Join Hugh Fritz as he discusses his brand new book
MADE TO BE BROKEN
Book Synopsis:
Flarence knows that Genies are supposed to help their masters by granting wishes, but he's never been comfortable taking orders. To him, pummeling bad guys with magically enhanced weaponry feels like a much better way to use his powers.
Darren is a gangster who wants to leave his reckless life behind so he can focus on providing for his family. Unfortunately, there are people in the neighborhood who won't let him move on.
Soleil is a humble man who tries to lead a passive lifestyle. In times of peace or times of war, he can be found cleaning his café or singing along with rock 'n roll tunes while tending to his houseplants.
Darren, Soleil, and Flarence will have to work together and step outside their comfort zones when a rogue Genie and a hot-headed police officer threaten the lives of their loved ones. Flarence will be challenged to work with a criminal.
About the Author:
Creative writing has been a hobby for a long time, but it's been on and off. I fin- ished Made to Be Broken five years ago but started it almost twelve years ago. I was in high school, and we had just finished reading the Crucible. It sparked the idea for an alternate history novel about a secret war between genies and witch- es in Salem. I didn't have a lot of time to focus on it while in school. Even when I did have a few hours free progress was difficult since I didn't have a clear story arc. For a while it felt like I was making headway; when I had an idea for a new scene I would usually be able to find time throughout the week to put it on pa- per, but that method was not getting me any closer to a finished product. After a year I barely had ten pages of material, and it wasn't a story, just a series of un- connected paragraphs. The slow progress became frustrating, so I quit for a while.
The story sat dormant in my mind until I completed my undergraduate degree. Motivated to try again, but not wanting to dwell on my failed attempt, I discard- ed the old draft and started from scratch. At this point I accepted that I am not a free-writer and if I was going to get this done I needed to approach it like a job. Scheduling was tricky because I was accepted into graduate school, but be- tween completing lab reports and studying for tests I was able to set aside sev- eral hours each weekend to work on it. Instead of writing scenes as they came to me I outlined the entire novel and wrote it chronologically. In just two years I had a first draft that was approximately 300 pages long. Unfortunately, the agents I pitched it to had no interest in publishing it. In all my years in school I spent so much time on science courses that I never got around to signing up for creative writing classes. The story was finished, but it was far from a work of art.
I was offered a job in the southwest and was nervous about moving so far away, but it turned out to be a blessing. The first thing I did when I arrived was look for writing groups, and I found one called Cyberscribes. Weekly meetings involve members reading 500-2000 word pieces and asking others for feedback. Thanks to their critiques I was able to rewrite a better version that was later picked up by Terra Nova Books in Santa Fe. I'm not the only one in the group who has developed and found success as a writer. Suicidals Are The True Be- lievers by Sean P. Hall is currently available on Amazon. Unrelenting (the first book in the Deathless Gods series), by Marie Parks is currently being queried to agents. Neal Holtschulte has been published in literary magazines such as Amazing Stories. If you have time, I definitely recommend looking them up.
Tickets- $5 , Ticket and Paperback- $18