Spring Newsletter 2020 Featuring Da'Kharta Rising

Oh, is that spotlight for me? Must it be so bright? Can it be a bit dimmer by about sixty percent? Cool. Also, make it a different hue, like a crimson.

Now that’s more like it. The perfect way to make a badass feel welcome.

I stepped out of my cave at the request of All Authors Publishing House. Plus, not just the House but I myself have some hot events happening within the next few months.

Cool what I did there, huh?

First I’m going to talk about me since I’m the feature. Then, I’m going to talk about my role in the most recent All Authors Publishing House project.

When All Authors Publishing House took me on some years ago, they understood that I operate on my own schedule. I was not the type of writer, much less person, where they could dictate a set deadline to me and I’d automatically follow it.

Please note that there are deadlines to the group projects where I just happen to get the work in on time—don’t get it twisted. I’m talking about my individual sh … I mean, stuff.

Oops ... I almost forgot I wasn’t on my site.

Anywho, back to what I was saying.

Everyone was hyped up after I released “Boundless Limits”. I did leave it like "holy crap, what the hell" type moment … which was intentional, for the plan was to come out with the next book “Efficacious Ennui” within a year, two years tops.

Needless to say, it didn’t happen.

Unfortunate incidents happened to people close to me. Not too many things shake me but those things did. I was pissed because there was nothing I could do, apart from bleeding these parasites of their blood and breath, except sit back and watch them in pain.

My strength is my ability to take my emotions, especially the most volatile ones, use them as ammunition and fire with accuracy on the screen/page to produce work. This round, I was constipated, so it sat … and sat … and sat.

The first hint of movement was with the 2nd book for Divergent Ink, "Pleasure Prints". Wait, that doesn’t count because I finished that entry before the stank stuff happened. Someone else held that up, so scratch that.

The real first movement was having a long talk with one author I network with.

It was the closest I came to believing that I had lost my stride. I was that one who’d usually say, “What writer’s block? There’s no such thing. The characters will come to you. The story will manifest.” That’s how it worked for me. Until it didn’t.

It got to the point where I didn’t even hear Amare’s goody-two-shoes butt or Vindicta’s wings flapping near my ears. How in the name of angels and demons were the rest of these books going to come out? I’d gone bigger with the vision than intended (#BlamingDesire) which meant more installments that initially outlined.

In talking to this author (no it wasn’t Desire), she told me that I could still use the rage if I perceived it as therapy.

Therapy? I scoffed as such rhetoric. To approach it in this way would make it personal and I relished the ability to write in a way to subtract myself from the scribe. I was doing the whole nodding but didn’t plan on doing anything with it deal.

Well, I didn’t want to be extra rude.

Shortly thereafter, the call came for submissions for CV4. The topic interested me right away. Fire? Inferno? Sheesh … that’s right up my alley. I’ll knock that out in no time.

The 1st swing at the topic was not quite a home run. Not that I won’t use the story but like TC, characters were getting out of hand. That got me lit, like, “How are YOU going to tell me? I made YOUR ass, not the other way around!”

See, I wasn’t trying to drop a juggernaut of a story (#TheRosieThing), despite getting a 15K max limit, but I know that the House was hoping I’d not do a “Masato”. (If you don’t get it, that’s okay—it’s an inside joke between fellow writers.)

While getting together an alternate story for Inferno I reflected on the whole therapy business. As I was doing so, strange scenarios left and right started flowing. I didn’t know what it all meant but I jotted what came.

What came is the foundation for a series entitled When Karma Speaks. All tales of When Karma Speaks are in the form of episodes and they will be standalones. Therefore, if you don’t read "Disaccord" which is the title of Episode 1, you won’t get lost if you decide to check out "Soul Cooking" which is the title of Episode 3.

Like I said, I tend not to give definite dates, but I will give a hint. The release date of each episode will land on Friday the 13th.

It adds a bit of extra spook and it’s the only thing they all will have in common. Maybe I’ll even do 13 of them but perhaps I’m being way too ambitious.

While I was outlining episodes of WKS, lines unrelated to WKS demanded to be written. I put them down. Each portion symbolized a journal entry—a “chronicle” of recollection. The name “Aidan” suited the character because of its meaning. I won’t give that way. I’ll let you look it up.

Conviction is a powerful ingredient. It can warp perception. It can define reality. The origin and healthiness of that trait is humanity’s temperature. In my opinion, it is the reason why it is so easy to start an inferno but so difficult to put it out. I would speak further on how this applies to the world today, but I will save those ramblings for the walls of my cave.

Looks like I’m done here.

For #AllThingsRising, check out my website www.dakhartarising.com.

All Authors Magazine Throwback: Diarrhea of the Pen

In anticipation of the next All Authors Newsletter, we decided to do a throwback article from All Authors Magazine. 

This throwback is from Issue 12, whose theme was "The Spooks of Imagination". This guest article was written by the upcoming feature author Da'Kharta Rising.

When I heard that the theme for Issue 12 of All Authors Magazine Online was “The Spooks of Imagination”, I leaped at the chance to become a part. I tend to express myself with no apologies but for the AAM audience, I will try to tone it down. Key word being try.

Oh, how rude! I started writing and didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Da’Kharta Rising. You can call me by my first name only or by my initials DR. None of that Miss Rising stuff. I’m not on the front porch of a mansion waiting to be served some English tea.

I’m also known as the SASS, the Slightly Anti-Social Socialite. However, I’m going to break my ASP (Anti-Social Protocol) to talk to the writers. Particularly the writers I hold dear to my heart: those who wrote horror, thrillers, and drama.

I have just one simple question:

Why in the sam Hell must you tell everything?

Lately, I’ve been reading books in the previously mentioned genres. The whole beauty of a horror, thriller or drama write is to sustain a level of mystery and generate conflict that keeps the reader guessing. 

I’m not a romantic chic, by any means, but think of it like this:

You are a guy surprising his wife for his anniversary. Now if you are going to treat her to a fancy dinner, a snazzy hotel, and some “hot make the cops come knocking” sex, are you going to tell her about it in advance? 

No. 

You may drop hints here and there but you aren’t going to say, “Hey babe, we are going to (insert restaurant that is equivalent to a car insurance payment), a five-star hotel, then I’m going to strip you down, pour honey on your ass and make you orgasm like never before!”

If you do tell it, then it’s stupid! 

Why? Because you’ve spoiled the surprise.

Why in the hell would I even want to read the entire book if you’ve given away the identity of the killer twenty-five percent in? Or debate on motive when the motive is spelled out? 

Which guru deemed that birthing full-blown spoilers in the midst of writing thrillers, dramas and horror was a terrific idea? I’d like to find that person because I would resurrect Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and Freddy Kruger to hunt that moron down.

This. Has. Got. To. Stop.

No. I. Will. NOT. CALM. DOWN!

Yes, the extra periods are on purpose because I want those statements to be like mental hollow points of real talk piercing through your brain.

I do not want to assume that the average reader is so dumb that the writer has to point out every point of conflict in the book. There is something called imagination—it can make the scenes in the book be as dull or as fantastic as the reader wants it to be. Why deprive the reader of that freedom with one’s diarrhea of the pen?

If you are a writer that is a word count snoot, then use it to set up some scenery or to give a further description of your main character. Even develop some of the supplemental characters to make the main catalyst of conflict look like a richer badass. Don’t go around telling the very things that make a reader want to grab your work in the first place. 

Before I make my exit, a very important SIDE NOTE:

If you can’t keep from revealing the “why, who, and how” in your book blurb, get someone else to write said book blurb. 

I kid you not! There was one book that had a very long blurb. Due to the fly cover and the premise, I picked up the book. Needless to say, that long blurb revealed all the pivotal action about the book. Can we say disappointed? #WhatAFail

The moral of this write: Show me the fright. 

Also known as:
“Don’t tell me who the killer is.”
“Don’t give a play-by-play on motive.”
“Don’t give a blueprint about everyone’s drama.”
“If you must say something, HINT.”

With shiny sharp blades and an even sharper mouth,