Bloodseeker – Official Announcement

Good afternoon everyone,

After months of typing and hacking at various keyboards, I have a rough draft of my forthcoming novel: BLOODSEEKER.

“Three times a year, the dried blood of St. Januarius, Patron Saint of Naples, is said to miraculously turn to liquid. If it does not, it is believed to signal the start of a period of war, disease, or famine. The last time the miracle failed to occur was in 1980 when the earthquake of Irpinia killed 2,900 people in Italy. In 1973, it served as a precursor to an outbreak of Cholera in Naples, and in 1939, 1940, and 1943 it closely corresponded with Italy’s involvement in World War II.

On December 16, 2016, for the first time in 36 years, the blood did not liquefy. While many, including some within the Catholic Church, regard the ceremony as nothing more than coincidence and superstition, Adrian Ramsey knows better; he knows this means hell is literally about to break loose.

On November 23, 1980, the same day the earthquake of Irpinia devastated Conza della Campiana, Adrian’s parents opened the gates of Hell.

Thirty-seven years later, Adrian Ramsey has betrayed his oath as a Bloodseeker—an ancient order dedicated to self-empowerment— so he can use his abilities to combat the escaped creatures and correct his parents’ treachery against humanity. When he and his assistant, Kiara Wells, hear of the sign of St. Januarius, they begin a desperate quest to prevent the world from being plunged into the chaos of the Hellscape.”

Please let me know what you think, and if you’re interested in being a beta reader.

I’m currently hard at work revising and editing the first draft and would love some feedback once it has made a round through rewrites.

My sincerest thanks to everyone,

J.L. Scritchfield

February State of the Blo(ger)

Hey everyone,

I finished the first draft of my manuscript. I really wanted to have an official announcement already, but I’ve decided to wait until I have a more polished manuscript. This is something I am currently working on. The manuscript is now 60,000 words and is more likely to grow than shrink as a lot of my third act is more of a skeleton. I’m also not satisfied with the way I brought about the third act climax.

This novel has been a tremendous experience so far. I’ve been able to push and stretch my creative abilities and really delve in to a new project rather than getting hung up on my first novel. It is extremely refreshing to have ideas and characters to be excited about again. I have started and stopped so many different projects in the last four years since I wrote the first novel. I technically finished a sequel that I’ve tried to edit and revise numerous times, but I haven’t been able to get up the stomach for it. I think it’s partly due to the my not loving the story. It always felt contrived.

I have three other projects I’ve started and felt too ill equipped to actually continue.

Until this one.

Everything I’ve needed has been there when I’ve needed it. Facts and places strung together in a way I had never thought of. I connected dots and made sense of mysteries.

It was a great deal of fun, and I’m very excited to share it.

Unfortunately, it has also taken over query letter writing.

I’m still debating on whether or not I want to query for my first book, this new one, or both.

Time will tell.

Thanks for reading and sticking it out with me.

-scritch out

I don’t like anyone

Hey everyone,

Last night Brandy and I had a long talk about the state of the world and how it keeps me up at night. Not because I’m worried ISIS is going to break in my door and kill everyone I love or that I think Trump is going to blow up the world. Although these scenarios are possible (however unlikely), I don’t stress about those things. Not because I’m not invested in the plights of our country and other countries but because my belief God and allegiance to Christ helps assuage those fears.

What keeps me up at night is that I don’t like people anymore.

Don’t get my me wrong. I have friends I love. I even have new friends I love.

But people in general.

I just don’t like people in general.

In the last year, I have watched as my liberal friends have grown progressively more liberal and more conservative friends have grown progressively more conservative all the while my moderate friends have gone quiet. I know a lot of people who think this is out of some desire to hide political affiliations. I think for some, it might be.

For me, it’s simple.

I just don’t like people anymore.

I’m tired of the ignorant elitist smugness of BOTH sides.

I’m tired of both sides straw-manning the rights and opinions of their opponents and acting like they have it all figured out.

You don’t.

Neither do I.

No one does.

To pretend otherwise is to shut off our ability to listen to opposing viewpoints and to adopt an attitude of smug intellectual elitism that does nothing to change minds.

It just makes you look like an a**hole.

I don’t expect everyone to agree with me.

In fact, I expect everyone to disagree with me on something.

I’m a moderate. Comes with the territory.

And for the things I stand for, I fiercely stand for…

And am willing to engage those points… in person… or privately.

But being a condescending ass and speaking in over-generalizations perpetuated by a corrupt media owned by the top 1% of the world is not helping anyone or anything.

So…

Fight for life.

Fight for equality.

Fight Fascism.

Love everyone despite fear.

Fight for those who can’t fight for themselves.

But have open ears and minds… not to the far right or the far left…

But to common sense.

-scritch out.