Tuesday, November 5, 2013

The story so far

Some people have expressed interest in joining the twitter role play. I know I have jumped around a lot in the story, so I shall give you a summary of the journey so far.

Ella Thomas, age 20, leaves her hometown of Uxbridge, Massachusetts on a journey of discovery in search of a man from her childhood that she believes to be in Las Vegas. She is followed by two men, Mr. Brown and the FBI agent, Marcus. 

Ella is a writer working on her first novel throughout the journey and relays her adventures as stories. One chapter details a public mass shooting, another tells of an affair with a bartender in Dallas. 

The stories of sexual encounters and kill scenes are alternated with flashbacks of her childhood abuse at the hands of her father. As she grows as a killer, she continues to tell the story of Ray Holden (a writing mentor and special friend from childhood) and the part he played in the death of her father. 

Ella arrives in Vegas to be held captive by Mr. Brown, who prevents her from completing her quest of finding Ray. Their interactions complete the novel, with Ella 'dealing' with Mr. Brown in her own special way.

The next book finds Ella in Vegas, free and young and rich and in search of men to put to the knife. 

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask or comment. 

Come one and all to twitter and enjoy the role play. 

List of needed characters: 

rich tourists, 
degenerate local gamblers,
drug dealers,
a woman 'friend'
cops, fbi men (Marcus)
strippers, 
nightclub players

Monday, November 4, 2013

Like to Roleplay?

If you like to RP and would like to help with the next Ella book, contact me by comment or email or Facebook or however you want.

I'm looking for the following players: 

Rich tourist gamblers.
Degenerate locals. 
Drug dealers. 
Strippers.
Detectives/cops/FBI

If you are interested, let me know. 

*edit* someone expresses interest in playing Mr. Brown. I will consider a Ghost of Mr. Brown character...played like Dexter's father. 

Sunday, November 3, 2013

NEW WEBSITE

I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone that took time from their busy lives to read my blog over the last couple of years. All those that have offered comments, critiques and suggestions--- THANK YOU!

As publication of ELLA ramps up--- I have started an official website for my fiction writing to be found here 


I will continue to post non-writing articles on this blog-- namely about poker, politics, finance and other topics that do not fit on the fiction blog. 

I hope you all continue to enjoy the content. 

Enjoy the new site and have a great day! 

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Novel update and new writing for NanoWriMo

Only 300 words so far, but I'm making progress on the story even if that hasn't translated into typed copy at this point. 

The title is a sticking point for me and it's hard to move forward without having a 'working' title for a book. So, without further delay, I'll give you the different choices and you tell me what you think.

1) A killer in Vegas

2) Little Black Book (of death and sex) 

3) Death in Vegas

At present, here is a summary of the story I have so far--- perhaps that will help make a title choice.

The narrative follows the events of ELLA chronologically and we see Ella in Vegas. The book will be a series of 'chapters' connected by common themes of gruesome murder and sex. The first book told of the journey to 'becoming' a serial killer and this book will jump into the action.

The book centers around Ella keeping a record of her kills/conquests in a little black book. She describes for posterity (and in some ways the FBI) the deaths as they occur, in story fashion. The reader will get a front row seat as Ella leaves a bloody trail of bodies in Las Vegas.

This is all I have for now. Let me know the title you prefer and any comments on the story so far. 

Thank you for reading and following the blog. I will have news about a new website coming soon!!!

Friday, November 1, 2013

NaNoWriMo

Today is November 1st, the beginning of National Novel Writing Month, where hundreds of thousands of novelists try to complete a 50k word novel in 30 days.

Here is a link to the site for any of those interested in more details. 

http://nanowrimo.org/

Without any planning, I will jump into the fray and attempt to complete the challenge!

That said, I need ideas to get going. To complete the challenge, a writer needs to write 1667 words a day on average. Time to do this!

I have two ideas I can run with at this moment---

1) The adventures of Rita and Karl- this idea centers around Las Vegas. It will be a casino by casino tour told by chapter, with each chapter representing a complete episode. 

2) an Ella novel filled with sex and murder without any icky childhood drama--- just the good stuff!

Vote in the comments and let me know! 


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

BOOK NEWS

To the readers,

I am making progress on edits for ELLA and the light at the end of tunnel-- a finished book-- gets closer. 

Draft three is nearing completion and a final edit to smooth out rough edges will be next. I do not have a time frame for when the book might be available on Amazon, but will update when I figure it all out. 

I want to take this time to thank all the readers that have followed this novel as I have posted it serial style, chapter by chapter, over the last year and a half. The feedback I have received truly has helped more than I can tell you. I owe a debt of gratitude especially to Joshua Neary, who was there to read each new installment, hot off the press. 

At present the novel is getting close to 'readable' status. Any of you that have followed this serial that wish to read the collected draft and give feedback towards the final effort, feel free to contact me or comment on this post. Also, when the novel does finally hit the streets, those that have followed along will get a special thank you. 

I am excited and nervous about the next stage-- getting this book ready for publication. There is so much to be done, but hopefully soon I will return to this space with a date and time to share. 

Thanks again to all that have taken the time to read and comment. 

From Las Vegas,

Stephen Moran 

Monday, October 7, 2013

REVIEW OF ULTIMATE POKER AND WSOP.COM

WSOP.COM went live on Thursday the 19th of September, joining Ultimate Poker as the only legal, regulated poker sites in America. In this post, I'll give a brief review of both sites and a brief summary of the current state of online poker in America.

As of this writing, there are only two Legal Sites in America-- both of Nevada- Ultimate Poker, run by Station Casinos with a close alliance with UFC and WSOP.com, run by Caesars Entertainment, which owns the WSOP brand. 

Ultimate Poker went live April 30th and has developed a solid base of regulars that play the site. It exclusively offers Texas Holdem in both cash and tournament versions. Average daily volume of players-- 150. 

WSOP.com offers Holdem, Omaha and Stud poker. Average daily traffic is 75 (http://www.pokerscout.com/) at present and climbing steadily as Caesars is now beginning to ramp up advertising for this site.

Neither site at present has enough traffic for poker players to grind out a living. As other states come online (New Jersey on November 26th), the player pool will expand and offer a better experience to all. 

Both sites have positive and negative points.

Ultimate Poker has superior customer service and has answered every complaint and suggestion thrown its way by players. However, their software lacks many of the usual bells and whistles poker players have come to expect such as waiting lists, the ability to take notes, among other features. 

WSOP.com has far superior software, but trails UP in base numbers, as it charges higher rake by 11% and has an inferior VIP program. 

All in all, these two sites are on a learning curve--- both have a presence in the 2+2 forums and interact with players on various issues to get up to speed. Both have opportunities to improve-- UP must improve its software and WSOP.com has experienced complaints with customer service.

Bottom line--- legal online poker in America is in its infancy, but improving by the day. 

http://www.wsop.com/

http://www.ultimatepoker.com/