“Restricted Area” Short Stories by Jason D. Bryant AND Will Kosh’s Book Soundtrack

You all know how I <3 my Indie authors, especially the extra creative ones. Will Kosh, for example, just sent me a soundtrack he devised to accompany his novel, Little Winged One. How ingenious. His book just got bumped to the top of my digital stack because of it.

 

And then there’s my Twitter buddy and fellow The Walking Dead fanatic, Jason D. Bryant, who’s written a variety of stories on WorthyOfPublishing.com. One of his projects, entitled Restricted Area, is a collection of short stories inspired by his Twitter followers. A follower sends him a DM with a plot outline- it must fit within only one message- and then sends another with nothing but a number indicating the word count.

Of course I did it. Like, right away. And my plot outline was this: A zombie retains her memories and conscience after turning. She traps herself in her basement to avoid harming her boyfriend. Chaos erupts.

My word count was 1000, chosen mostly just because that seemed to be the going theme.

He entitled my story, The Craving, and did amazing things with it. (Read: CHECK IT OUT!) I think it’s a pretty original concept and I love Mr. Bryant’s enthusiasm for it. But I also love the idea because it demonstrates how involved a reader can be, and how writing is an interactive experience. The reader isn’t a spectator; you want your readers to be a part of your story. Mr. Bryant is taking that to a new level and allowing the reader to become the muse.

It was a good week to be a part of the writing community.

 

Emotobooks

What is an emotobook?

In short, it’s fiction peppered with abstract art. EmotoSerials are novella or novel length, divided into separate installments. The finished story arcs are called seasons, and each installment is an issue- like a chapter but with its own conflict and resolution (think of TV episodes.) Serials are published monthly. There are also EmotoSingles, which are kind of like short stories- same concept but without serialization.

Despite the brevity of each emotobook, each issue is written and illustrated to engage the reader on a deeper emotional level than traditional prose. Writers use tension to build scenes specifically to be illustrated.

And if you’re a writer, know that you don’t have to submit a story already in emotobook form. The editors at Grit City Publications (myself included) can help you adapt your story into the emotobook style.

The illustrators are also an integral part of the creative team, because they interpret each scene and react through expressionistic art. These abstract illustrations enhance five to seven scenes per emotobook.

If you’ve read the handbook and you’re interested, or if you just have questions, shoot me an email at aj2185@gmail.com.

For a closer look at emotobooks, you can check out our maiden publication and namesake, Grit City by Ron Gavalik. Our catalog launch is scheduled for April, so expect additional awesome emotobook titles, such as the Swing Zone serial by Jodi McClure, Lingering in the Woods, a single by Cynthia Ravinski, and Suburbians, a single by William Kosh.