I have not posted to my blog in nearly two months to the day. I have been busy preparing my trilogy for republication under a new banner. "The Cryptids Trilogy", which consists of "Shadow of the Thunderbird", "Track of the Bigfoot" and "Wake of the Lake Monster", will be released in their entirety as the first titles for Cryptofiction.com. While I am counting down the obligatory 100 agents and 50 publisher I feel would free me to pursue my own dream of publishing my own and others' works of cryptozoological fiction, I have been busy lining up resources in all aspects of the creative process. The domain is already mine, of course, and the rest will come from associations I have made through my years as an author of cryptid novels. Although I have in mind other tales I want to tell, in spelling my overriding interest in exploring the nature and origins of species depicted only in myth and legend, I feel that I will always return to my first love - cryptozoology. I am interested in all aspects of the paranormal, but UFO and ghost encounters always seem to involve abduction and possession. Cryptofiction offers the writer and reader the opportunity to pool their research and theories in a story of high adventure. In my novels at least, the manner of beast is at the heart of the mystery. My characters are real people, with faults and weaknesses that hamper their understanding, and impede their search for the creature of the title. They are all based, in whole or in part, on people I have known. Nearly all of them know who they are, when they read the stories. There are no truly good protagonists, truly bad antagonists, and certainly no perfect characters in my books. They each act as a catalyst for the plot, and drive the story along. Their conflict, either with each other or themselves, is what makes the story worthwhile. I pride myself on the intensive research that goes into my novels. I do not take the popular conception of any cryptid. I tend to disagree with most popular notions any way. The quest is in the discovery of a new species, whether or not that find is made known. Along the way, these past 6 years have been marred by ups and downs in my personal and professional life, resulting in the long delay in the completion of the third leg of my trilogy. That is all pretty well behind me now, as I focus on my goal of growing this subgenre of thriller. It is not easy to do, and there is not yet a universal acceptance of it by the publishing community at large. I read one agent's comments that it is too hard to verify, let alone edit. The terms and science involved, if done correctly, requires resources not available at most publishing houses. Therefore, I am creating my own. I have the means and the connections to accomplish it. Cryptofiction.com will not be a vanity publishing house, where the author pays in advance to have the book set up and made available at online and brick and mortar stores. Yes, they will still be in the 6x9 trade paperback format and POD, which makes remaindering for store credit difficult. Still, selected authors, once I do open the submissions to others, will not pay a penny out of their own pocket. I will insist that their novels be ready for publication, at least in terms of the quality and market readiness of their manuscript. Few houses have the resources any more to completely re-do a manuscript. Grammatical errors, logical disconnects, and poor plot development/lack of conflict will be grounds for refusing a book. I want to offer the best commission rate possible, per book. I am still working out the details on that point, but suffice it to say I have been on the receiving end of a publisher who took the lion's share, while I had to defray costs. Still, I will always be grateful to them, for teaching me the viability of what I offer, and how to make the most of it. So, that being said, I hope that the release of "The Cryptids Trilogy" will be a welcome addition to your library of books. I have labored six years on its final format, much of it with many people who offered their time, talents, and even their means to make it happen. You, as my reader and potential fellow author, have been the focus of this effort. I did not want to mention anything, before I was ready to begin. And that moment has come. So, prepare to be finally see cryptofiction come into its own, with a publisher equipped and supportive of the genre. If all goes well in the waning months of this year, you will see first my revamped novels, and their publishing house, come to fruition. For here there be monsters.... ~D.L.