July Update
Free Story of the Month - First 3 of The Agency - DDD Inc.
Writing ‘The End’
When I started writing fiction stories last year, I didn’t have an anticipated date to finish by, having never written long form fiction before. The Kindle Vella platform was a great motivator to write more and before too long I was writing and publishing two episodes a week for two different stories. My second story, The Force of Magic, turned out to be an easier story to write, and on July 12th, I finally wrote the words. “The End of Book One”
It’s a strange feeling for a writer to be done with a story and to put it out in the world for people to criticize and enjoy. Today, July 25th, the final episode was released into the wild and I’m sure I’ll soon be hearing from my audience. I hope they will enjoy the direction of the story. The Force of Magic will be released in the Fall in paperback and eBook versions and if one of my most dedicated readers gets their way, a hardcover with color illustrations. If you enjoy a good fantasy adventure story, I hope you’ll check it out! :)
Free eBook - Shelly’s Fate - An After It’s Over Story
If you’ve been reading After It’s Over, you know one of the biggest questions is “What happened to Shelly?” This short eBook collects the 3 supplemental stories available that answer that question into one place. Click here to download your free copy.
Vella Recommendation: The Sliders Series by Kim Riehle
Mixing fantasy, high school coming of age and a thrilling action adventure, Kim Riehle’s excellent Vella, The Sliders Series, is worth checking out. In this book, after 4 high school students are involved in an accident, they find themselves ‘sliding’ into an alternate fantasy reality sometimes when they go to sleep. The story does an excellent job at looking at some of the challenges that high school students face while dealing with a fantastic adventure. Don’t take my word for it, click the link above to read the first 3 episodes for free and see for yourself!
July Stats Update
As of today 7/25/22, my stories have the following rankings:
After It’s Over
219 People follow this story
3358 episodes read
#1 Post-apocalyptic story
#2 Alternate History story
#1 Pandemic story
#4 Survival story
#5 Dystopian story
#21 Action story
#42 Adventure story
#29 Thriller story
The Force of Magic
187 People following this story
2884 Episodes read
#1 Super Powers story
#3 Epic Fantasy story
#14 Coming of Age story
#16 Young Adult story
#8 Female Protagonist story
#31 Magic story
#46 Adventure story
Fun Moment of the Month
Amazon chooses stories to feature on the Kindle Vella homepage. Last week, my story, After It’s Over was chosen. This has helped quite a few more people find this story. It will be featured for a week and it was a wonderful surprise when one of my friends let me know about it!
Art of the Month
I’ve been using different pieces of art-altered photos to promote my episodes on social media. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram @HunterCAuthor, you’ve probably already seen most of them, but for those of you who don’t, here are two of my favorites from the last month.
Free Story of the Month - The Agency - DDD Inc. Episodes 1-3
The picture above is the cover art for my new Vella, The Agency - DDD Inc. The first 3 episodes are available free there as well, but for your convenience and to give you a sample of this new story, here are the first 3:
You’re Fired!
Ping! The IM chimed on his work computer, startling Kerry from his after lunch daydreaming. He'd been working in this office all summer and his routine was usually to finish all of his to do list right after his morning coffee and then spend the rest of the day on social media or playing games on his phone.
A few afternoons, he'd been so bored he actually fell asleep in his cubicle. He was pretty sure no one noticed.
Mr. Dross needs to see you in his office ASAP! - E.A. Johnson
The message was from his boss's secretary. Kerry thought her name was Elizabeth, but he couldn't be sure. I wonder what the big guy wants?
Since he started this job after graduation, Kerry had only seen the boss a few times and never in private.
Kerry turned off his monitor and headed down the hall to see what's what.
"There you are Mr. Chase. Sit down and I'll let Mr. Dross know you're here," Elizabeth? said.
Kerry heard the phone conversation, unfortunately, both ends of it.
"He's here Mr. Dross."
"It's about time! Send him in!"
"Yes, Mr. Dross."
Gesturing towards the door, "Mr. Dross will see you now."
Before Kerry could even cross the room to sit down Mr. Dross was up, "Kerry Chase, do you think stealing is wrong?"
"Sure, but what does that have to do…"
"Mr. Chase, you work for me. For my company and you've been here awhile. Do you know what your job is?"
"I was hired to process invoices, so I guess that's my job. I process the invoices when they come in."
"You were hired to work for me Monday through Friday, starting every morning at 8 and finishing at 5. You are an employee for this company, here to work every day between those hours, with the exception of your lunch break and two coffee breaks. What that means is I expect 7 1/2 hours of work out of you every day that you're here. Now have I been getting 7 1/2 hours of work every day from you?"
Kerry could see where this was headed and that there were no right answers to the questions he was being asked. Instead, he tried a different tactic. "I have a work inbox and I do everything that comes into my inbox, including all of the invoices. Is there a problem with my work?"
"There is a problem with your lack of work. I don't need slackers here, who are just doing enough to get by. A company like this is like an organism. We work together for the good of the whole. Just because something isn't in your inbox doesn't mean that there isn't work to be done."
"But how am I supposed to know what needs to be done if no one gives me anything to do?"
"Initiative! That's how. You don't have any initiative. This great country wasn't built by people just doing enough to get by. Real accomplishments come when we practice initiative."
"But we're a stationary wholesaler. I don't see how showing initiative does anything except maybe more profits for you and the owners."
"What's wrong with profits?"
"Nothing I guess, but making you money isn't something that is highly connected to my desire to show initiative."
Mr. Dross gave him a long scowling look and finally said, "Well, sounds like you're not a good fit here anyway."
"What does that mean?"
"You're fired, clean out your desk and don't come back tomorrow. As a matter of fact, since there is nothing in your inbox, just go ahead and leave."
Kerry was stunned, but when Mr. Dross walked him to the door, he didn't know what else to do, but get his things and go.
What am I going to do now? I have a mountain of student loan debt, rent and car payments and no job.
Career Opportunities
Kerry wanted to go shopping, or to the coffee shop or anywhere but back to his apartment, but he was afraid to spend the money. For that matter, driving around wasn't even a good idea with the price of gas seemingly forever going up.
"I guess home it is."
He pulled into the parking lot of their apartment and wasn't happy to see his roommate Jackson's sporty little compact car in the lot. Jackson worked most evenings and weekends as the headwaiter at Chotsky's, a local restaurant, so they didn't see each other very often.
Kerry looked at the clock, 3:19PM. Jackson probably wouldn't be leaving for at least another couple of hours. He decided to bite the bullet and go on in.
"Kerry, what are you doing home so early?"
"I got canned. They had me clean out my desk and sent me out the door."
"Ah man, that sucks. Why'd they do that?"
"Let's just say we had a difference of opinion about how I should spend my time at work."
"Well, if you need something temporarily I can probably get you on as a dishwasher. Don't forget, the rent is due on the 15th and I'm sorry man, but I can't float you."
"Thanks for the offer, but I want to see if I can find something else. I'll let you know by the weekend if I need to try and get in there."
"Such a bummer. Although I'm sure you didn't really like that job. Maybe this is for the best."
Kerry appreciated Jackson's optimism, but he would have liked to have already had a new job before he lost this one.
"I'm going to get online and check the listings in the area. Maybe there will be an opening that is interesting."
"Catch you later. If you're still up when I get home, I'll be bringing some leftovers."
Kerry went into his room and closed the door. He opened up Spotify and looked for something to change his mood. Mood Booster? Worth a try.
Looking at job listings was never his favorite thing. Kerry always felt like he was severely underqualified for most of the jobs that sounded good. Like many people his age, he got sucked into getting a liberal arts degree with the "you can be anything you want!" mantra and now he was stuck with student loans and a diploma that was unlikely to help him pay it all back.
Seeing nothing interesting, Kerry decided to open up his email for inspiration. He subscribed to a variety of mailing lists. Mostly from his favorite author's like Gage Greenwood and L.J. Vitanza. What he wouldn't give to support himself by writing like they did.
He was surprised to see a subject line in all bold letters, standing out in his inbox.
AMAZING CAREER OPPORTUNITY – NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY
It looked like the kind of thing that should have been dumped into his spam folder, but desperation being what it was, he decided to click it to see what it said.
Are you someone who always likes to know what's going on?
Do you feel like you know what is best for the people in your life?
We're looking for people like you and have entry level positions available now!
No prior experience necessary – Flexible hours
Strong starting salary and benefits with good opportunities for advancement
On the job training – Work at your own pace
Must have basic computer skills
Flexible moral compass a plus
Click the link to apply now!
And that was it. No company name. No logo, just text and a link. It was exactly the kind of email that every cybersecurity expert warned you about.
Kerry checked and turned on his VPN. He looked at the system tray to make sure his anti-virus software was running.
Alright, here goes nothing.
He clicked the link.
DDD Inc.
Kerry was relieved to see a fairly normal looking website open after he clicked the link, if a bit generic. At the top of the page was the text "DDD Inc." with a logo that looked like 3 D's locked together. There was a giant picture of men and women sitting around a conference table, all with huge smiles on their faces. Underneath the picture was a title:
Apply with us today to become a part of our elite workforce!
Elite, what's that about?
Kerry tried to click around on the page, looking for an about page to learn more, but didn't see anything. This was a fairly generic landing page. When he looked at the web address, it seemed like nonsense: "www.dddiiinnnccc.com"
Kerry opened up another tab and searched for DDD Inc., but the name was so common that there were many different companies incorporated under that name. If only I knew what the D's stood for.
He went back to their page and clicked the Apply Now! button.
The next page was just a disclaimer: "Positions at DDD Inc. are in high demand and quite competitive. The first part of the application is a survey to ascertain your suitability for this company. The survey will take 15-20 minutes to complete. After completion you will be contacted within 24 hours to notify you if you have been accepted to move on to the next phase. All information you share with DDD Inc. becomes our exclusive property. By clicking the Continue button, you agree to these terms."
Kerry figured he could always just close out the window if things got too personal, so he clicked continue.
"Section 1: Media preferences"
Kerry was surprised to find that this entire section was related to his knowledge of various tv shows, movies and music. He blazed through the questions and was surprised to find that he knew about almost every thing they asked. Clearly, I need to get a life.
"Section 2: Public events"
This area felt more personal. Kerry wasn't much for following the news, but he was asked to rate various terms on a scale from positive to negative. The names were all things seen frequently in the news like BLM, MAGA, Planned Parenthood, Greta Thunberg, Proud Boys and various political figures. Some of them he'd barely heard of and for the most part the thing that they all had in common was they were topics he wanted to avoid in most conversations.
This section took much longer for him to complete, but he finally clicked to go on to the next screen.
"Section 3: Ethics"
Every question in this section was some sort of ethical dilemma that he was asked to respond to.
"You buy a pile of clothing items on sale at your favorite department store. When you get home, you realize one of the items is not on the receipt. Do you go back to the store and pay for it or just let it go?"
"You are failing a class you were required to take but totally hate. You have an on-line exam. If you fail the exam, you will fail the class. You can cheat without anyone knowing. Do you do so and pass the class?"
"Your lunch keeps missing at work. You are pretty sure you know who is taking it each day. Do you confront them, report it to your supervisor or HR, get them back by making a cat food sandwich, or just keep quiet?"
"Your friend tells you that they committed a crime. They explain that they are having trouble sleeping at night and feel you are the only one they can trust with their confession. A few days later, you read in the paper that someone has been arrested for your friend’s crime. What do you do?" After filling out most of the page, Kerry remembered something in the email. Switching back to that program, he read it again, "Flexible moral compass a plus". That was very strange. Most companies expected strict honesty out of their employees. He went back to the survey and clicked to continue.
"Congratulations, you've finished the survey. Enter your contact information and social security number to complete the first part of your application."
Kerry felt a little uncomfortable giving out his SS#, but he knew that was a normal part of the job application process. He filled in the final details and hit submit.
"Thank you for your submission, you will hear from us in the next 24 hours."
Kerry went to the kitchen to get something to eat and was surprised when his phone dinged with a new email notification.
"Congratulations! You have made it to the next stage of the application process. Come to our office between the hours of 8-12 tomorrow to begin the next stage." Kerry looked at his watch. It's only been 5 minutes since I submitted the application. Is that a good sign?
If you want to read more, there are already a total of 7 episodes available here!