The Official Bryan W. Alaspa Website

Just got word from my editor that the final edit of SAPPHIRE is almost done.  Dates of publication will be coming soon.  First the Kindle edition and then in print!

SAPPHIRE

It’s almost here!

That image is the box I opened today.  It arrived via UPS on my front porch.  I don’t care how much of a big deal writer you are, there is nothing cooler than getting those first complimentary copies of your book from the publisher.  I still get a thrill and a chill down the spine.

This is my new non-fiction book from Schiffer Publishing called Chicago’s Unsolved Crimes and Mysteries (you can pre-order a copy at that link).  It is the biggest non-fiction work I have ever done.  Twenty chapters dealing with everything from UFO sightings at O’Hare and rumors of haunted cemeteries, to people who have vanished such as John Spira and Stacy Peterson to weird things like John Gacy’s lost victims, the Tylenol Murders and the Max Headroom Broadcast Intrusion incident.  From the weird, to the really weird, to the scary, it’s all right here in one very cool package. [Read more →]

Just got word that the first round of edits from my new YA Novel SAPPHIRE will be in my hands (or in front of my eyes, anyway) by the end of the week.

Can’t wait!

SAPPHIRE

I have to admit that I am a TV freak. I have loved TV probably more than I loved books for longer than I have loved books. And, like most writers, it is my dream to have one of my books made into a TV series or movie.

I love the many different ways that you can watch TV these days. You don’t just have to sit down in front of your television at a certain time anymore. You can watch original shows on various websites, and more and more those websites can be seen on TVs that connect to the internet. That is amazing.

I just found an original series on the website Crackle.com called CH:OS:EN and, from the first two episodes, it is excellent. It is exciting and thrilling and terrifying. And it is amazing that the show was produced for a website. [Read more →]

Coming soon!  A giveaway of his bestselling horror novel VICIOUS for your Kindle.

Get ready!

Yeah, I kind of said it was last weekend.  Silly me.  It’s this weekend and if you stop by artist Stephen Bryant’s booth there, and buy some of his work, you could end up with a free Kindle edition of VICIOUS.

Good luck!

BWA

I have had a conversation a time or two about why I have decided to continue writing both fiction and non-fiction. To be honest, it is something that I have struggled with before, as well. There are a few reasons.

The first is that my first opportunity to work with a publisher and get a work that I had written published was in the non-fiction world. That was a book about haunted houses in St. Louis. It was my chance to actually get a book into bookstores and work with a marketing professional with my books so that all of the marketing was not in my lap. And, at that time, the entire digital publishing revolution had yet to begin. I discovered that it was fun, and I had a fondness for true crime books and figured I might be able to swing this into writing true crime books. Sure, I figured, I could write my fiction stuff, but it may never sell very well, but I can make a name for myself as a writer writing the non-fiction. [Read more →]

There is something about short stories. They lend themselves particularly well to the horror genre, but there is something about them that makes them not quite as popular as novels. I think it has to do with the thing that makes them work so well for me – their shortness. That may seem obvious, but bear with me.

When you have a much longer work, well, you have time to identify with the characters. You slowly immerse yourself into their world. You get to know them. Some of the best novels make you feel like they are part of your life, as if they were real people. Then you go through the ups and downs with them and, at the end, there is usually some kind of resolution. Granted, not always, and some of them leave you hanging, but even those can make you feel like you have left these people that you came to love someplace, maybe having learned something.

The short story, meanwhile, does not have that luxury. You are often flung into the worlds of the characters. You have to catch up quick, and then shocked by the horrific things that happen to them, and just when you are starting to get the rhythm and vibe of the characters, the story ends! Often short stories, more than any other type of writing, leaves you hanging, without that blissful resolution. Their literary teases. [Read more →]

Also a reminder, if you are interested in non-fiction and true crime, strange tales, Chicago history or unsolved mysteries – well, I have a book coming out soon that has all of that.  It is available in print only from Schiffer Publishing.

The Amazon entry says that it is due out in July, but I haven’t been given an absolute date, yet.  You can pre-order it, however, via Amazon.com.

Just click on the image below!

My new non-fiction novel about Chicago’s unsolved mysteries. Ghosts, murders, UFOs, strange happenings, history, all rolled into one. Click the cover to pre-order a copy now!