Dead Bait 2 is out

I’m pumped about this one. I’m in some pretty heavy company with Ramsey Campbell, Steve Alten, and Guy N Smith. Kind of nerve-wracking to be honest.

You can buy it from Amazon here:

Dead Bait 2 Amazon

or at Severed Press:

Dead Bait 2 Severed Press

or at Barnes and Noble:

Dead Bait 2 Barnes and Noble

In other news I’m slaving away on my query for novel #2 and on the second draft of novel #1. I’m finding that queries are a different beast than novels and short stories.

Dead Bait 2, novels, query

I’ve been told that Dead Bait 2 is on the printers this week, so not too much longer before I get to read it.

Five days ago I started the second draft of a novel I trunked in May. It’s amazing going back into that world. For the novel I’m querying I waited six weeks before the second draft, and there’s no question that allowed for a better editing experience. But for this novel it was about ten months. To be honest I was a little freaked out that the novel wasn’t how I remembered it, that I’d be disappointed. Well, it’s better than I thought. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done and I’m OK in saying that. I set it aside after the first draft because of plot complications and the amount of editing and proceeded with the linear, fast-paced novel #2, and this “hopscotching” worked out. My goal is to have the fifth and final draft complete by May 1st, with a query to an agent on the 2nd. That gives me two novels out in the agentsphere.

This is a great time for me to be editing. I’ve burned a lot of creative fuel since last February–two novels and thirty short stories (all the short stories coming from May 2010 until present). In mid-May I’ll start a new novel if the ideas are there.
My query for novel #2 is in the mailbox of one agent right now, the other query got caught in a spam filter. Time to resend that one.

Ghostlight Magazine – The Red Aspen

I’m happy to announce that my short story “The Red Aspen” will be appearing in the June 2011 issue of Ghostlight Magazine. I’m excited about this one and can’t wait to read the final product. I have not seen a TOC yet, but I’m sure the issue will be a great read.

I consider “The Red Aspen” one of my top short stories, and I’m glad to have it in such a neat magazine.

Novels, tunes, and short stories

My 81,000-word apocalyptic thriller is finished. The setting is Montana. Five drafts.

I’ve got a few short stories out at various markets; a couple of them passing the slush piles to the editor’s desk. That’s always a nice feeling. Tough competition out there. The market continues to shrink, too. Necrotic Tissue closed its doors a couple days ago.

I’ve also been enjoying the hell out of the new PJ Harvey album Let England Shake: