothing is certain. I suppose it could go beyond a trilogy, and maybe I would like to see it happen, but realistically, I would not count on it.

I will write a third Trent Smith martial arts thriller, a book three in the Killer Series, and only the right circumstances will pave the way for a fourth book and/or more. Only time will tell.