I've been debating myself what to work on next. I have things in the pipeline of ideas. Any writer will tell you coming up with ideas is the easiest part of this profession. But so far nothing has jumped out and grabbed me. I could sit down and write any one of the half dozen …
Hello Again From the Writing Swamps!
I've been remiss from blogging these pages and I want to apologize. But it's not like I've been sitting idle. Got lots of news coming up on the publishing front which I hope interests you. First, my new Haxan novel Seven Devils will be published by CZP sometime next year. As I get more information …
Depression and Writing and Chess
I've been dealing with a lot of depression for the last year or so. I always have struggled with this, but it's gotten worse. I'm taking medication and seeing a therapist, and it does help. Meanwhile, I'm slowly moving back to writing again. I have three novels to complete so I think I will stay …
Blood, Dust, Wind! Quaternity, a brand new Haxan novel coming from CZP
From the jacket copy: Hell is truth seen too late. Before he became a U.S. federal marshal in Haxan, John Marwood rode with a band of killers up and down the Texas/Mexico border. Led by Abram Botis, an apostate from the Old Country, this gang of thirteen killers search for the fabled golden city of …
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“Showdown at the Cliche Corral” Live at Sunnyhuckle Magazine
"Fiction writer Kenneth Mark Hoover discusses his love for the true Old American West in literature, not the one born of Hollywood clichés, but the historically rich and fascinating one that is so often forgotten." --Sunnyhuckle Mark here. My latest article "Showdown at the Cliché Corral" is featured on Sunnyhuckle Magazine. Once again I take …
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Did you miss the new cover for my upcoming novel Quaternity? Here it is!
Hell is truth seen too late. Before he became a U.S. federal marshal in Haxan, John Marwood rode with a band of killers up and down the Texas/Mexico border. Led by Abram Botis, an apostate from the Old Country, this gang of thirteen killers search for the fabled golden city of Cibola, even riding unto …
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A Year and a Day Completed
So I've done my Year and a Day for Wicca. I enjoyed it, but I didn't get as much out of it as I wanted. This wasn't due to Nordic Wicca (the eclectic brand I practice because I feel more comfortable with it) as much as it was to a lot of other personal problems …
Blood, Dust, Wind: Another Day in Haxan
Hello, everyone! I've been camping and working on a new novel. I'm in Albuquerque at present but headed home soon. I've made a lot of notes for the new book and feel the story is coming along. I'm excited about what it portends for the future of the Haxan series, and my writing in general. …
A Summer Update, and Writing Monoliths
I am working on an espionage novel, trying to get it into shape for submission. That's my big summer project, along with promoting the new novel Haxan. When I am finished with that I will turn my attention to writing a new Haxan novel in the series. I think I have a weighty enough idea …
CZP Bought My New Haxan Novel QUATERNITY for July 2015!
A lot of good news on the writing front, recently. Haxan has just been published by CZP last week, and I also learned they want to buy Quaternity for a July 2015 publication date. As followers of this blog know Quaternity has a very special place in my mind. I wrote that novel, all 85,000 …
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Blood, Dust, Wind. An Excerpt from the Novel Haxan.
Here is an excerpt from my new novel Haxan published by CZP. Hope you like it! --KMH CHAPTER 1 Haxan, New Mexico Territory Spring, 1874 I found the old man nailed to a hackberry tree five miles out of Haxan. They had hammered railroad spikes through his wrists and ankles. There was …
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Valkyrie Artwork as Reflection for “Remember Me in the Halls of Valhalla”
When I was working on a story entitled "Remember Me in the Halls of Valhalla" I wanted to portray the Valkyries as true death-maidens rather than generic (and cliched) fantasy figures. In my search I landed upon some artwork on the Internet. Just wanted to share some of them with you here. I never used …
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The Eyes of the Valkyrie
Several days ago I finished my new Haxan short story "Remember Me in the Halls of Valhalla" and I think it came out okay. I had a scene where I wanted to show these Valkyries were unlike the common blonde-haired, blue-eyed fantasy figures you often see. These were more like true death-maidens (though still beautiful) …
Writer in Progress, HAXAN, by Kenneth Mark Hoover, hosted by Darke Conteur
Darke Conteur has a big blog post on her website about my upcoming book Haxan, including links, blurbs, and places you can purchase the novel being published by CZP. She did a really great job, and this series Writer in Progress is something she does regularly for lots of other really good authors. Please …
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Mad Dogs, Lunatics, and Writers
For a long time I've been wondering how crazy stupid a person has to be to ever become a writer. Think about it. It's a very solitary existence. You do most everything by yourself. Writing is very internal. You sit and watch people so you can learn about them. . You do a lot of …
Reflection on Story Present
I've been struggling with my new story "Remember Me in the Halls of Valhalla" for several weeks now. To put things in perspective I haven't been writing a lot lately. Personal stuff has roared in and stolen much of my time. It happens. But I have kept this story on the front burner in my …
Wake Up Call to Failure
Had my confidence badly shaken this weekend as regards my writing. It worked out in the end, at least I hope so. But it was a wake up call. Dealing with loss of confidence has always been a problem with writing. I tend to skate high above these sorts of things, but when faced with …
“I’m your huckleberry.”
In an old writing group we had an ongoing joke you never "arrived" until you wrote an Elvis story. Many members did, I did not. The same sort of thing might be said of westerns, but with Doc Holliday. This consumptive blue-eyed killer continues to generate stories, ideas, and unverifiable legends. I got to thinking. …
Woo! My New Story “Talitha Koum” to be Published by Frontier Tales in June
My new Haxan story "Talitha Koum" is scheduled to be published by Frontier Tales in June of this year. I am looking forward to this. It's a "Magra" story more than anything else, and though written from Marwood's perspective, it's mostly about her. We learn more about her early life and especially her mother, Black …
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DFW Writers’ Workshop
Last night I checked out the DFW Writers' Workshop. It's in Euless so this place isn't around the corner from me. They host the DFW Conference every year which is a pretty big writers' conference in the southwest. Dues aren't too bad for the workshop, $100 a year, and they meet four times a month. …
Hoover's Corner 