Five Days

Blog No. 383

I’m going to try to stay on topic for this one. I’m sure no one needs to hear about being stuck inside from yet another person. We’re all in that boat together. Though, I will say, staying focused has been a challenge. I’m a creature who craves structure, so a total lack of my usual structure is challenging. That being said, I’m trying really hard to get this novella (Broadcast Wasteland) finished in the next five days. There is still a handful of cleanup to do on the story (typos be damned) the layout to finish, and the cover to put together. (Glen Hawkes did an amazing job with the image, but the interior has to be done in order to get the template from the printer, then put all the pieces together).

Blog No. 200

Blog No. 200

Does reaching a goal count when it wasn’t a goal in the first place? When I first started this blog, it was to capitalize on the followers that my friend and I have gained from our podcast. We started in the early days of podcasting (especially video podcasing) taking inspiration from things like Diggnation. (Remember Digg? Man that was a big deal for a short time). My buddy had the idea and the desire, and I was happy to join in. We focused on the newly released Wii and amassed a large fan base. When the podcast was coming to an end (due to various reasons) I started up the blog. I’d done some blogging on the podcast’s website (mostly updates and excuses) and I expected to be a real writer long before the whole Adventure Worlds thing happened, so I asked the podcast followers to follow me. Then I didn’t do many posts.

The Loss of Routine

Blog No. 192

The struggle continues and I’ve been given another reminder of how important routines are. Naturally, I am a person drawn to routines, so it’s no wonder that the more structured my time, the more I get done, especially with writing. I’ve heard other writers balk at the idea, and even argue against daily writing habits. While no one thing is ever right for everyone, I think most people can agree that a schedule and consistency tend to help when it comes to making progress (writing being just one example). It’s the same thing all over my life. I’ve kept up with going to my boxing class, but the extra work has been interrupted. Even my reading suffers from a lack of consistency, and I love reading. It’s just so easy to waste a few hours on the internet, or play another video game with my brother.

So, So Cold

Blog No. 177

Last weekend was the start of my April run of events. Now that No Light Tomorrow is out, Christian and I try to have at least one or two events lined up every month. It adds extra work and can get hectic, but it’s the best way to ensure our meteoric sales continue. Some of the events are hosted by others and we either tag along or (if we’re lucky) specifically are invited. There are conventions too, where we sign up as a vendor and pay for the table. I’ve talked about a few of those already. Every time it’s been fun, exciting, and exhausting. I get to meet new people or better connect with acquaintances. While they have all been worthwhile (in one way or another) some are tougher than others. Hosting an even takes a lot more work, and inviting others to participate means they are relying on you to make their contribution valuable. Even just showing up to an event with a box of books can have challenges too.

The Storm

Blog No. 169

I tend to start writing these on Tuesdays. It gives me time to explore what I want to write about, and I can scrap the whole things and start over when I’m not happy with it. This morning, I was sitting in anchor, sipping a coffee before heading to work. I was thinking about the weekend and what I’d like to post this week. Obviously I want to mention Syndicon. I could also talk about my current struggles with keeping up the daily work count. There are editing and Adventure World things I should mention, along with the next event on the docket. But really, I’m just tired and I want to go to bed. I can’t do that though, so I’ll mention little bits of a bunch of those things, or not. Let’s see.

Comicon Ho!

Blog No. 168

I have no idea what images you conjure in your head when you read the word Comicon. For some of you, I’m sure, you picture the type of John Hughes 80s geeks wearing suspenders, pocket protectors, and playing with huge, complicated computers. Others just read the suspenders comment and pictured hipsters. You may imagine thousands of people dressed in overly tight costumes hugging strangers and hocking weird crap. Having gone to a couple of them, the former is closest to my experience, but it’s hundreds of people, only some of them are dressed up (some in really impressive, though unrecognizable, costumes) and some of that weird crap are books.

New Year Updates

Blog No. 165

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably noticed the new layout. I didn’t set out (in the beginning) to do a New Year refresh, but that’s how it worked out, and a fresh look about once a year seems like it works. It’s not too jarring and things don’t get too boring. It’s just about right. For me at least, and since I’m the number one viewer of the site, I want to keep myself happy. It’s not a big change (which is something I prefer) but it’s enough to keep things interesting.

2016

Blog No. 163

I did it! I didn’t think I would, but I did! For all of 2015, another whole year, I put up a blog post every week. That’s three years running now with only one flub (back in 2013 I missed a Thursday and the post went up on the Saturday). I’ve gotta say, I’m pretty impressed with myself. It’s not a feat that everyone achieves. Not everyone wants to achieve such a dream, but some do, and I did.

Big Announcements!

Blog No. 162

I hope you’ve already seen these things, but I’m going for total coverage, so get ready to see it all over again. I suspect that I’ll get back to my regularly scheduled drivel in no time, but this is all so important to me, I’ve got to go against all my instincts and spread the word. I have at least three things to share (I may drift into more because it’s my style, but I’m going to try to stick to it).

To preface it all, I hope whatever time off and celebrations you may have had were/are spectacular. I had a nice family Christmas as usual and other than the few times I had to go in for rentals, I don’t go back to work until the 5^th. So that pretty great. I just wish I were using the time more productively (as usual) but I’ve actually gotten a bunch done (not as usual). Over last weekend, the poster for the No Light Tomorrow book launch were finished and printed. At the same time, we (meaning Christian and myself) finished the December Zine (number six if we’re counting and there are numbers on them so we are). Though, more could always be done. And I’ve already mentioned two of the things, but let’s break them down.

Christmas Miracle

Blog No. 161

So Christmas Eve happens to fall on my post date. How about that? Because of the assumed busyness everyone is experiencing (I hope) I’ll keep it short and sweet.

Over the last few months, I’ve been working very hard (though not as hard as I could be working I suppose). The stories for No Light Tomorrow were written, but the process of taking the first drafts and putting them into a finished book is long and harrowing. Editing took its toll. It’s not always easy to be shown your mistakes over and over again, but it ends up with much cleaner stories. We went through a few layers of editing, culminating with sending the stories away to a professional who took our carefully written and rewritten stories and shredded them. They were fixed and a last loving look from Christian for my stories, and me for his, brought them to their final versions.

When they were finally done, the layout began. While I have limited experience, I wasn’t ready for what awaited me. Reading tutorials, searching for how to’s, and trial and error eventually ended in a final layout. Sending that layout to the printers resulted in having to make changes, but after learning what I had, it wasn’t as big a job.

After that, we were done. The proofs came back, some last minute changes were made (including some oversights that we just missed).

Now the book is in their hands. We expect to get it in the New Year and we’ve already planned a release event for January 9^th.

It was a long year and things are just getting started. There is a lot more to do in the coming months to bring me to a place where I’ll be happy as a writer. Besides the readings and conventions, more stories, more books, and more editing awaits for me.

But for now, I’m proud to show you the cover of No Light Tomorrow. Sales start January 9^th in soft cover and ebook. There will be links to follow, but I hope the cover will entice you to give it a read.

Thanks for all the support this year. I’m looking forward to keep things going next year too. Have a wonderful day wherever you are and whatever you’re celebrating or not!