Drum roll please...

Not happening.

It was good experience to pitch Pink Chase to two agents. I ended up pitching the entire series as a full novel. From going to this conference, I learned all the ups and downs of a traditional publishing system, and found that they will release a book maybe a year from when you sign. That's so far away! For my purposes, I'm going to stick to the slow and steady upgrades to the stories and I'm just going to keep self publishing. I don't think I wanna actually become a full fledged, professional writer. It's really hard and depressing. So, I will finish my thoughts and move on.

I've also got some ideas on how to restart Red Chase. It'll be more closer to telling Al's side of the story as he reawakens from his 15 year hibernation period. It'll also go through the society assimilation themes and horror aspects more, just like I've wanted to do from the beginning, but couldn't figure out how to.

All right, that being said, my number 1 priority is still going to be the completion of the first few episodes of Butterfly Kisses. I'm working on the drawing phase right now.

That's all,
~Rox

Hello Internet,

It's been a while since I last posted. Been busy working on some stuff. Let me tell you all about it.

I just finished lettering and layout for the next 9 episodes. I have to say, going all digital is so efficient. I feel like my layout and paneling are top notch, and the dialogue bubbles are all professional looking. This is a great milestone in that it marks the end of uncertainty and this is the 50% mark to completion. I'll be working on the drawing part next. If you're following my Twitter (@RoxioxxStudios), you can see the progress.

It's been fun putting 100% of my time into this project. I'll still be working on the episodes as a whole, so I can't comment on when Episode 2 will be released, but when they are in a good spot, I'll be releasing each episode either every week or every other week. My goal is to complete all these episodes before I get back into job searching. It's one of the things I've wanted to give myself a chance for, and now I do. My target is to be pretty much done in 6 weeks from now.

Thank you for your patience.

Dedicating so much time to writing and learning the craft has really opened up my talents in writing manga, but also, it's helped me understand how to tell a story. I like writing. This weekend, I'll be going to a weekend conference and pitching Pink Chase to an agent. If I'm successful, I may have a deal with a traditional publisher. If not, I'll gain some insight how to make Pink Chase better, and finish it off all independently. The most important part is that I've always wanted to give myself a chance to succeed, and now, I've given myself this, I'm so happy.

All right. That's all for now,
~Rox

Hello Internet,

How are ya? Have you found random, large outlet mall about 10 minutes away from your house? Well, have you checked? Turns out, there was one for me. I wished I explored more. It's been there for over two years. lol.

Anyways, I've been super busy with writing. I know I said I was done with the Chase series, but I then I learned how to build moments, and I just had to redo large parts of the story. I've booked some time with an Agent at the end of the month, so maybe things will work out. The newest editions of "Azure Chase" and "Lavender Chase" will be held up until further notice.

Now, I'm working on "Butterfly Kisses" the web manga. Lots of initial friction, but I'm slowly getting back into the flow. It's been a while so I'm trying to remember how to draw again. It's taking a while and it is stressful.

Also, anyone coming to the #BFGCon which is the Big Frederick Gaming Convention, I'll see you there. Hoping to make some new friends to help with creating board games.

Okay. I'm tired. Night,

~Rox

Hello Internet,

How are you guys doing? Happy February the 13th! One of the best days of the month. Defiantly not the day after today. Anyways, this will be a chill post. Let's just talk.

It's good to be basically done with my short stories (that's the Chase Series).  Man, about a year ago, I thought the hardest thing about writing, was writing enough words for it to be a story. Now, I think the hardest part of writing is having a proper character arc. Making characters sympathetic enough so that the readers will be interested. How you do that is all dependent on your ability to communicate. Which words you use. How you execute those lines. Even, knowing when to not explain. Just let the feelings come through. Here's a tricky thing: sometimes what your characters feel is designed to make your readers feel something else. So, for Lavender Chase, in one scene Alexander is upset, but what I wanted the readers to feel is curiosity. Why is he upset? That piece the heightens the book's ending at the end that ties all the clues from before into one package. At the end of the story, it just feels so satisfying instead of being lack luster.

And hopefully, my blogs are a bit better written. Writing is like drawing. It's a skill. Some people are born with the gift, and others, like myself, have to practice like heck to get better.

It also helps to read books that are about the context of your story. I've been reading "Worthy Fights" by Leon Panetta who was a US Secretary of Defense, CIA Director, and Congressman. Since the Chase series focuses so much on government and how the Department of Defense works, his insight was indispensable. For Azure Chase, I had a scene about a mission briefing. The first version was vague and generic, and even my editor hated me for it. After taking his information (combined with Phillip Mudd's book "The HEAD Game") this scene was utterly transformed. It was filled with context and detail. Instead of saying "The Guardian Knight sat with authority," I was able to convey those feelings instead.

Hello Internet,

Hope you guys had a great Saturday. I'm personally feeling very accomplished. I've uploaded a more fleshed out version of "Lavender Chase" today. This update delves more into the Guardian Knight's character (who is the equivalent to Secretary of Defense of the Quartz Region and a Muslim woman). This version even comes with a new cover.

Anyways, I feel like the story is as good as I can make it.

Hello Internet,

It is with great pleasure I introduce to you the second edition to my short story "Azure Chase." It has been completely redone with a different plot altogether. If you like stories where the monster/villain is the protagonist, you've got to get your hands on this right now. Also, in honor of this second edition, I'm giving away 5 copies of this book through Amazon (ebook/Kindle Store only). All you have to do is click a button to see if you get the prize or not. No extra work after that. So why not give it a try?

Even though Alexander decided not to replace all the humans with its parasites, simply coexisting with their constricting rules was not the life it wanted. It deserved more.

After waking up from a 13-year hibernation, the alien parasite known as Alexander looked in a mirror and observed its masterfully sculpted, newly transformed human host–it was perfect. Now, this incubus could blend in seamlessly within human society. Normal humans fell in love with it left and right, yet none offered the same wholesome relationship as its late, human daughter had. The truth was, she was well alive, but also its greatest threat. She is the Guardian Knight, leader of the Department of Defense, and her duty is to protect all residents of the Quartz region. Alexander is no exception, although it tries to become one. Its biggest hindrance to reconnecting with its daughter is its insatiable hunger for human DNA.

Will they be able to reconnect or will this tale end in betrayal and death? See how this short story ends by reading this book now.

I'm still working on mostly artwork for my characters, one of which is featured below (it's still just a WIP). However, I am devoting half my time to the full re-release of "Lavender Chase." That one should be coming up in a week or so.

As for the secret projects, they are not nearly close to completion for me to say anything about them yet. Stay tuned.

Hello Internet,

Just a quick couple of updates. Still working on the two secret projects. They are art intensive and it's taking me a while to create all that work. I've put a some of the WIP for the artwork on twitter but I've also put the tweets down here below.

Also, I've unpublished "Red Chase" for now as its quality is just not up to par with my standards, especially after turning it into a novel that goes into a lot of things. Don't worry, Red Chase will be re-released one day, perhaps this year.

Bye!
~Rox

Hello Internet,

Been working on a whole bunch of behind the scenes things this past week, however, today's update is going to mostly focus on the updated version of "Lavender Chase" I've released today.

It has some significant changes done to it with 3,000 words of exposition reduced and replace with two Chat-Tap stories. To those of you not familiar with those kind of stories, they look like a normal text conversation. Two new characters have been added to this story: Envoy Darius and Envoy Tracy, and in those conversations, you'll get to know exactly who they are quickly.

I've also re-written large swathes of text so that the story is a bit tighter, however, at the moment, I've run out of time to spend my focus on this now, so this is more of a soft launch to this updated story. I'll come back to finish re-writing it after Butterfly kisses is in order.

Certain sound effects, like the binaural beats of the Lavender Town music, can affect certain individuals susceptible to mental illnesses, such as depression. Some call this phenomena LTS – Lavender Town Syndrome. It would be a shame if an incubus lured you into an abandoned mental asylum at night just to exploit your mind’s weaknesses…
 
//// ------Synopsis------ ////
After 13 years of hibernation, the alien parasite known as Alexander has reawakened. The last time it was awake, it was hellbent on replacing every human being with a parasite to become them. Now, it seems like it’s ready to restart its sadistic, reign of terror with its newly transformed, beautifully sculpted and modified, human hosts (Alexander likes to call them an incubus or a succubus, for it sees itself very much like a demon). The alien decides to play a game with the human heroes: Save the woman in its grasp before it devours her alive! The Department of Defense’s leader, the Guardian Knight, wastes no time. She rushes into the abandoned mental health facility where Alexander is holding the civilian to rescue her. Meanwhile, the parasite watches her, smirking. “Oh, the fun I could have with my little hero.”


In this soft sci-fi/horror short story, author Roxioxx takes an uncommon approach by telling the tale from the incubus’s point of view. The two sides are so equally mysterious and matched, it’s impossible to predict who will come out on top—the incubus or the hero.


Find out what happens next by buying the book now.
 
//// ------Basic Story Info------ ////
Genre:
Soft, Sci-Fi; Dark Fiction

Age Rating:
Young Adult to Adult Fiction

Second edition released:
January 2019

Yep, that's how I'm gonna end it. Talk to you later,
~Rox