It looks like pre-orders are up for the Something Wicked Best Of Anthology, which includes my short story “The Watcher in the Corner”. As always, the artwork is exceptional:
On another note, I continue to focus on the novels, with two about ready to head to my agent this week. Whew! The feedback from my trusted readers has been quite good, so no more point in delaying.
And my western trip plans look like they’ll be delayed thanks to huge wildfires in Idaho. The region is very smoky.
How cool is this? The cover art for the premiere issue of Plasma Frequency Magazine was inspired by my short story “Frequencies”. The cover was designed by Tai Ting, and it’s really trippy and beautiful. Most of the story elements can be seen within the art. Very cool.
On another note, the novel work is going well. Novel X is with my agent as I type this. We have a great working relationship but I still get nervous as hell when I send her something. I’d love to be all Clint Eastwood about it, but I’d be lying.
And with that, I begin editing The Prairie’s Lament.
Alright, this is pretty cool. My science fiction story “Frequencies” has been accepted for the flagship issue of Plasma Frequency Magazine.
I worked hard on this one, and I’m glad to see it go to a fantastic magazine. The story takes place in the future near Redwood National Park, and that’s all I’ll give away for now….
In other news, I wrapped up the second draft of Novel X last night. Whew! I’m not sure why that took so long. The first draft is still out with several betas. When I receive all of their comments I’ll start the third draft, which should be rather quick. Then it’s on to my agent.
I’m beyond pleased to announce that my dark literary tale, “Storm Fronts” has been accepted by Q&W Publishers for their Old Weird South Anthology.
I write about nature, a lot. I don’t see the natural world as something we must separate from, but rather as something we must embrace to the fullest. This idea permeates much of my writing, and “Storm Fronts” is no exception. The story takes place in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, and follows a lone woodsman preparing for winter just after he retires from a mining company.
The tentative release date is October 2012.
My brain is mush. This is the kind of symptom one can expect when writing back to back first drafts. Would I do it over? Probably not, although I didn’t choose the novels. They chose me.
After finishing Novel X (102,000 words, and which falls clearly into the category of thriller), I started upon a new project titled The Prairie’s Lament (82,000 words). This novel is more literary, with a heavier emphasis on inner conflict. Two different novels, and that’s okay. I had to tell both stories, and wrote them between December 1, 2011, and April 14, 2012.
It’s been one heck of a productive winter, and I look forward to a spring of editing. Editing has always been far more relaxing for me. First drafts are all passion and exhilaration.
I’m excited to get the novels to my agent. Novel X should be in her hands in a month, after several editing passes. Am I really calling it Novel X? No. That’s a temporary name. I’m sort of gun-shy about releasing the title of that one. Maybe soon. The shocking thing is Novel X does not take place in Montana (lol), a state I’m infatuated with. Invasive and The Prairie’s Lament take place there. Novel X is set in the Chicago suburbs, inside a super mall (Bridgefield).
It’s shaping up to be an excellent spring.
BTW, here’s a great track I’ve been enjoying by a band called *shels. It’s titled “Leaving the Plains”, and is found on their 2011 release The Plains of the Purple Buffalo. The track was in heavy rotation during my first draft of Lament.
