10 YEARS OF NOBODY THE BLOG

I started this blog 10 years ago to write down my frustrations, to express my emotions, to create an explosion of passion and an outlet for my creation and imagination. My first story written on here was one about someone I loved and our experience together not sleeping and just spending nights doing whatever we could to have fun without any curfew in pure freedom. But as any love when young, it ended, and I grew more and more introspective. With the lack of direction in life, with the abuse of all freedoms and the fun that it came with, my spiral was a sight to behold as life turned into a roller coaster. And my writing on this blog reflected it. But those times too have to come to an end, and they did, when I hit a wall and I had remained with myself and a two year depression after a failed attempt at running a coffee bar.

During this time of depression, I delve deep into anything I could to keep my mind busy. Yet I was in denial, as I was searching for answers. And so I also delve back into writing, but this time on a daily basis on this blog, as I couldn’t find any of the answers I needed or wanted from any reading, deciding to find them on my own. This also spurred my desperate need to find an answer to what I want to be in life, as nothing had satisfied me to that point in time. This grew my passion for writing as I began experimenting by trying different types of stories, subjects and styles. Some garnered views, likes, shares and had eyes on them, others not so much. As time passed, the depression went from seasonal to a two year stint where I had hit my head on the proverbial wall as many times as I could, until I had realized something…

At that point I have been writing short stories, lyrics and poetry for over three years and daily for over two years out of the three. During this period I also tried the first of the short story series called A Misery’s Romance, about a bunch of high school boys and their take on love. Also during this time there were a few segments on the blog, the one that you can also sometimes find on this iteration of NTB is The Rant. The others were about news and virtues. And as I found out that I wanted to become a writer and write more than just short stories, I also wrote a short story series on here, this one named Trapped in Autumn, which as you guessed I turned into my debut book Trapped: Autumn. Another series I wrote during that time was 20 Questions, which you can still read the first chapter of it in The Pilot Program 2019. All this while I started going to college and pursuing becoming an author. As I wanted to find guidance, learn and become a better writer. Yet, sadly, all I found was frustration, closed doors and a lack of enthusiasm and nepotism. And all that can be found in all four Trapped: Seasons books. The more I wrote, the better I got. And the better I got, the more I experimented. And the more people visited and read what I had written. The better I wanted to get and the higher the standers and things I wanted to produce and give to the world.

And with that said, I’ve learned a lot and I thank you for reading my stories, for liking, commenting, sharing them. So let me tell you what is to come from me, a nobody, this year: The Pilot Program Continues, I Write Sins… Not Tragedies is getting sinnier. I am going to release two books this year, one this late spring, one in winter. But, writing this fifth book has been a challenge. As I said, the better I become, the higher the standards I have, which is a bit of a hurdle to overcome when you want to put out quality content. But, it is going to come. The cover is almost ready and the first 14 chapters are done. So we’re over 25% done with writing it. And for the next 10 years, I want to continue to provide amazing free short stories for you to read, to continue to publish interesting books of changing genres and to always try to bring something new to storytelling. And of course, to have you along with me on that journey.

Consider donating: https://www.paypal.me/RaulFO

Trapped: Autumn Genres

When people ask me what genre the Trapped: books are, I do not know what to tell them. So here's a short descriptions fitting for genres Trapped: Autumn might fit in.

Horror/Thriller:

A student is followed by a myth part of the legends. As he fights his way through what he thinks it's unfair, all for a better life. Fall gets to him as he has to escape what seems to be a never ending nightmare. As he gets tortured over and over and over and over and over again. He is put to trial as he sees control slip away from him, his relationship crashing, his body decaying and mind slipping. John is put to observe his own behavior and trying to escape the hell he is stuck in. Repeating it week after week after week.

Mystery:

John's taken away, losing control over his own body. He has to uncover the mystery that looms in the darkness he is being held in. He must figure out a way to get back control as his life is falling apart. Being stuck observing his own actions, fighting through the trails put before him, his story only gets more complicated by the minute. Fearing that death might be upon him.

Supernatural/Magical Realism/Mythology:

When John loses control over his own body, he has to win the fight against a myth that was thought to be part of legends. All in order to save his own life, his relationship and his sanity against this myth brought down from legends. A world where gods roam the streets with mankind and punishment might be definitive. John must fight it all on his own, all while having and out of body experience and observing his own actions without any control.

Comedy:

Follow a student struggling with his daily life as he screws his relationship and life over. And when a legend comes into play, it all goes down hill for him. Fighting a legend, while being stuck out of his own body, this egotistical and misunderstood student must face his real self in order to escape. All to find the answer to the question of "What would you do and think of yourself if you were able to be outside of your own body and observe it?"

Satire:

Read all about John, a student with a major in English literature, that simply can't hold his thoughts and life together. A new take on Shakespeare, the whole superior education, the stuck up writers and the dumb readers. A story so deep you can't even reach it, not even if you go elbow deep. As this story takes you through gods, outdated memes and references. Together with John try enjoying a sad romantic story which you can probably predict after reading the first 119 pages. It's a lit story fam.

Romantic:

As the goddess of love, fertility and war tries teaching John a lesson. His relationship crumbles, as he uses May and is blind to affection and reason. A fairy tale gone wrong, a broken heart in need of love and a messy mind in need of peace. Will the love between John and May prove to be real or just another tragedy?

Dramedy:

A bittersweet fairy tale between two students that is put to challenge by something otherworldly. As both May and John drag their love through dirt and pulling each other for an ending. Yet it all depends on his reactions, her patience and their durability as a couple. Since nothing is easy in love, with the addition of this something otherworldly it all gets to be more complicated than it should.

Classic:

John is touched by the touch of a god. The world around him falls in Autumn as he has to fight the perpetual repetition given by the blessed touch of that spiritual entity, Another kind of a world and of storytelling in the classic setting of two star-crossed faiths develop and may just crash.

Psychological:

Follow the broken mind of a student in search for answers to the mystery that has befallen him. Observe how his mind works around the predicaments he has to face. From a long forgotten legend to his interpersonal relationships with his colleagues and his girlfriend. A new perspective on the self and what it means to have a grip and understanding on your own personality and thought process. Revealing the hypocrisies and flaws of a student struggling to cope with his inability to grasp the reality of the situation. As he is stuck observing his every move and with his life on the line, being pressured into making sense of the trial he is put on.

Contemporary Narrative Mock Epic

I have no idea how to phrase the description for this, but it sure does sound interesting if you're a literary student and you know what it means.

Horror/Thriller:

A student is followed by a myth part of the legends. As he fights his way through what he thinks it's unfair, all for a better life. Fall gets to him as he has to escape what seems to be a never ending nightmare. As he gets tortured over and over and over and over and over again. He is put to trial as he sees control slip away from him, his relationship crashing, his body decaying and mind slipping. John is put to observe his own behavior and trying to escape the hell he is stuck in. Repeating it week after week after week.

Mystery:

John's taken away, losing control over his own body. He has to uncover the mystery that looms in the darkness he is being held in. He must figure out a way to get back control as his life is falling apart. Being stuck observing his own actions, fighting through the trails put before him, his story only gets more complicated by the minute. Fearing that death might be upon him.

Supernatural/Magical Realism/Mythology:

When John loses control over his own body, he has to win the fight against a myth that was thought to be part of legends. All in order to save his own life, his relationship and his sanity against this myth brought down from legends. A world where gods roam the streets with mankind and punishment might be definitive. John must fight it all on his own, all while having and out of body experience and observing his own actions without any control.

Comedy:

Follow a student struggling with his daily life as he screws his relationship and life over. And when a legend comes into play, it all goes down hill for him. Fighting a legend, while being stuck out of his own body, this egotistical and misunderstood student must face his real self in order to escape. All to find the answer to the question of "What would you do and think of yourself if you were able to be outside of your own body and observe it?"

Satire:

Read all about John, a student with a major in English literature, that simply can't hold his thoughts and life together. A new take on Shakespeare, the whole superior education, the stuck up writers and the dumb readers. A story so deep you can't even reach it, not even if you go elbow deep. As this story takes you through gods, outdated memes and references. Together with John try enjoying a sad romantic story which you can probably predict after reading the first 119 pages. It's a lit story fam.

Romantic:

As the goddess of love, fertility and war tries teaching John a lesson. His relationship crumbles, as he uses May and is blind to affection and reason. A fairy tale gone wrong, a broken heart in need of love and a messy mind in need of peace. Will the love between John and May prove to be real or just another tragedy?

Dramedy:

A bittersweet fairy tale between two students that is put to challenge by something otherworldly. As both May and John drag their love through dirt and pulling each other for an ending. Yet it all depends on his reactions, her patience and their durability as a couple. Since nothing is easy in love, with the addition of this something otherworldly it all gets to be more complicated than it should.

Classic:

John is touched by the touch of a god. The world around him falls in Autumn as he has to fight the perpetual repetition given by the blessed touch of that spiritual entity, Another kind of a world and of storytelling in the classic setting of two star-crossed faiths develop and may just crash.

Psychological:
Follow the broken mind of a student in search for answers to the mystery that has befallen him. Observe how his mind works around the predicaments he has to face. From a long forgotten legend to his interpersonal relationships with his colleagues and his girlfriend. A new perspective on the self and what it means to have a grip and understanding on your own personality and thought process. Revealing the hypocrisies and flaws of a student struggling to cope with his inability to grasp the reality of the situation. As he is stuck observing his every move and with his life on the line, being pressured into making sense of the trial he is put on.

Contemporary Narrative Mock Epic:
I have no idea how to phrase the description for this, but it sure does sound interesting if you're a literary student and you know what it means.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XJQ1C15

Well, that's about it for this installment. Do any of these descriptions peak your interest? Read the book, come back here to this post. Read another description re-read the book with that in mind.

Trapped: Autumn - The Experience

So, I finished writing the book some time ago. Writing this book was an amazing experience. Even if I did so during my 12 hour shift job, and little free time. Considering that until October, we don't start the college year here. I have to say that very few things actually gave me the feeling that I have right now, while waiting to get confirmation on the date of the publication. While doing so, I also started writing the second book. And I have to admit that it is harder to write new characters and a whole new story. Especially when you are so accustomed with the events and characters of the previous book. I want to finish writing this second book before October even starts, so that I can focus on college and graduating.

Now onto the experience as a whole. If I hadn't had this story planned out already, it would have taken me a lot longer than it did. Now with that said, the actual toughest parts in writing this book were the lack of usual tropes one finds in books, the lack of narration, the transition from one thing to the next and lastly it would be to keep everything in order.

I am going to take each thing on its own:

Lack of usual tropes found in books and lack of narration: 

• Starting with the lack of narration, I chose not to use any narration in order for the reader to understand the thoughts of the protagonist better.
• Lack of description: I wanted to put the reader in the position of a cameraman, god or whatever metaphor you like, just so you can follow the thoughts, actions and have your own judgment of the of the story, characters and the book.
• Lack of treating the reader as a dumbass: I wanted the reader to choose for himself/herself why this is happening, what is the reason behind the things the protagonist goes through, what meanings the book has, what they see in this story as readers.
• The unusual style: The reason the book seems messy, it has some grammatical mistakes or that it doesn't seem coherent, is the fact that as a reader you follow the thoughts, conversations and acts of a person. It should be expected to be messy, to be incoherent, to jump all around. The conversations to be sudden, to be a bit random and nonsensical. Since if you were to transcribe a week of your life into a book, complete with your thoughts, conversations and actions, wouldn't be exactly a coherent story that has a clear ending. So in this regard I chose a rather unusual style to write the book.
• Transition, from one thing to the next: When you have a story all planned out in your head it can get tricky. Because you know the points your story has to hit before getting to the last page, yet when you finish making one point... It can be rather hard to get to the next point with a smooth transition. So these transition kind of gave me the writers block, not for very long, considering the short amount of time in which I wrote this book.
• Keeping everything in order: I swear that if I wouldn't get tired and need sleep, I would write constantly. But I do get tired and sleepy, so when I had to take a break to sleep or because I had to do work at work, keeping track of everything in the book and their order got tricky. So I had to revisit previous chapters, so that I wouldn't repeat the same thing again, or to make sure that what I started writing was a continuation of where I had left of, and it wouldn't jump from a thing to the other one without context or without it being complete.

Now I have to say that for a guy like me, that was lost and still feels lost sometimes, due to the uncertainty of his future, I am really proud I could take this first step towards my dream and that hopefully I could continue it. So for anyone reading this blog or purchasing the book when it comes out. Thank you.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XJQ1C15

And for the long time readers of my blog and the stories I have published here, I have to say that I hope you will like what I did in this book and thank you very much for being there since 2010.

Trapped: Autumn Official Release

This is my book. Trapped: Autumn, a story that I chose to put inside the Magical Realism genre. Since it's a mix of everything that is deeply grounded in reality, with references to real people, real events, real celebrities and so on and so forth. The tagline of the book, the descriptions used to market this book describe the book perfectly without giving too much away, something that is practiced too often today when it comes to books and movies. What I wanted to do is attract readers with this simple premise and idea, what would your opinion of yourself be from the same perspective you have on other people? That without giving up any of the surprises hidden inside the book.

Now, how does it feel to be published and achieve a dream? Terrifying, it's haunting, all the joy dissipates into nothing, knowing that now you took the first step. From now on you have to do your best to keep at it and to try to live your dream, to perfect your dream. People will judge you for your every word, they will have expectations from you and your works and you have to live up to them.

If you followed the previous posts about this book, this journey of being published, then I don't really have to add a lot. So I want to give you a taste of something you can find inside the books. A short story you can find in the book, a story that I wrote and are part of the plot of this book. This story also showcases why this book is a mixture of genres. So please enjoy:

The boy who cried

We’ve all heard the story of the boy who cried wolf once too many times, we all know the lesson that was brought with it, but not many know the story of the boy who cried. What did the boy cry? The boy cried that he was a man, the boy cried that it was unfair, the boy cried that nothing matters. The boy that cried had a house, knew his parents and had shoes, the boy that cried had his own money he could plow through. Yet he kept complaining, the people told him that that’s how the world works, the people cared when he cried a second time. Like the boy who cried wolf by the time he was a man and cried a third time, no one showed him any concern or gave him any attention. The boy kept weeping and they started mocking him, the boy cried and no one listened. Who would have thought that this could happen? That no one would care about someone that cried, that something won’t happen if he cried the loudest. Yet one night, like in a Christmas Story, there was a ghost that came to see the childish man that couldn’t stop crying. The first ghost took him to show his past, his alternative past that is. He was shown a world where he was motherless, he was penniless, he was powerless and by the age of 18 in prison. He showed him the horrific acts he had done to others, how he made his suffering into hate and his hate into suffering for others. The ghost told him that by the age of 21 he would have been killed in prison because he had killed another inmate for some cigarettes. A second later after that he was transported back to his bed, another second later a second ghost came and took him. He was shaken but in fear of what the ghost had to show him this time, since the ghost that came before showed him enough horror. The ghost took him to a place of dark, with no light and nothing bright. He took this man to a place of fear, a place without him to be near. It showed him that the world was going on when he wasn’t around, it showed him what would happen if he’d be gone. That no one cared and no one cried, nor for him, nor for this world. The man was shocked by the indifference of the world, the boy started crying out of spite and despair. This was the ghost of present and future, as he showed a world with him if he were dead now and how it will be once he’ll be. So the story keeps unfolding, zapped back into his room. The second ghost had disappeared, the three ghost were thinking and talking, if the boy had had enough. If he really understood, what upon him was bestowed. Taking a closer look at him, they saw that it wasn’t clear, they saw him cry some more and more. They thought the even though he had the body of a man, he was still a boy inside, a boy that needed to grow up. So the third ghost had an idea, he went ahead and disappeared. In the boys room he reappeared, took him to a theater to show him a movie. The boy was happy that this time he shouldn’t fear, since he wouldn’t be dead, he wouldn’t be starved, he would still have both his arms. The film started and it showed, a simple comparison between one man and him. They both had similar lives, both had parents, both had a home. But now this is the part where the man that was compared to him was shown beaten, deprived of food, deprived of money and of a job, the man was in despair as no one gave a hoot. That man never cried, no matter what happened he stood proud and tall, compared to him he where cried when he got a splinter. That boy worked, he never complained, by the time he was a man they compared him to a force of nature. He was respected for his dedication, his stature and the fact that his past and hurdles never stopped him. Where the man was showed how pathetic he was, this time it seemed that the boy that cried had learned. But you can never be too sure.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XJQ1C15

Trapped: Autumn Unofficial Release

Every journey begins somewhere...

Trapped: Autumn, a book I didn’t think it would make the light of day. Something I didn’t think was possible, to write and publish a book all in under a month. The story is based on real life events and conversations, real people and situations. A simple tale that was turned into a mix of grounded reality and a mythological tale that was used to be told. A mixture in styles between the classical way of writing and telling a story, and post-modern ideas with modern language. The choice of taking the characters from a real place comes from the idea of transcribing reality onto paper and grounding the work. The same goes for the dialogue and situations, considering the fact that reality is strange and quirky why not use it? As for why I mixed the situations with mythology, I needed a reason to explain why John, the main character, was going through the motion of the story. Yet the more I wrote the story, the more I fell in love with this idea of why deities are taking shelter on Earth. Something I still want to explore. To the same point, I thought that today lacks this type of literature. As in gods or anything mythical for that reason. Something that influenced the writing style, opting for a more classic style in that regard. The sort of idea of a Shakespearean play set in today’s world, with today’s morals and standards. To bring comparison to what it can be interpreted as lack of progress over the many years that have passed. Which is why this book has references, ideas and what I like to call little gems hidden from the very first words of the preface until the last word of the book. Again, something with which the reader would have to be very careful, knowledgeable, patient when reading the book. In the end everything is connected and has a purpose and some sort of sense. That is why I entrusted the reader that once he steps into this world, he will be put to observe like an omniscient god the story that unfolds in front of his eyes, and at that understand the story itself.

What should one expect from this mix styles? Fairly easy, not a lot of description for the characters. Since I wanted the story and characters to be relatable and for the reader to place the action wherever he wants. It could be a space epic that has a college with a campus, for what the reader might imagine. No narration, since everything one will read in this book will be thoughts and dialogues. And since the reader is observing thoughts and dialogues they are unfiltered, raw, uncensored and pure. Most times messy, weird, riddled with mistakes and not always making any sense, if the reader doesn’t pay attention. You could say that this book even punishes the reader by not paying attention to what is said, thought or done. Since nothing is said, done or thought without a point or a payoff later on.

What’s the story about is the hardest question one can ask me without spoiling it. In short it’s the tagline of the book. About the man, the myth and the once upon a time. Like I mentioned before, this book is a mix of classic literature, mythology, postmodern ideology, immature philosophy and all for a weird fairy tale with mature language. But to go in a bit of detail about the book, the story takes place around a freshman in college. A student that asks too many questions, has too many opinions, thinks a bit too much and has a tendency to self-destruct for educational purposes. Something that does not sit well with his friends or his girlfriend, many times being categorized as a weird guy. Just like his tendency to arrive exactly on time or to be late, yet never early. As such he is put to observe his own behavior, being detached from his own body, what would his opinion of his own actions and thoughts be? If he was to see himself like a stranger and judge himself like he judges strangers. Not only that, but while doing so he is put to task by a force he can’t explain or see. Especially for him to understand what is happening is nearly impossible. Having such a crisis on his hands while trying to solve two mysteries, is not an easy task to fulfill.

About the author, well, I’m twenty six years of age. I love classical music, rock, any music that is either fun or has some actual meaning in its lyrics. A former student at the College of Literature in Cluj-Napoca, Romania with a Major in English and Minor in Japanese. Currently, besides writing short stories on this blog and writing books, I also work in retail at a liquor store with twelve hour shifts.

If there is something I believe in, it’s the fact that everything can be joked about. There is nothing in this world that can’t be joked about or made fun of. Since every experience is something to learn from, making a joke about it, can only help in the end. As long as you take the lesson with you further down the road. If I had any inspirations? Well, Shakespeare inspired me in only one aspect, when it comes to this book that people need to be reminded of what they are. Just like South Park reminds provides us with the best social commentary there is. Through crude language and exaggeration, South Park on the weekly awes me that is why I used this sort of vulgar language in this book. George Carlin would be another one, considering that even today many of his ideas still float inside my head. Like for example “Don’t bullshit, there’s enough bullshit as is in this world”, to this I hold near and dear.

When it comes to any other influences, there would be the music I was listening while writing the book. Such as classical music and rock, there are twenty three songs I listened to while writing the book. If you search on YouTube “Trapped: Autumn the music behind the book” you will find the complete set of songs. How music influenced my work? It helped me keep a certain tone to the book, listening to music helped me keep the world tighter and the ideas linear. Then there is the title, which itself is a reference to the last album of the band HIM, Trapped in Autumn. But more precisely it would be to the song Into the night, which is constantly paraded throughout the book.

If I were to describe my own style of writing, it would be personal. As in everything I write feels intimate, real, uncensored and unfiltered. With a mixture of everything that is, plus something new. Something that is has substance, emotion and thought put behind every word.

My last word would be the fact that I look forward for people to read Trapped: Autumn, to look forward to my future books. And I hope that I gave them something to think about, get attached to and want more of.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XJQ1C15