The Holocaust Engine

The Holocaust Engine by David Rike and Stephen Patrick

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A Long-Expected Party

September 22, 2020 /

Today is Hobbit Day, the annual day to celebrate the marvel and majesty of Middle-Earth. Whether you came to his work through print, screen, games, film or just meme’s, today’s the perfect day to turn our thoughts back to the Shire and the journey that J. R. R. Tolkien set out for us.

Today’s question: What do you think of J. R. R. Tolkien and what he built for us?

After you read ours, drop your thoughts and reflections in the comments. and yes, meme’s count.

STEPHEN PATRICK- Like Bilbo and Frodo, we all took that first leap of faith to leave our comforts to follow a powerful magician on an incredible adventure that dramatically changed our lives. JRRT works on so many levels, he created complete stories within a larger universe ripe for deeper exploration. It’s worth the trip, but so much fun to stop and look around along the way.

DAVID RIKE – We’re not supposed to covet, but my gosh wouldn’t it be nice to define an entire genre all by yourself?  But then, what did he do?  He mined European folklore (basically the greatest hits in storytelling over the centuries) and then fashioned an earth that a lot of us would rather live in than the modern, real thing.

When pen hits the page

September 20, 2020 /

Today’s “Writer’s Life” post explores the “when” of our writing:

When do you write and why?

DAVID RIKE: I like morning best.  I’ve found I only have a certain amount of creativity each day and if I don’t use it writing I wind up exhausting it just in the other details of my day.

STEPHEN PATRICK: Morning before the family is awake and late at night when they are asleep are my most productive times. I’m a big fan of speech-to-text, so I’ve crafted scenes and ideas while driving to work and while on the treadmill. To be fair, I’ve also sketched a few scenes in waiting rooms and on a train ride downtown.

Browsing the stacks?

September 18, 2020 /
blur book stack books bookshelves
Photo by Janko Ferlic on Pexels.com

Throughout my life, I’ve always been drawn to bookstores. Big boxes, chains, resellers, mom/pop, even the book section at Thrift stores have held my attention, pulling me into orbit around titles, authors and covers, each vying for my attention.

Today’s thought experiment: How or where do you find books for your reading list?

After you see our answers, drop yours in the comments. We’re always looking for recommendations for books and I can assure you, we’ll both steal the best ideas for selecting books for our stacks,

DAVID RIKE- Seriously, from bibliographies of other books to recommendations to online lists.  Plus I take a stack of gift cards into the Half Price Books every January and get a stack based on author, subject, jacket description… sometimes just the cover art.

STEPHEN PATRICK – I’m pretty eclectic, so this answer will be a bit all over the place. My go-to is walking into a store and looking around. I usually start out with a general list to start the year (5 non-fiction pieces, 5 fiction pieces, 2 self-help pieces, a few biographies and at least 1 “I don’t know anything about this topic” book, usually science or history.) Some authors stay on my must read list, but I usually let the stacks guide me. Online is a bit more precise, but I have found myself chasing rabbit trails from “Wonderland” to “Wonder” to “Wonder Woman” and back to a history of Wonder Bread. It’s not pretty, but it’s my system.

Writer Wednesday

September 16, 2020 /

One of the best things about being a writer is having writer friends. The creative churn of new releases, WIPs, and discussions about what they’re working on is inspiring.

To celebrate the release of “The Holocaust Engine” by Evolved Publishing, I want to hear what my friends are working on. Drop your links, or even thoughts about that new WIP in the comments below.

Show us what’s out there and what’s coming.

September 14, 2020 /

With the release of “The Holocaust Engine”, here is a guide to our corner of the web. This post should help you get started with what you may find here and why you should take a look around or subscribe to keep up with our updates.

http://holocaustengine.com/ has three goals:

  • Provide a home for news and insights related to “The Holocaust Engine”, our thriller trilogy set in Key West, FL.
  • Provide a platform for deeper dives into the book for those readers who want to learn more
  • Provide a place for to share inspirations and and insights related to writing and the process that guides the development of this series and the authors’ writing processes.

Whether you find what you’re looking for or you want something more, please let us know in the comments or simply like/share as you wish.

The end?

September 13, 2020 /

All good things must come to an end, but some endings are better than others. We started this journey to our launch date talking about famous first lines. While we hope this journey never ends, it made us think about last lines. Sometimes they are the perfect bow on a perfect package. Othertimes, they leave us wanting more.

Books, movies, whatever comes to mind, we’d love to see yours in the comments. Here are a few of ours:

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” Animal Farm George Orwell

“He loved Big Brother.” 1984, George Orwell

“And so farewell from your little droog. And to all others in this story profound shooms of lip-music brrrrr. And they can kiss my sharries. But you, O my brothers, remember sometimes thy little Alex that was. Amen. And all that cal.” A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess

“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

“Later on he will understand how some men so loved her, that they did dare much for her sake.” Dracula, Bram Stoker

“And strangest of all is it to hold my wife’s hand again, and to think that I have counted her, and that she has counted me, among the dead.” War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells

“I take his hand, holding tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go.”  The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

 “To the eternal glory of the infantry—“ Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein

And just for fun:

“The last man on earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door…”

Who needs a hero?

September 12, 2020 /

Today’s breakfast-time writer prompt:

Name a favorite protagonist and a single sentence of why. Bonus points for being off the beaten path, but recognizeable.

STEPHEN PATRICK: One of my favorite fictional Texans, the “gallant gentleman” himself, Quincey Morris: big heart, big knife, big smile, and he killed Dracula!

DAVID RIKE: Stephen R Donaldson’s leper, Thomas Covenant, a fun version of the social pariah as hero, with no real stake in society, but they defend it anyway.

Dog-eared pages and faded ink

September 11, 2020 /

Today’s thought experiment is about “that one book”, the one with the worn edges, the notes in the margins, the one that has traveled with you through time and space.

Other than religious volumes, what is “that one book” on your shelf that you’ve read the most often? Drop yours in the comments, and add any backstory that goes with it!

Ours are below. Mine is a bit classic, and, to be expected, David’s is hyper-practical.

STEPHEN:

This one is easy, albeit a bit straightforward. This 1978 paperback packs nearly 800 pages of horror classics with an introduction by Stephen King. I’ve read it for curiosity, pleasure, school, research, inspiration and sometimes just because I had it nearby (and it fits in a coat pocket). I’ve carried it to both U.S. coasts as a traveling companion and it has three decades of margin notes, ideas and wear. A decade ago, I laminated the cover to keep it from falling apart. There is no single volume in my library that holds such a powerful influence on my reading/writing habits for horror, science fiction and literature.

DAVID: I have an edible plant field guide for the Rockies that we take with us on vacation every year. I’d take the kids plant hunting and we’d hike all over.  Tried to make Choke Cherry jam one year and I still can’t figure out how to get Amaranth out of Lambs Ear….  Those seeds are  tiny.

Evolved Publishing

September 10, 2020 /

One of the toughest parts of being a writer is finding a path from the lonely, blank page to your reader.

One of the easiest has been working with our publisher and editor. Lane Diamond and his team at Evolved Publishing gave the Holocaust Engine a home and have been terrific partners on our journey.

We’ve mentioned our love for Kabir Shah’s artistry. Lane is another powerful ally, a coach and master editor, who helped polish and refine our words into the final product that comes out next week.

In addition to our story, take a look around the full catalog. There are stories, books, and audiobooks for every taste and genre and a few that defy easy explanation. Once you dive in, you may not want to come up for air.

Here’s a quick view of what you may find:

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