Nirvana and The Multiverse (Earth-1 Introduces The Street King).|

“Good evening. This is off our first record. Most people don’t own it.”

Ha! Fuckin’ A! I got Nirvana Live and Unplugged on the turntable and it’s “About a Girl.” (Literally. I love you, Babe!)

Now, without further ado, I like to welcome you guys to the first ever Literary Dumpster Fire. We’re officially at the halfway mark editing my second novel, The Street King, and I wanted to touch base with the many fans I am currently dripping with. I also want to give my editor, Iris, a shoutout. Thanks for all the hard work that you do (and don’t do; way to drop the ball about the airbag of the ‘66 Skylark in The Woman in Black).

That’s the thing about writing fiction: sometimes you get lost in the world you are trying to create, and it carries over into the world of editing. And when that happens, you worry too much about a misplaced comma or misspelled word that you sometimes forget about the historical inaccuracies. If I may borrow a quote from my idol, Stephen King: “If I got it right, thank my support crew. If I got it wrong, chalk it up to my failure to understand.”

Sometimes mistakes need to be made. It's good for you. Builds character. And if it wasn't for that little blunder, The Ford Files wouldn't have some very interesting trivia notes. Will I continue to make mistakes? Sure. But we'll have fun in the process, won't we? As my team and I navigate the treacherous world of editing and rewrites for The Street King, we are reminded that not everything can be perfect. Sure, here at Globo Gym (The Dark Write), we’re better than you, and we know it, but that’s just the corporate slogan. Underneath this thirsty sex appeal, I’m just an Average Joe who puts one sock on at a time.

Ha! Fuckin' A! Two Dodgeball references in a single paragraph. Almost impossible. Almost.

Now to the good stuff (and no, I'm not talking about the whiskey, although it's starting to hit the sweet spot). When I first wrote The Street King, it was literally with a pen and paper. A true literary dinosaur, I know. But you see, back in high school, my buddy and I were obsessed with street racing video games: Need for Speed, Midnight Club, that sort of shit. And since I wasn't equipped with a computer, I was forced to lay out these bitchin' ideas for a street racing story in an old notebook. Most of them were garbage. But one of them involved a disillusioned mechanic realizing the fastest way out of debt was outrunning the law in a customized Mustang.

While The Woman in Black holds a special place in my heart for being my first published work, it's The Street King that's truly my pride and joy. It was my first novel written. Although most of the original draft didn’t make the final cut, a lot of that material will be used in future novels. The Street King is the first in a series that may or may not be a trilogy. It honestly depends on the studio (narrative momentum)—and whether or not they (I) want three books or five. Who knows? Maybe The Dark Write will get the green light to a never-ending franchise like the Fast and Furious (fingers crossed) and I never have to worry about selling my feet pics on OnlyFans (again, fingers crossed).

Now, a lot of you are probably wondering why I just didn’t follow up with my masterpiece The Woman in Black (because based off all the fan mail, that's what you guys really want). And the reason for that is The Literary Multiverse. The Street King will be published under the Earth-1 library and this is where I typically lose people. When I first envisioned The Literary Multiverse, I wanted to engage with as many readers as possible. I also wanted to separate my stories since they were different genres and not be typecast as a single genre author. Ergo, it was important to establish the two worlds before pursuing future projects. While Earth-1 will focus on mystery, thriller, and suspense, Earth-2 will focus on horror, paranormal, and the unexplained mystery. Readers will get a sense of Earth-X in the follow up to The Woman in Black. For now, I just need you guys to trust the process. Or don't. What do I care?