Christopher A. Smith, the Unpublished Campy Writer

08/01/2025

Updates:

Needing a break from Crimson Dawn, I was trying to write the first act for a werewolf novel, which will fit nicely into a greater monster universe. (I couldn't resist it - monsters, such as vampires, werewolves, mummies, and offensive demons - they're just too awesome.)

However, at the current moment I am now very much caught up in the werewolf novel, taking place upon the fictional Autumn Island, and I am currently charging into the second act. To avoid the risk of losing a sense of the story, it's just going to be my focus for awhile - at least right up until I need a break from it. Upon that happening, I'll return to my splendid classic about co**ie vampires laying siege to an all-American school.

I'm not giving up on anything, and I'm very proud of how far I've gotten - it's just that once I get going I am a fast writer, but as far as editing goes - I am slow as as the digestive system of a Sarlaac.

Regardless,

In spurting, curdling, and pooling blood,

C. Smith

01/11/2024

Updates, for all 1 of my fans :)
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For the time being, I have been focused on my holiday letter, so that I might get it out in time. However, as it nears competition I am planning to (re)start my werewolf novel, knock out a few chapters, and then take a bit of a break before going back to editing, and on occasion working on new material.

Crimson Dawn is taking far longer to edit than I ever anticipated, with several chapters requiring complete rewrites (and I am limited on time as is), but I fully intend on making it the best product that I can before I attempt to publish it (or even learn how to publish it). And I intend for it to be the first novel in my Monster Universe, with my werewolf story taking place right before its events.

The going has been slow, entertaining, and frustrating, but I have already learned so much about my writing habits, how to set pacing within a story structure, and how to handle each chapter, and I am hoping over time it becomes easier and easier to see something from ideation to completion.

I hope each of you has a wonderful holiday season, and I look forward to continuing to update you on my progress.

C. Smith

20/08/2024

Recently, I finished the novel Night Boat by Robert McCammon. N**i ghouls, escaping from a downed U-Boat - it was definitely right up this guy's alley! I can't imagine why it's not in print anymore!

19/08/2024

I haven't really been paying attention to this page, all that much, but I decided I should provide an update:

-Still editing A Crimson Dawn. Progress is slow, but steady. After all, I have to be sure to really get those brutal, gore-filled scenes correct :)

-Started working on what should eventually be a full-length werewolf novel, taking place on Drummond Island, and being an indirect prequel to A Crimson Dawn. This will help lead way to what I will refer to as The Chris Smith's Monster Universe, which will be filled with vampires, werewolves, the living dead, witches, flying beasts, and others. Because, well, monsters are incredibly awesome, and nobody else is working on creating a sweet classical monster universe. :)

Regardless, what's your favorite monster and why, and what author or film director portrayed them best? Me, I love the vampire, and 'Salem's Lot and Dracula are the Mount Everest of the genre.

05/11/2023

Stephen King's The Stand or Robert McCammon's Swan Song, for the better book? I'd throw myself into the running, if I had written an apocalyptic novel, but then I'd easily win.

03/11/2023

This is one of the finest Thanksgiving-themed works or art, and I commend it for its practical effects, acting, and excellent writing. The only person who could have done it better is me. I just haven't yet :p

02/11/2023

After much consideration, I have finally figured out what I will be writing next:

The Three Wolves (working title), which will feature three unrelated werewolf-themed novellas -

The Mad, Mad, Mad Dr. Schweigert: This will be about an infuriated, chain-smoking, Christianity-hating horror obsessed fan, who becomes upset that Hollywood hasn't released a single good, original werewolf scene, and hates that practical-effect transformation scenes are no longer a thing. Because of this, he creates within his secret lab a werewolf, who he then releases upon the unsuspecting nearby town, to show Hollywood how its done. Commence plenty of gore.

The Michigan Dogman: Sightings of the Michigan dogman have dwindled down, to the point they have become obsolete. But then, during the Pandemic of Unknown Origins, the Michigan governor enacts a strict curfew. Any caught out after eight PM find themselves face-to-face with the henchwolf of the power-hungry governor. And any victims, they count as Covid deaths. Commence plenty of Libertarian propaganda and campy gore.

Abraham Diesel and The Werewolf of Snake Island: The Miller High-Life drinking, Camel-smoking archeologist Abraham Diesel is hired to bring a small crew onto Snake Island, where an earthquake revealed a secret bunker created by N**is. There, believed to be hidden is the Holy Grail...but unfortunately, it's guarded by thousands of golden lanceheads and the most hungry of werewolves.

30/10/2023

I haven't been using this page too much, of late, but I want to get back into it. And I figured I'd share any tips I come across, as well as provide my commentary.

Here are some good points for writing characters, though, I'd go on to say that you should always make your character somebody you want to hang out with for a year plus. I spent far too many years trying to make badass characters, or too serious of characters, but they just weren't somebody I would want to accompany on a journey. But with Crimson Dawn, I decided to make it more fun by having the likeable jocky, cocky, football player, the du***ss rocker who is always getting into trouble but doesn't care, and the girl who prides herself on her intellect and has no respect for the previous two. The dynamic pushes the jock to try harder, and the rocker to be more of a du***ss, all while trying to save the school from Co**ie vampires.

In any good novel, a writer creates fictional characters by giving them goals, throwing obstacles in their way, and creating conflict. Writers connect a reader to a story by making characters relatable. Character development is one of the literary terms writers hear a lot, but it’s an essential el...

29/10/2023

Progress Update: I am over halfway through editing Crimson Dawn (working title; I've been told the name sucks, no matter how clever I think it is), so I am trying to think of what ideas to work on for my next project.

Which one is your favorite!?

1. Abraham Diesel, a High-Life drinking archeologist, travels to find the Holy Grail, which is guarded by a werewolf!

2. The Mad, Mad, Mad Dr. Schweigert, which is about a chain-smoking, half-crazed man who is so mad that there hasn't been a good monster movie that he decides to make Frankenclops, a Frankenstein Cyclops, and then releases it upon a town!

3. An adventure of El Gato, the swashbuckling hero who is a lord by day and The Gato at night; defending us all from tyranny!

4. The Charred Knight, in which a knight tortured and burned by the Ottomans while fighting in the crusades escapes, breaks into cathedrals across Christendom, and constructs armor and weapons from the relics of the Saints. His sword is the femur bone of Saint Peter, tipped with the nails used to crucify Christ. His armor, the hardened bones of saints, his dagger the splintered ribs of somebody else. Then he returns to the Holy Land to fight off the vampires that the Ottomans had summoned from Hell, and fights the final boss atop the Great Pyramid!

5. A New York, atmospheric horror novel. An author's grandparents pass away, so he goes there to finish his novel only to slowly, and accidentally, uncover the truth of his grandparents. They formed a machine that works hand-in-hand with soul sleep, keeping souls alive outside of God's will, and using them for selfish gains!

6. Demons of Sanitary Street. You already know this one :P

19/04/2023

Act One of Crimson Dawn is edited to the best of my ability; just 378 more pages to go!

Once this is finished, I am thinking I'm going to adjust gears to a slasher ghost story, because I feel like those two genres need to collide into a beautiful canvas of gore!

09/03/2023

I've been rewriting this same chapter for a week and a half now, of Crimson Dawn, unable to get it right. I think I need a vacation!

09/12/2022

Well folks, today your most favorite and badass [unpublished and unproven] author is putting aside the werewolf story and returning to Crimson Dawn: A Tale of American Exceptionalism.

It's time to edit it one last time, and then go from there on my quest to produce "high-quality" American literature about how awesome America is, and how much co**ie vampires suck!

26/11/2022

Abraham Diesel, the best archeologist of all time, wishes you a wonderful holiday season!

10/11/2022

I'm loving to write about Abraham Diesel, the archeologist who is willing to brave anything to get a private collector priceless artifacts!

But we'll just have to wait and see how he does against werewolves!