~~A young man dies and is offered to be revived by a grim reaper in exchange for servitude. Responsibilities typically include the fight against abominable horrors, human or otherwise. However, this young man already has a few problems of his own... such as crippling shyness.~~
General Information
My current update schedule is at the top of the site, just under the big, glowy title. I've chosen to update in this fashion not because I expect readers to actually read each new piece as it is posted, but because it helps me keep a good writing pace. Additionally, I may put out extra pages for holidays as well.
Setting
The setting of the story is a modern fantasy world called Eleg, which is culturally and technologically similar to present day Earth in many ways, yet also divergent in many others. It's not an alternate timeline, as Eleg has its own geography and political systems, but there are still some historical parallels.
Often, the story will contain very dark subject matter. Similarly often, there will be very strong language. It gets super violent and gory, too.
Suggested Methods of Reading
If you like the story and wish to follow it regularly, I recommend returning on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
Or perhaps (and this may sound strange coming from the author), you might want to just forget about this story for a while. That way, when you eventually remember, you'll have a massive archive to dive into. Though, I'd also appreciate you recommending the story to other people while you're away. And while you're not away, I suppose. Really, I just appreciate recommendations. New readers are the best support possible for me.
I also recommend bookmarking the pages you stop at with your web browser, so if you'd like to pick it up again later, you won't spend ages trying to find where you left off.
Obviously, you're free to follow the story however you like, but just know that I generally write the story to be digested on a chapter-by-chapter basis. I post daily for MY sake, because the frequent deadlines keep me frequently motivated.
Long-term Plans
You may be wondering what my overall goals are for the story. Do I already have the whole thing written. Do I know exactly how many chapters there will be. That kind of thing. Here's the answer.
I write TZK in major story arcs. I plot things out really far ahead. I write less far ahead. I don't really have an ending in mind, because I don't intend to stop writing this story for a LONG ASS TIME. I do have a few ideas of how I might like to conclude things, but there's just way too much stuff I wanna do with the story first. It's a really big world, and I still see way too much potential in it to be worrying myself over the final story arcs anytime soon.
Errors
Um. If you happen to spot any typos... then I'd be glad if you pointed them out to me in the comments... even if you're, like... a total dick about it... I'll still be happy and fix them.
If you spot a plot hole or continuity error in the story, then... YOU'RE A LIAR. I DON'T MAKE MISTAKES. I'M PERFECT IN EVERY WAY. LOOK HOW PERFECT I AM. No, but if you really do see one and mention it in the comments, then I may try to address it in the future, if possible. If you're wrong, though, and it's actually not a mistake, then I will call you names and insult your hair.
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
I have enjoyed what I have read, and am very appreciative of you putting it out here for readers. I also have been re-motivated by this. Thank you for sharing and reminding me of a simple method of getting back into it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a tremendous comment. Thank you, D Mann. If we're to talk of motivation, then words such as these must rank very highly.
DeletePretty amazing read so far, heartwarming at times. Thank you mr. Frost for this explosion of inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like it. I appreciate the support.
DeleteHello George.
ReplyDeleteI posted a message on one of the other pages a few minutes ago but i cant find the page again... Would you mind posting your answer here instead? Also i want to apologize for any grammatical errors there may be as English is not my first language.
Yours truly
Lolloboy
Ah, no problem at all. I'm thrilled you like the story, and thanks for leaving comments, too.
DeleteYour grammar seems quite good, actually. I'd be curious to know what your first language is, if you don't mind telling.
Hello George
DeleteOf course i don't mind telling :) My first language is Danish
also, i want to say that page 55 was really well written and one of my favorites
Yours Truly
Lolloboy
Awesome. Looking at my site's stats, I've been pleasantly surprised at how many international readers I've been getting.
Deletei easily came up with a fun idea for servant powers. The right material would never need to be advanced very far. One example is carbon once a good quantity is produced you can make a good dust explosion. Regeneration and or revival with minor protection at most can allow this to be a very viable strategy at least for a more insane and or evil character. Also I won't be surprised if colt is a servant for another reaper.
ReplyDeleteAlso I don't care if the idea is used or not it was just something I would probably use if I had the same power, just need to carry a flint lighter with me to use.
DeleteFirst off, I FUCKING LOVE SPECULATION. THIS IS AMAZING TO SEE. I mean, I'm going to do whatever the hell I want in the end, but I LOVE SEEING PEOPLE SPECULATE LIKE THIS. Very much encouraged.
DeleteThat being said, I won't ever say whether or not anyone's speculation is accurate, because A) the not knowing is part of the fun, right? and B) because I already have very long-term plans for the story and characters. AND BECAUSE C) DEAL WITH IT. But yes. Thanks for reading.
Then again, I suppose I could say. AND JUST BE A TOTAL FUCKING LIAR HALF THE TIME. But folks might not appreciate that very much.
DeleteHi there! Extremely new fan here. Someone said this was a great solution for my boredom. This is coming from someone who has been disgusted by some books in the past for turning dull and old. This has never been this has never been that way, and I simply adore the humanity of it all. Will this ever be in print? and I will be donating soon when my paycheck arrives, but until then, I have quite a few questions. I have often considered becoming an author like yourself (or perhaps a freelance artist seeing I think it seems like they work similarly) before, in the sense that I often see people around me with jobs and careers that they somewhat loathe, and while i would adore doing something different or freelance, and I'm a little scared I'd be sitting out on the street begging for money. This might be getting a little personal, but how do you make the neccessary, how you say 'bank' when your in a smaller field. That got way more serious and stalker-y than it should have been. Anyways, shared the page with people on facebook and twitter hope you get a massive audience! Best of luck and thanks for inspiring me, Your friendly neighborhood anon.
ReplyDeleteAlso, sorry about the perhaps personal and mass quantity of questions.
Also, sorry about the spacing. Im typing on a phone...
DeleteWow! What a comment!
DeleteHonestly, I don't think I'll ever put this story in print. I really like the format it the way it is. Perhaps my mind will change one day, but at least for the time being, I have no plans to for print.
As for monetary concerns, well. Yes. It's a struggle. It's a job unto itself, only it doesn't pay, and there's no guarantee that it ever will. Essentially, you have to treat it like a second job, which means you have to REALLY enjoy doing it. You have to make time for it until it's able to make time for itself--which, again, it may never do.
And that's probably the most difficult aspect of it: striking the balance between confidence and self-awareness. For storywriting, you first need confidence in your work and your abilities, because in the beginning, no one is going to read it. That confidence is the only thing that will keep you going, the confidence that you're making something that is actually worth someone's time. But on the same note, you need to have enough self-awareness to know when you're making something that ISN'T worth someone's time. Because that is how you are going to improve: by acknowledging failure without giving up altogether. Start something complete new. Even if you poured your heart into that last story only to have it stomped on, there is ALWAYS something new that you can create. It just becomes a matter of desire.
As for me, I write because I can't not. I need to write. When I go too long without writing, I feel fucking terrible. It's not even a question anymore.
But there's also more to it than just having the passion. You have to approach you writing sensibly and develop a pace for yourself that you can maintain, which is where that confidence comes in again. You have to KNOW yourself as an author, know what you're capable of, what kinds of goals you should set for yourself. And then after all your struggles with the writing, you can start trying to grow your audience, which requires some thinking and research on your part.
My current "business model," if you can call it that, is to try to build up a large enough readership that ad revenue + donations create an actual source of income. Right now, I'm spending more money advertising TZK on other sites than I'm making, but I knew I would. I consider it an investment in the story's future (and besides, it's not too horribly expensive). Hopefully, if I'm able to make the story live up to people's expectations, then the readership will continue growing on its own, and I won't need to advertise nearly so much. But these are still fairly early days.
Hope that helps. And thank you for the heartening words.
George, this is some great advice, especially about having belief in yourself and knowing what you can do since nobody will be reading right away. Sometimes I feel incredibly alone in this process, no one to share my victories and setbacks with, and I have to keep reminding myself of the incredible tale trapped in my head, and various notes scribbled on just about everything from plot boards to table napkins...lol. I'm half-way through my zombie novel (don't worry I'm not going to spam here...I find that rude) and I'm already past the 100k word point with a hell of a lot more story to write. From one writer to another, I say keep on fighting the good fight and get you story on the page. There's nothing more satisfying then seeing characters come to life in that way, whether everyone is reading...or no one.
DeleteI find it interesting that you set a 300-600 (if your posting twice a day) word goal for yourself each day. I wish more novel writers would realize how important that is. I've come across a few other serial novels online where authors are taking the "I write when I feel like it" approach. They start out the gate hot, maybe even post once or twice a week regularly, then they simply fizzle away as life gets busy, and then ultimately, they lose readers. It seems like you have a clear plan of attack to keep writing and I for one, as a reader, appreciate your commitment. And that's key. If writers are committed than the readers might be as well.
I plan to release my work online next year (again, speaking generally because I'm not trying to promote here) and I'm dreading the amount of time I'll be spending on promoting which will certainly be a lot of hard work (more than actually writing the damn thing) but it's all part of it if we want readers to find us in this vast ocean called the internet. Oh, just to let you know, I found your story by typing in a google search for "free zombie serial novels", just to let you know what's working for you.
Okay, that's enough babble out of me. Your tale's the first I've come across in a while that's caught (and more importantly, kept) my attention so far. I'm already looking forward to more reading, just knowing that you've put a great deal of thought into it and that's it's not a daily whim for you to post simply when you feel like it. I also like that you're so into the NOW of your tale that the ending is irrelevant at the moment, since you plan to take this as far as you can. Very cool.
Good luck with the writing and keep on fighting to get it realized. Sounds like it will be worth it in the end and you are already drawing in the readers ;)
Scott Scherr
...Oh, just a couple more things. I'll put a plug in for The Zombie Knight on my facebook/twitter pages for what it's worth. Also, have you considered posting this on Wattpad.com? That place is great for those the read via the gadgets. It's set up great for serial fiction, in my opinion. I'm planning on simultaneous postings on both my blog page when it's up and running and Wattpad at the same time. If you're not familiar with the place, I encourage you to check it out. Just type in zombies in the browser and see how others are doing it. Might be worth your while to post there as well...and it's free.
DeleteScott Scherr
Kind words, thank you. And I very much appreciate the plugs. Good luck to you as well.
DeleteI have heard of Wattpad, yeah. I might give it a try one day, but for now, I'm comfortable with the way TZK has been growing.
Hilo! I just found this story today and I love it! I have read a lot of stories, but this one is already up there on my list. :) I will definitely tell my friends about it.
ReplyDelete~Chelsey
Thank you so very much.
DeleteI'm not getting misty-eyed. I was just. Uh. Staring up at the sky. And. It started drizzling. Don't look at me.
lol Your welcome.
DeleteI like your sense of humor. :)
~Chelsey
You said a few days ago you would post the map tomorrow. Where may I view it?
ReplyDeleteOh, I said tomorrow with regards to starting a week of double posts. Regarding the map, I only said "soon."
DeleteThe being said, I think I actually will have the map done tomorrow now. It'll have its own tab at the top of the page.
Wow. Okay. So. Pretty much the worst possible thing just happened with this.
DeleteI was putting the finishing touches on the map. I know. You can already tell where this going, right? WELL, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY FUCKING CORRECT. Literally, there were only a few things left to do. I just wanted to tweak it a bit. And then. My computer. Just. Kicks me in the balls.
It rebooted completely without warning, as it likes to do. Which isn't actually that big of a problem, normally. Just kind of annoying. Apparently, I should've saved the map file in multiple places. I thought MS Paint had some recovery or backup mechanism like Word does. I thought wrong. The map file is corrupted beyond repair.
And I am demoralized.
I'd like to blame the fucking computer. But honestly, the thing is twelve years old. I know it's a piece of shit. I'm just happy it runs at all, frankly. So it's my own stupid fault, I suppose.
So basically, I'll just. Fucking. Redo it. From scratch. AND IT'LL BE EVEN BETTER THAN THE FIRST ONE WAS. AND I'LL HAVE IT DONE WITHIN THREE DAYS, TOO. BECAUSE FUCK EVERYTHING.
There we go. Finished the map. Link is at the top right corner of the page.
DeleteI know this is old, but
DeleteYOU DIDN'T GET IT DONE IN 3 DAYS
LOOK AT THE TIME IT WAS POSTED
IT TOOK 3 DAYS, 3 HOURS, AND 16 MINUTES
Well, hey, if you wanna get technical, I said I'd "have it done" within three days, not that I'd "have it posted." SO HA. I DID HAVE IT DONE. I JUST WAITED AN EXTRA 3 HOURS AND 16 MINUTES BECAUSE I KNEW IT WOULD ANNOY YOU. WAHA.
DeleteWaht would happen if a 3rd and maybe a 4th force suddenly appeared in the story? like after life police or after life criminals...?
ReplyDeleteThe power of true love would conquer them, I'm pretty sure.
DeleteEven if the good after life people were wanting to help?
DeleteLove is a bitch like that.
DeleteI could see Hector getting the wrong idea about some one new, that or abolish tricking those good people and Hector having to kill a few with no choice in the matter.
DeleteYAY, I have an Idea.
ReplyDeleteWhat if
Hector used the iron in someone's blood as a target of sorts
And expanded around it
to block bloodflow
Specifically to the brain
hooray
Would be practically impossible for two reasons. Materializing iron inside of a solid object is ridiculously, extremely, crazily difficult to do. And Hector wouldn't be able to target something that is invisible to the naked eye.
DeleteOh
ReplyDeleteWell
BLOOD IS A LIQUID
DOGGIE CHOLATE THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A REPLY
DeleteNot as of yet, no. Sorry. I plan to start organizing the story into e-books soon, but it could take a while. I'm not sure how long yet.
ReplyDeleteWhat would really make this series of books sell is that you have a website/blog that you update regularly. I've had some painful experiences where you heavily invest in an author and they seem to disappear really frustrating but because you blog, no fear of that which is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteAre their any imaginary being apart from reapers or Aberrations?
ReplyDeleteHeh. I'll say yes, but they won't be showing up for a while.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading. :)
ReplyDeleteYou know, I love how, every time we think we've found the BIG THING in this story, there's more.
ReplyDeleteWHAT seriously, seriously, you better not be just saying that. I'm speechless speechless. My brain just exploded.
ReplyDeleteNew reader here. I like the story. So ya. Thanks and i look forward to more updates
ReplyDeleteIs there a way to download the story, I would like to read this on my nexus
ReplyDeleteHa! I have finally caught up. I gotta say, I'm really enjoying the story. Your character development is fantastic and your plot lines twist just enough to keep me coming back for more. Yes.... You rock!
ReplyDelete-Hayden
.
I'm glad you're enjoying. :)
ReplyDeleteI've read hundreds of light novel my whole life and this is definitely one of those with the most intriguing if not the best character development i've ever read.. Will definitely recommend this to my friends.. Keep up the good work, kind sir.. ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you. <3
ReplyDeleteHello.. Newcomer here (not yet reading it though). I would be really glad if you have ebooks for download. Based on comments this novel is great and i already like it from the synopsis. So i dont mind to pay for your ebooks too. Do you know zectas written by john nesh? He also write the story like you do and post every chapter on his website but when a volume done, he create an ebook and sell it (he add sidestory chapter for the ebook to make difference or so). Just my humble suggestion.
ReplyDeleteKeep the good work! Now i'll start for the reading
Oops.. Forget it. You have Ebooks already... Lol sorry for not looking through your website first :p
ReplyDeleteNo worries, friend.
ReplyDeleteBro, your name sounds indonesian
ReplyDeleteBro, your name sounds like my friend. Kenal seseorang bernama arden?
ReplyDeleteMan, those lines are similar to the words Alex Hirsch had said
ReplyDelete"My plan is to every viewer to start distrusting everything and seeing conspiracies everywhere"
Just reading this page got me hooked. I feel like I can sense the dark humour lol. Please don't insult my hair! :D
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I suddenly came upon this story, but I've really enjoyed what I've been reading. Only on 124 and you managed to catch my interest and hold it! VERY HAPPY! And going to recommend this to my friends.
ReplyDeleteGreat and that i have a dandy present: Where To Loan For House Renovation house renovation in london
ReplyDelete