Doguhn: history, news, sequel?

Doguhn book cover

Some of you may have noticed that the site’s been a little light on content in the last couple weeks. That’s because I’ve been busy trying to get Doguhn up for sale as soon as possible (in the form of trade paperback and kindle) at the cost of much needed sleep. As a result of my unshaven insomnia, I’m happy to announce it’ll be out in time for the holidays. For those who have expressed interest, thank you for your patience and I hope the end result will be worth its weight in promises. I’ve taken my time to make sure everything is of the best possible quality I can offer.

Doguhn was a passion project for me several years ago, my first full length manuscript, and it’s gone through a lot in its relatively short life. I’ve grown as a writer since I took on the daunting task of building the world of the Eanigmus, and so I returned to clean up some of the errors I’d made the first time around, improved the overall sentence structure, added in a couple illustrations and am now ready to present what I believe to be a higher quality product.

Illustration from Doguhn

For the few who’ve been around from the beginning, take comfort in the fact that no story elements or characters have been altered and you’ve experienced the same dark adventure I hope a larger audience is ready to take part in. If you wish to take the plunge a second time regardless, know that the subtle changes will improve your reading experience and the option is there for a digital download, should you feel it unnecessary to have two of the “same” book on your shelf.

A little history for those who are interested…

It’s no secret to those that know me that I don’t have an ounce of God in me. Though I respect all beliefs, I have none of my own. And so you may find it amusing that I found my inspiration for Doguhn while visiting a church. There are few places I feel less comfortable and awkward than inside the bowels of a church. I realize these feelings are irrational, as most churches would welcome all who enter, but I always feel as if I’m surrounded by pod people who at any moment will notice an outsider among their midst.

I've been spotted!

So needless to say, I wasn’t among the infected, I didn’t know the words to their songs and I felt more than a little out of place, as unfounded as the emotions may be. But even before I’d journeyed across the vast parking lot and crossed over the threshold of the house of God, I had a new short story brewing, involving a quiet Pennsylvania town and an evil church that has control over its citizens and even its businesses. Not entirely original, but I had some unique spins working in my head.

On my way home from church.

Then I had the dream…a dream involving creatures known as the Doguhn, causing massive panic, death and madness, and soon their world was joined with our own until the story grew into an epic horror/dark fantasy novel spanning not only two worlds (or dimensions), but ever so briefly dipping into a third.

Since then I experimented with a horror novel for young adults (much to my dissatisfaction) and then went on to discover a unique voice of my own in the experimental horror/sci-fi/surreal novel, The Lost Pages of Trevor Sunburn; the most fun I’ve ever had writing. I had a difficult few years after that, dealing with the mounting horrors that real life can dish out, but those negative experiences have helped my new manuscript, The Skin Collection, become what I feel is my most passionate and well constructed work to date. Though entirely fictional, there’s elements of that book that I could never have written without the personal, negative experiences I’ve endured in the last few years.

Dioh, Rufus and the twins, from Doguhn

Once I’m finished with The Skin Collection, I’m going to fill my plate with not one, but two novels in 2012, which I don’t anticipate being complete until 2013 at the earliest. One is a dark horror story inspired by the Kowloon Walled City that I’m very excited about. The second is one I’d been toying with on and off for some time now, but I’m finally ready to dive into. I’ll be writing my first sequel when I revisit the worlds and characters of Doguhn, in a new novel to be titled, The Eanigmus.

Having said that, I’m ready to present once again, what I feel is still my most ambitious work to date. And to those who enjoy the worlds, the characters, the horror and the adventure of Doguhn, I hope you’ll be pleased to know that with little patience, there will be more to come. Thanks for reading and thanks for all your support and encouragement (you know who you are).