"This is his hair..."

So I just started my twitter account (@onthebird, by the way), and have been running around following all my favorite geek stars.  Maybe  someday  one of them will actually read my stories...

Uh oh...

So, whenever I write dialogue for the main character in my forthcoming fantasy novel, I hear Malcolm Reynolds saying the lines in my mind. I feel like part of my editing process will have to be going back  and making sure I didn't put the words "gorram" or "shiny" in there anywhere...

Weaver reviewed!

http://ricochetreviews.blogspot.com/2011/09/review-weaver-weaver-saga.html

"Attention fans of The Vladimir Todd Series, Alex Rider, Suck It Up, or even The Reformed Vampire Support Group and James Patterson YA - expecially the Maximum Ride series, I've officially met your next obsession: The Weaver Saga."

Today's accomplishment

So, while I'm keeping much about the new novel under wraps (though see my entry from the 22nd for details on how to score an advance copy of the first  chapter!), I will now make one thing official:

I have managed to find a way to plausibly insert Wicked into the novel.

I have officially reached writer's nirvana.  :)

(Oh, and 11,895 words, by the way.)

Fringe

So, to all you Fringe watchers out there, I have to say that, while I want Peter to come back  as much as anybody, Olivia and Lincoln are cute  and a good team. (Even if Lincoln on this side totally reminds me of Clark Kent. I keep waiting for him to rip open his suit  and show us the "S" on his chest. If Anna Torv ever dies her  hair  brown, my brain will break.)

Still more progress!

10,788 words, and I'm hoping I'll have time to finish the chapter I'm on before the day's out.  Either way,  I'm discovering that I'm  not nearly as good at writing Unresolved Sexual Tension  scenes when I work alone. It's so much easier to make it flow and not feel / sound like crap when I have someone else to write the other party's reactions.

Oh well.

P.S., don't forget about the  contest! Be the first to get 10 other people to buy one of my stories, and get a free sample of the novel currently in progress!  See my entry from Sept. 22 for details.

New novel progress

Now at 9,521 words and stopping for tonight.

Want a chance to read some of those words before everyone else does? Participate in the contest discussed in yesterday's entry!

Important Announcement! (DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUN!)

So, my forthcoming novel is now  sitting at around 8k words.

But that's not the big announcement.

The big announcement is that I'm opening an opportunity for YOU to get a sample copy of the forthcoming new novel!

How do you do that, you ask?

Simple! Be the first person to convince ten other people to pick up either Weaver or The Antlerbury Tales. All ten do NOT have to pick up the same one -- any combination of the two that equals ten purchases will do!

So here's how you do it:
1.) You talk to your friends / family / mortal  enemies / whoever
2.) You convince them to buy my book or short story (or both)
3.) Have them forward me the e-mail purchase receipt that Amazon sends you after you buy something (I think Smashwords does too. If it doesn't, just let me know), and have them include your name as the person recommending me to their attention. PLEASE DELETE ANY CREDIT CARD INFORMATION ON THE RECEIPT. Send this to onthebird@gmail.com
4.) When someone gets to 10, I'll announce a winner.
5.) You e-mail me at onthebird@gmail.com so I have your address.
6.) I send you the prize!

Get it? Got it? Good. Go to it!

Writer's block

So, does anyone else hit a point in their projects where they go, "Man, this idea totally isn't gonna work at all? How could I have thought this would make a good story? AAAAAAAAAGH!!!1"

I totally hit that point with every project. I hit it with Weaver, I hit it with Antlerbury, and now I've hit it with the new novel. Logically, I know it's bullsh-t most of the time, but convincing my brain of that, man ...

Appendix to yesterday's update

Finally re-formatted The Antlerbury Tales and uploaded it to Smashwords. It's available on the site now, and in theory they'll get around to distributing it to B&N, Apple, etc. at some point soon.

Now it's back to my writer's cave for work on a couple of full-length novels...

Still not king.

But I am the proud author of my newly-published short story, The Antlerbury Tales. It is 5k words, 99 cents, and anyone who is remotely involved with geek culture (i.e., anyone likely to read this blog at all) will LOVE it. It's currently on Amazon.com, as you can see from my widget. Sometime this week I'll re-format it and post it on Smashwords, but for now -- Kindle readers, ahoy!

Also, it's very silent on here -- feel free to leave me messages. I don't bite (usually).

Coming projects

Not really sure what to say about Sept. 11, but I feel like I shouldn't leave it unmentioned.

As far as writing goes, my short story, The Antlerbury Tales, is finished and edited, but it's turning out that there's a bit of bureaucracy involved in actually self-publishing it. But it IS coming, and soon. I'll give you more details when I have them.

Meanwhile, the word count on the next (as yet undisclosed) novel stands at 6,277. Trust me when I say, you'll all love it. Frustratingly, I haven't had that much time to work on it lately due to a.) my day job as a lawyer keeping me busy, and b.) the fact that I've been sick the past few days.

Stay tuned ...

My stories and the food chain

Stephen King (I think) once said that his books were the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries. I'd say mine are more of a McFlurry.

And I'm quite fine with that. :)