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The Chronicles of the Man Named Destruction

Today is the day that I completed my first complete draft of the book. The feeling is incredible. As a person who prides themselves on “getting to the F’ing monkey”, I am proud that the 369 pages in this effort do not contain filler. I didn’t have a word or page goal. I wrote the story that I wrote the outline for. I get to go into the first edit phase now and I am excited to do it. I am even more excited to share it when it is complete. I hope it will make you laugh and cry at times and maybe  just a little cared at other times.

The story originates from a recurring nightmare I had as a kid. Now the creature in the story is vastly different than that original creature my childhood mind inserted into the dark corners of my dreams, but ironically, the focus on the book led to several more recent dreams that were also captured and included in the book. Look for one that takes place at the now closed Finches Diner in Raleigh. Real dream a year ago took place in a similar location. Someone holding a newspaper in front of their face was suddenly sitting in the booth with me, in the dream. I was thinking, “Hey bud, I am sitting here,” When I noticed the hands. They were different, too white and the fingernails seemed to be black. Not like nail polish, but sickly black. Then I noticed a leather cowl hat, that poked out over the top of the paper, and I became a little frightened.

I looked around the diner and it was suddenly empty, and the pristine walls were dirty and in disrepair. Roof tiles were hanging down and newspaper covered the inside of the large glass windows.

I looked back at the newspaper and all at once, the creature, slammed it to the table in front of me. The creature there staring me in the eyes was the one from my book. He looked straight into my eyes and said, “Well are you finished with the book yet?!?”

And I woke up. Hand on the Bible 100% true story.

I will keep you up to date on progress and thanks to the many people who have helped me get this far. Melissa, my girl who puts up with my constant story ideas and subject changes. My Ma, who is constantly reading drafts and encouraging. Monica Collier, a Christian Fiction writer, who I am sure my language will probably surprise a little, who has provided me with great mindset and tools I have used throughout this effort. If you are going through Franklin, NC, be sure to stop by Franklin Office Supply. They are a great supporter for local authors.

Finally, Jonathan Maberry. Jonathan provides so much to aspiring writers. In that he is generous with his time and encouragement. The resources he makes available both on his website www.jonathanmaberry.com and in his master class efforts he does pretty much every month on various subjects, are spectacular.

9/22/2024

First, this writing stuff is fun. I have worked to have fun and have deep characters. There is a character named Peter Smith that I really love. Among all the friends the main character has, he holds a special place as one of the closest. While he may be the target of jokes, he is also incredibly compassionate and empathetic.

The narrative consistently portrays Peter as a legendary bachelor. I’ve discovered the ideal spot to clarify the reason. Love is in the air as the book nears its end. Peter, on the other hand, doesn’t share the sentiment, and he reminisces about the past, offering the reader a glimpse into why he became disillusioned with genuine romance. Peter is open to casual intimacy, but he doesn’t seek or expect commitment. The story revolves around his junior year in college, when he realizes that after dating the same incredibly desirable woman for fourteen months, she is the one. He orchestrates an impeccable date at their perfect restaurant and goes above and beyond by hiring a violin player for the ultimate moment. The world’s cruelty shatters his romantic streak in a terribly embarrassing way during dinner. Peter showcases remarkable composure as he uncovers his fiancé’s attraction to the waiter during a trip to the bathroom. It turns out that the thumping sound coming through the vents wasn’t the rumble of an off-balance washing machine. It’s so awful, it’s surprisingly fantastic.

Being in the final straightaway is a thrilling experience, heightened by the knowledge that the story is well-supported by a strong narrative structure. Before Thanksgiving, I hope to close any gaps in my writing, complete the initial draft, and make substantial headway with editing.

Wish me luck!

E. J. Josephson

9/15/2024

I just returned from a trip to Seattle for a wedding and took in the sights in the area and up through Canada in BC and Alberta (Banff!!!). Had a great time listening to Dennis E. Taylor’s latest book in the “Bobiverse”, Not Till We Are Lost. It is a great start to a new arc for the series. It was Ironic, listening to it as we drove through Whistler Canada, a place special to the author.

My book is coming along. I credit an online course provided by Jonathan Maberry. A master class he did last month removed a lot of mystery to me on the editing front. Also armed me with the proper questions to ask to prospective professional editors. He also provided some profound (to me) points about writing and not editing until you finish your first pass. “Allow yourself the freedom to grow…” and so forth. Anyway, it rung home to me, so I am doing that and following his well blazed path. To anyone looking into writing, who has a story begging to get out, I strongly recommend following Mr. Maberry on any of his multiple platforms. His master classes are $50 for a live class on Zoom. They cover specific topics, and he goes into depth on each. Jonathan, If you are out there. Thanks so much for both the classes and the free stuff you have on your personal site that has made this process even more enjoyable than it could have been.

The book is coming along great according to the readers who have gone through the parts that I have mostly completed. After the finish of the writing, I am now looking forward to following the process that JM laid out in his class. I feel the characters in the story have the richness I have been going after. I believe that the characters tell the story, and you can only be as interested in them as I am when I create them.

So now that the wedding stuff is over (Congrats Lara and Tyler) I am back at it to push this thing to a completion!

E. J. Josephson

So, what is Redwolf Solutions? Well, it is a name of a fictional company in the book. It is also a name I used for years for various side business work. When I needed a company name in the book, I repurposed it here. It seemed a natural fit.

In the book, Deborah (Deb) and Maxwell (Mack) Smith run a startup chip manufacturing company. Thanks to the support of investors and Deb’s exceptional skills, the company flourishes and gains a reputation that spreads throughout the book. Gus a main character in the story, is a lifelong friend of Deb and Mack’s son, Peter. You’ll get to know Gus through his fourth-grade writing assignment, which is featured prominently in the sample on the main page. Gus’s mother, Jen, assists in the company’s growth as Redwolf’s accountant.

I hope to build out this version of the www.redwolfsolutions.com to feature fun pieces mentioned in the book and some Easter eggs.

E. J. Josephson

Hello

I’m Eric Josephson. Thank you for taking the time to visit this page. This work is still being written and edited, with revisions and additions being made regularly. With a passion for Sci-Fi, horror, and fiction, I’m always on the lookout for new books and movies that push the boundaries of reality. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include, Jonathan Maberry, Dennis E. Taylor, Steven King, Scott Sigler, Seth Ring, James S. A. Corey, Travis Deverell “Shirtaloon”, Rachel Lavin, Andy Weir. Furthermore, I am a devoted enthusiast of the older authors, many of whom are no longer with us. Throughout college, I had John Steakley’s Armor in my backpack. I had the pleasure to meet Karl Edward Wagner once a long time ago and found him amazingly down to earth. I could go on, but won’t bore you.

My current work, which is my first genuine effort, revolves around capturing the essence of a recurring nightmare from my childhood. I harnessed it, but now the book hardly holds any trace of its original story-line from those dreams. The image of the creature lingers in my mind as I try to capture its essence in my writing. The Chronicles of a Man Named Destruction is the expected title for this book.

The Chronicle of a Man Named Destruction is a complex tale that takes place across centuries, beginning in the bronze age and extending all the way to the present day. Living a difficult and heartbreaking life, a woman, Srine, experienced the unimaginable pain of losing her children to different tragic circumstances, causing her to develop a bitter outlook on the world. One night after losing multiple children to famine and the brutal world, uttered, “… a curse so foul; it was heard in worlds beyond this one. Creatures of complete darkness in distant corners of the universe turned their heads and took notice of these words of desecration. In it, she offered all of herself. Her wish carried so much cruel sincerity, her hate was so pure and her sorrow was so complete, that something even darker nodded its many tentacled head and silently accepted the exchange. In the trance that she had put herself in, repeating her curse like a mantra, Srine somehow knew, as a coldness flushed her body, that a deal had been made. However, she had no idea of the terms.”

Despite being years past menopause, she becomes a mother to an impossible baby. She names the baby Scrios after a beautiful blue flower local to her area. The baby, sickly and blue, startled the midwife when it cried, as she had believed it to be stillborn.

The story goes forward for centuries with Scrios and his unnaturally long life. He becomes known eventually as the Blue King and other names.

Protection from the creature’s powers is exclusive to its natural sister, and those descended from her. To find safety, she and her husband’s family flee to a foreign land. They, the family, know of the creature, but even they are not sure what it is. Even generations after Scrios’ sister and family fled the area, the creature continued to haunt their dreams. The family meticulously preserves their history, passing it down through generations via oral tradition and later documenting it in archives. These records span over three thousand years and include information about Scrios as well as accounts of direct battles fought against it.

In a battle from ancient times, there is a possibility that they achieved victory, but the absence of any written accounts leaves the story untold. However, the family knows that vivid nightmares of this creature, and the chilling threats it made to annihilate them still haunt them. With no direct confrontation, they painstakingly collect evidence of historical actions, noting the unmistakable traces of corruption that bear a striking resemblance to the sorrow Scrios brings.

The family feels a deep sense of responsibility.  Their legacy they feel is to protect the world from this creature, even though anyone they told, would dismiss the story as pure fantasy. The Gaelic word Scrios, which originated thousands of years ago, underwent a significant semantic shift. Once it was the ancient name of the Blue Bell flower, now its meaning is “destruction”.

E.J. Josephson