As my giveaway to win the first ever Special Edition copy of In Search of Monsters winds down, I thought I'd post the commentary I've written for the intro story to the collection, "Looking Through You" just to give everyone a taste what makes this edition so special. Each and every story will be preceded by commentary just like this, detailing that's story's journey from idea to publication. Hope you enjoy it.

If you haven't already read "Looking Through You," you should. It's excellent if I do say so myself. Download it for free here.

"Looking Through You" Commentary

Stephen King says that the seeds of all stories exist in the ethos in some way or another and that it’s our job as writers to dig them up, give them life, and let them unfurl for the reader. With Looking Through You, that’s exactly what happened for me.  

It began with just that single opening line—I wake up screaming—and took off from there, flowing relatively easily, as if the story were already a part of me and all I was doing was writing it down. The voice of the narrator felt very natural to write and every section (with the exception of the end) came very quickly to me. This sort of writing was unlike what I was used to, but very refreshing.

The premise itself pulls from my life and my first house. Lying in bed, I could see the door of my spare bedroom just across the hall. As I drifted to sleep, my crazy brain would begin to wonder if maybe, just maybe, that rarely used room might be haunted. And if it was, what would I do? Who would believe me? And from that kernel of a premise, this story blossomed.

The rest of the story also grabs pieces and parts from my life – the old woman across the street is very blatantly based on a very sweet lady in my old neighborhood, the dreary cellar in my grandmother’s house, the game my girlfriend and I play at Maymont Park here in Richmond, dreams I’ve had. These elements give to the story what I hope is a feeling of realness, almost a familiarity that allows the reader to relate to the two main characters as much as possible. This is important in most stories, but absolutely elemental to the success of this one.

Because ultimately, this is much more than just a simple ghost story. It’s a story about life and about living, about the struggle we all go through to understand the world and our place in it. 

From now until the end of the month, I’m holding a contest on this very blog to give away one free signed copy of the Special Edition of my book, In Search of Monsters.

Excited? Me too!

But wait, what’s in this Special Edition you ask? Well, allow me to elaborate. In Search of Monsters: Special Edition is a never before released version of my book with an intro to each story detailing its inspiration, evolution from idea to finished product, bumps I hit along the way in writing it, and its previous places of publication. It’s perfect for die-hard fans, fellow writers, and any lover of fiction that’s always wanted a behind the curtain look into the sausage-making process that is writing.  The best part, the only way to get one is by WINNING IT HERE FIRST.

Now, on to the important stuff. The ways to enter are these:

1. Post a comment here in this post. It can be literally anything, from how much you enjoy this blog to how your cat’s breath smells like cat food. Just be sure that you use a valid email address when commenting so I can track you down. This will earn you one entry.
2. Tweet about this post, including a link. Make sure you mention me (@JoshCov) so I know what you’re up to. This gets you two entries.
3. Post a link in your Facebook status to this entry and email a screenshot to joshuacovington [at] yahoo.com. This also gets you two entries.
4. Write a post of at least 100 words on your personal blog about me, my book, or this contest. It doesn’t have to be much but must include a link back here. When your post is up, shoot me an email at joshuacovington [at] yahoo.com to let me know. This will get you five whole entries.

At the end of the month, I’ll pick a random winner from this batch of entries. Contest ends Feb. 28^th.

It’s as simple as that. And guess what? You can do all of these if you’d like (and believe me, I’d love for you to) and earn a grand total of ten entries. So go forth, spread the word, and good luck.

Last week, I began a series of posts on the top super powers I’d like to have. Today, we continue. Why? Well I think that may be the difference between you and me. You think of a silly blog post and ask why, I think of a silly blog post and ask why not. And now, onward to #4…

Super Speed!

Imagine being really fast. And I don’t mean the fastest guy in school or even so fast you’ve allegedly never lost a race. I mean fast enough to travel back in time or vibrate through walls. Fast enough to take physics, bend it over, and make it your woman. That kind of fast.

Advantages

If you could run at super speeds, would you ever get on an airplane ever again? As much as I would miss airport security, the smell of recycled air, and the fat guy with the sinus infection that ALWAYS buys the seat next to me, neither would I.

And even the more practical, every day benefits are nearly endless. Yardwork? Done before the lawn mower gets warmed up. Snowy sidewalk? Shoveled and back inside watching Wonder Years reruns in no time. Silly blog post? Typed and published in seconds.

Disadvantages

First of all, being super might actually break every law of the universe that we know of, therefore creating a rift in space time and destroying everything as we know it. That would, of course, be bad. More research would have to be done to prevent that. I can’t have that on my conscience.

Then there’s the pesky issue of finding clothes that won’t disintegrate at super speeds. Apparently, The Flash had some type of invisible aura around him that protected his clothes. But come on, that was in the comic books. We’re talking for real here. What’s the point of being able to forgo commercial air travel if you arrive at that big business conference totally naked?

Things I would do with this power

Win a gold medal in every Olympic event including women’s softball and rhythmic gymnastics, reap the rewards of endorsement deals from every major athletic shoe manufacturer in the world, retire to someplace where snow doesn’t ruin my every weekend.

Next time, the countdown continues!

Let’s imagine for a moment that you could have one wish. Anything in the world. What would it be? Peace? An end to world hunger? The cure for cancer?

Liar.

No, like me, you’d wish to be granted a super power. Come on, you and I both know it’s true. But you can only have one. So which to choose? Well lucky for you and your selfish ways, I’ll be spending the next few posts counting down the very best super powers to have, just in case you’re ever forced to choose. You’re welcome. Now, on to #5!

Laser Vision!

Whether it’s blasts of concussive energy or beams of searing heat, the ability to shoot lasers from the eyes has to be in the top five. Just think of the possibilities.

Advantages – Imagine a world where waiting in line at the supermarket is no longer an issue. Where you no longer have to fear terrorists, car-jackings, grizzly bears, or many moderately powerful super villains. This is the world I dream of. This is the world of the laser visionary.

Disadvantages – This really depends on how well you could control the laser vision. Assuming you could handle the power as Superman does – consciously able to turn it on and off – laser vision really has no downside. But it’s a different story if, like X-Men’s Cyclops, it’s something you’d need special ruby crystal glasses to control. The last thing you need is an errant optic blast tearing through your cubicle wall, incinerating that graphic designer that sits across from you. The paperwork involved with something like that would be ridiculous. And don’t get me started on the mess.

Things You Could Do

                Cook really awesome cheeseburgers with your FREAKING EYES, scare the ever-loving crap out of the dog, maybe fight a little crime.

Next time, #4!

So first of all, yes, I know I've been breaking my own rule by not writing enough. But  I've got some good excuses. So far in 2010 I've spent a week in Las Vegas, bought a house, and gotten way more responsibility at work. So cut a kid a little slack, eh?

But busy as I may be, I'm a man of my word. As promised in my previous post, here are the top referrers for this blog based on number of visits.

A few notes:

Direct Traffic - This includes anyone who either typed www.joshcovington.com into their browser or reached the site via bookmark. While not technically a referrer, this number is typically a good indication of how well your blog is doing as a brand. It indicates returning visitors that keep coming back for more. 

Search Engines - Includes anyone that reached the site by searching for me or keywords in this blog. This piece of pie also includes visitors that found me via image searches, even though I don't consider that useful in any way.

Blogs - This is traffic generated by posting comments or writing guest entries for other blogs. The majority of these referrers came from my good buddy Jamey Stegmaier's blog. If you haven't already, check out my posts written as this alter ego.

Social News Sites - Includes traffic from sites like Digg, Propeller, and StumbleUpon. While not a huge driver of traffic for this site, these types of outlets are great ways to bring your work to new sets of eyes. Consistently generate remarkable content, and your chances of going viral increase exponentially by utilizing these sites.