This page is where I’ll link you to books and published stories as they’re released, and I’ll share updates on works-in-progress.
Works in Progress
These are projects I’m currently working on in some way. Some are outlined or in rough draft form and shelved for the time being and others are in active development. While it’s rare for me to actively work on only one project at a time (there’s always writing and editing to do), I generally do only focus on one project per genre at a time. That generally means I’m working on one piece for the horror genre, one mystery under the name Aria Klein, and some nonfiction project or shorter children’s book.
For the time being, here’s what I have in the works:
Urban Legend / Ghost Story Novel
This is my primary project in the horror genre right now, and it’s my intended first release. The novel’s drafted and currently undergoing revisions through 2016, with an intended release in early 2017 at the latest.
While I don’t want to give away the plot this early in the game, I will say it’s a rough adaptation of an urban legend near my college town. I first heard the stories from my ex-fiancé and his friends, and to be frank, they sounded ridiculous. It wasn’t until several years later that I stumbled across the stories again. But this time there was more history. And as the different versions from different people melded into one larger legend, I found the story itself fascinating — its beginnings in the geography of the local area, the merging of history and hysteria, a schizophrenic town, and the possibility of truth to some of the most awful elements.
I’m taking the best of the legend and weaving a world where we explore past atrocities and a present-day ghost story.
Vampire Novel
This book was outlined and partially drafted in 2008, and was shelved when the vampire craze seemed to take over all mediums. I didn’t want it completed and released as part of a fad. And it will remain shelved until I feel there’s a more appropriate time to pick it up again. This one bounced around a bit between novel and screenplay formats, and I honestly don’t know which version I’ll pick up when I come back to it.
Murder Mystery
Yet again, no working title. I don’t seem to use them in horror writing for some reason. This one is tough. Generally I write mysteries under the name Aria Klein. But under that name, I focus on cozies. And this book is far too dark to be associated with those ones. So it will likely be published under the A.J. Klein pseudonym.
It will most likely be the only book I publish under this name that has no supernatural element, though I haven’t ruled out extensive revisions to make it a better fit. It’s also the oldest of these projects, and it’s currently shelved. This one will remain shelved until at least the first book listed here is drafted, and may remain so indefinitely if I continue the urban legends series. If I do pursue this story in the near future in any way it will likely be cut down to short story or novella territory.
Fairy Tale Shorts
I have a longtime interest in fairy tales, and not those of the Disney variety (blame it on my German roots). I’ve decided to develop my own collection — completely new stories rather than adaptations of existing tales. I debated keeping these dark but still for younger eyes and writing something more completely f*d up.
I chose the latter for one reason — I find parents today to be so overprotective that there’s no way I could write market-friendly dark fairy tales and still be true to what I want to get across with the stories. And I will always choose what I want to write over what I feel like I have to write for someone else’s closed mind. These will be drafted in between mystery and horror novels and will be published when I finish the entire collection.