Uncategorized – Matthew Speak

Ten Haunted House Movies For Halloween

Posted on October 22, 2019

Halloween is just around the corner, and if you’re like me, this month has been all about watching scary movies. My personal favorites are the ones with ghosts. For me, there’s nothing like a good old fashioned haunted house tale. And if you haven’t subscribed to Shudder, AMC’s horror movie streaming service, I highly recommend you do so for at least a month. For the cost of what you’d spend on a typical rental, you get a month’s access to a huge catalog of horror movies, including many you’ve probably never seen.

So, here’s a list of some of my favorites, in no particular order. I tried to slip in a few movies you may not have seen, just to keep it from being too obvious.

Uncategorized

Getting There

Posted on September 4, 2019

Wow. We did it. We’re in Iowa. How did that happen? It all seems like a dream, even now. A fuzzy dream with a million blurry images mixed together.

Memories of packing a multitude of boxes then loading a moving pod with all our stuff, thinking the whole time we won’t have enough room for everything. Of trying to decide what we need and what we don’t, what we can live without and what we can’t. Of reassuring Reznor that, yes, we know what we’re doing—and hoping we sound convincing.

Of sharing a hundred tearful goodbyes throughout the month of July. Of the slow trudge through summer school and the rising dread of leaving Northpoint. The humbling joy of our going-away party with all our best friends and family coming out to spend one last afternoon with us, then that mountain-top feeling giving way as the last guests trickled out of our favorite hangout, Trustworthy Brewery, leaving Michelle and me to return to our empty apartment, tearful and overwhelmed with second-guesses. We fell asleep thinking about getting there.

Crow Creek, Devils Glen, Uncategorized, writing

Iowa: The Return!

Posted on July 11, 2019

We’re moving back to Bettendorf! Well, it’s “back” for me, but my family will experience Iowa life for the first time—I’m curious to see how they handle their first Midwest winter. I know they’ll love fall and they’ll eventually get used to the summer humidity, but I pray the polar vortex you guys had last winter doesn’t become an annual occurrence or I’ll be getting some dirty looks in the house from January through March.

Devils Glen, horror, Kindle, Uncategorized

Devils Glen New Cover!

Posted on April 15, 2019

Hey all! Devils Glen has had a mini-relaunch with a new cover and a new edit. No major changes have occurred to the story, but I have cleaned things up a little. Here’s the new cover:

I love the mood, and the thumbnail definitely pops on Amazon. This week, we’re running a promo! The Kindle version will be FREE from Tuesday April 16th through Thursday April 18th, so tell your friends who haven’t read it yet and get a free copy today!

publishing, Uncategorized, writing

How to Write a Book, Part 2

Posted on November 5, 2018

So, you’ve finished your rough draft and set it aside for four to six weeks, keeping your writing juices flowing by working on another project or the beginnings of a blog, and now you’re ready to go back to your unwieldy lump of clay and begin fashioning it into something recognizable.

However, there is one thing we need to clear up right now. . .

Devils Glen, Kindle, Uncategorized

Horror for Halloween

Posted on October 15, 2018

Hey everyone! Hope your Shocktober is going great!

Thanks to everyone who picked up a free Kindle copy of Crow Creek the first week of October. It was a fantastic promotion charging my books up the horror charts for a while there. Hopefully, everyone likes what they read. Please do me a favor and leave a rating on Amazon!

Shocktober Horror Movie Challenge

I’ve been watching one horror movie or show per day throughout the month of October. Most of these films are obvious and you’ve probably seen them a time or a hundred, like me. But here are just some of my favorites I’ll be watching this month…

authors, Inspiration, Uncategorized, writing

How to Write a Book, Part 1

Posted on July 30, 2018

Magic book (Â© Lobke Peers)

So, you want to write a book?

Come on, you know you do, or you wouldn’t be here on my website reading this blog. You’d be doing something else with your time—something far less frustrating, and probably more entertaining. But here you are, reading this little unmistakably titled article. Heck, several of you have messaged or emailed me telling your ideas. Indeed, future authors abound on my friends list!

Before I begin, let me warn you—I am no expert. I’ve written two novels of arguable and variable quality. That’s it. The only thing that gives me the authority to pontificate on this subject is the fact that I’ve done it, which is kind of like getting advice about professional baseball from a guy who’s played a game or two. It’s better than nothing, but not the same as hearing from a big-time pro.

Still, I have successfully completed two novels and one of them was published by someone other than myself, so my advice is worth something. Just don’t take my word as the end-all, ya dig? I’ll tell you what worked for me and you can take from it what you will. After that, I advise you to go forth and read On Writing by Stephen King.

Anyway, without further ado…

authors, Crow Creek, Devils Glen, Kindle, TV Shows, Uncategorized, writing

Crow Creek is Here!

Posted on May 28, 2018

Finally, after almost a year and a half of writing, editing, changing, rearranging and re-writing, Crow Creek is available for your reading pleasure. It feels like I’ve been working on it forever, so it’s hard to believe there’s nothing more to do. Oh, I’m sure I’ll look through it and find a missing period or some other excruciatingly frustrating mistake, but overall I feel like it’s where it needs to be and there shouldn’t be anything major to deal with…though you never know. UGH!

For the time being, the Kindle and Paperback versions are not connected together on the Amazon website. For now, you can click here for PAPERBACK, here for KINDLE.

What’s it like to be on the cusp of releasing a book?

It’s harrowing and exciting…but mostly frightening. Terrifying. When you’ve been working and living with a book for this long, you start to lose perspective, if you ever had it to begin with. Still, and I know I’m biased, I think it’s a fun little book and it’s the kind of story I would enjoy as a reader. There are some twists and turns–some creepy stuff, some magical stuff, and some comedy relief. Or at least that’s what I’ve tried to do. Hopefully, you think so too. Let me know what you think, please.

And write reviews on Amazon and Goodreads!

So, order your copy on Amazon today! The Kindle version is 3.99, currently, but if you buy the paperback (15.95) on Amazon, you can get the Kindle version for only .99 cents! You will be able to order Crow Creek at bookstores like Barnes and Noble too, so if your local store doesn’t have it, order it online or ask them to get it.

Crow Creek, Devils Glen, Kindle, Self-publishing, Uncategorized, writing

Pre-order Crow Creek!

Posted on April 19, 2018

Crow Creek, book 2 of the Bettendorf Tales, is now available for pre-order for the Kindle version. Get over there to order your copy today, and it will be delivered to your Kindle account on May 29th. It would be great to see a massive surge in pre-sales to drive those Amazon algorithms crazy. Go HERE to pre-order your copy! Spread the word. The more pre-orders a book gets, the higher chance it has of winding up on Amazon/Kindle promos and emails.

Paperback pre-orders will begin within the next couple of weeks. For the time being, Crow Creek is Amazon-exclusive, but I do intend to expand distribution in the coming months. If you are with a library, message me, and we can work out getting your library some copies in the meantime.

EDITING

I continue to work with my editor on the final finishing touches, and it’s looking good. I think this book moves along briskly with some good action and a nice pace. It really sets up the storyline for book 3. There’s still a bit of work to be done, but I can say I’m starting to get excited about releasing Crow Creek. We’re not there yet but getting close, which is a good thing since I have a deadline now!

DEVILS GLEN .99 CENTS TODAY

Today is the last day to get a Kindle version of Devils Glen for .99 cents! After today, it goes back to 3.99. It’s been a nice promo from Kindle Press with a good increase in sales this past week.