Hello friends and Family

Dear Friends,

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I come to you with great news. The Bad Medicine: Zombie Slaying Queen manuscript is finished. It is an exciting day for yours truly. Bad Medicine is a work of love and much dedication. I am proud of the world I created and the characters who live in it and I can’t wait to share it with you.

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I know you have been waiting a while to get your copy, but there is still a bit of a longer wait. The folks at Inkshares are crazy busy editing, printing and promoting many amazing novels. My fabulous, but humble, drag superstar has got herself in line and she will be patiently waiting for her turn.

I will not bore you with a long reflection about the creative journey. I will say, though, that it feels great knowing that after so much time and dedication, I can proudly say, I am done and I love what I have done.

Another things that excites me is that the world of drag is more popular than ever. Don’t believe me? Check out this announcement from World of Wonder. Drag Queens on a Plane, is a thing and it will be a cluster of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent.

check out the news 

Talk to you soon my pretties.

(before you start reading, there is a surprise at the end)

Friends, it has been a while 

You may have heard that my absence in the hallways of Inkshares is due to my adventures around the world gathering material for my memoir: Eat, Drink and Pass Out. You may have also heard that I got a job at NASA and I’ll be the first rainbow flag waving queen to put foot on Mars. All lies, friends. All fabrications from one of my multiple personalities.

The truth is I’ve been ridiculously busy juggling a new job, a cranky brain that insists on not working properly and writing Bad Medicine, a novel that I think you will love.

A couple of things have happened since the last time we talked:

1.      I finished the manuscript, but then I read it again and decided it needed a lot of work. Characters needed to be stronger, motivations had to be clearer, and villains needed more evil running through their veins.

2.      I changed the name of the novel. I thought the tagline “Slay it Queen!” didn’t convey clearly what the novel is about, so I changed it to Bad Medicine: Zombie Slaying Queen! Sometimes straight to the point is best.

3.      I started practicing meditation and mindfulness (I won’t be offended if you roll your eyes now) and had an epiphany (roll them again) the goal of this journey is not publishing a novel, the goal is creating art. Taking the ideas bubbling in my chest, shaping them and then surrendering them to you.

Yes, I want to see my book on bookstores but more than anything I want to feel confident that every drop of creativity inside of me labeled Bad Medicine, is out of my system and ready for the world to love, hate, ignored or adored.

In the large puzzle of the publishing process, I have only one job, and I am planning to do it well. I have to write a great novel.

I guess I am asking you for patience and trust. Your novel is coming. I don’t know when, but Inkshares and I will work hard to make sure you feel great about the investment you made six months ago.

In the meantime, since you have some waiting to do, I created a playlist called “Essential Drag” below are songs and videos where I find inspiration for Bad Medicine. Even if you are not writing a novel about a zombie slaying drag queen, these are just fun songs to listen to. 

Playlist here!

Until the next time...

Squirrelfriends , glamazons and beautiful people in general

It has been a while. Actually, it has been a long, long time, but I have a good excuse. I’ve been dedicating every minute to finishing Bad Medicine: Slay it queen!

I have to admit, this book took me on an unexpected ride. I know how to write horror, I know how to scare people, however, mixing horror and comedy resulted harder than I expected.

This project means a lot to me. As a gay man, I was raised by drag queens. Life was rough after I came out and my friends became my family and my lifeline. Many of them were too fabulous to live within the constrictions of one gender, so they became drag queens. I saw them go from timid performers to fierce queens and their journey is what inspires me. That is why I want to get it right. I want to show the soul of a culture that is rich in history and struggle.

Of course, I am a twisted horror writer, so I threw zombies into the mix. I am a huge zombie fan and writing the frightening scenes in which the monsters lurk in the allies of a post-apocalyptic New York is just great.

I am happy to report that the final manuscript is almost done. I will go over it one more time, just to make sure all ends are tied and then I will send it to my friend and editor extraordinaire, Koleen, who also happens to be a drag-culture expert.

I am excited. I know the wait has been long and we still have a while to go until you can read Bad Medicine. I promise you, the wait will be worth it.

That is it for now. Have a wonderful, glamorous and gorgeous rest of your week.

Hello drag enthusiasts and beautiful people in general

I wanted to give you a quick update on the state of Bad Medicine: Slay it, Queen. I am furiously writing the story and I’m very excited about it. It has been harder than I anticipated to keep the balance between campy and scary, but I can tell you the result is a hell of a ride.

My original plan was to deliver a finished manuscript to Inkshares mid-January. Unfortunately, life got a tad complicated, and I was not able to meet that deadline. The folks at Inkshares were very understanding and encouraged me to take my time so I can produce the best manuscript I can write. I’m planning on finishing writing Bad Medicine in the spring.

If you supported my efforts to publish The Catcher’s Trap, then you know that the publishing process is very long; you should probably expect to get your copy of Bad Medicine some time in 2018. The reason for the long production schedule is very simple: making a great book takes time. Trust me; you don’t want to read a poorly edited and designed book. On my end, I want Inkshares to dedicate as much of their resources as possible to promote my book, and for that, we need to be strategic about the release date.

In the meantime, I encourage you to browse the hallways of Inkshares and look at the many books that they have published so far and that you can enjoy right away.

Finally, I have many side projects happening this year. One I’m excited about is the monthly release of short stories through Amazon Kindle starting in March. The stories will range on genre and style. Some will be connected to my Inkshares projects; some will not. I’ll let you know when the first one is out.

That’s it, for now, friends!

Have a great rest of your week and don’t forget, keep it fierce and keep it cute.

Friends, drag enthusiast and horror fans

Friends, drag enthusiast and horror aficionados

We made it!!

(literally me at the end of the contest)

Bad Medicine: Slay it, Queen! Finished in the top 3 of the Crypt TV contest, and now it is on its way to becoming my second published novel. Just writing those words gives me chills.

Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

I don’t take your support for granted. I know that there are many ways in which you could spend your money; the fact that you chose to support my dreams is reassuring and humbling.

What’s next?

Well, three chapters and a detailed outlined of Bad Medicine are already done, so today I started participating in National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo) with the hopes of finishing the first draft in 30 days. It sounds crazy, but I’m confident it will be done. Also, I love a challenge, and this is certainly one.

This morning I wrote the first six hundred words. My editor Penny Lane was there to support me. Too bad she’s not really a morning person (yes, she is a person).

Again, thank you, my friends. I will keep updating you through the production of this crazy and fun book.

Best

Ricardo

Friends, drag fans and zombie enthusiast

Only 24 hours left in the Crypt TV horror contest and our girl Bad Medicine is holding on to the second place by as string of her torn gown.

The next day will be nerve-wracking for yours truly. As I told you before, I lost my first Inkshares contest by one book; since then I’m totally traumatized.

So, if you haven’t gotten your copy of Bad Medicine: Slay it, Queen! Please, pre-order today. Do a queen a favor, put my mind at ease.

And now, the final drawing in our contest to become a drag character in the book:

The new queen joining the cast is Miss Ms. Dinah Myte (AKA Mister P.H. James)

Ms. Dinah Myte is a former U.S. Army Specialist who found a cure to his PTSD in drag.

Congratulations to all the winners!

That’s it for today. Short and sweet.

On my end, I’ll continue pushing until the last minute of this contest.

Happy Halloween!

Friends, the end is near!!