Truths, triumphs, and tragedies of an independent writer.
Do you remember what I said last week about meeting other authors at conventions. I served on a couple of panels at Denver Comic Con a few weeks ago with Bryan Young, an up and upcoming writer from the Salt Lake City area. He has creative irons in a number of fires, as you’ll see below, from fiction to film-making to screenplays to editing to journalism.
As so often happens in this line of work, I met Christopher M. Salas at a convention. In this case, the convention was COSINE 2013, a local science fiction convention in Colorado Springs. Christopher Salas writes horror and science fiction from the Colorado Front Range area. He is also a volunteer firefighter, martial artist, and purveyor of comic books. If that doesn’t pique your interest, I dunno what will.
It’s going to be a crazy weekend, as I’ll be appearing at the 2nd Annual Denver Comic Con, to be held at the Denver Convention Center. I’ll be appearing on panels with the likes of Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, Carrie Vaughn, Mario Acevedo, Lee Collins, Daniel Abraham, Stephen Graham Jones, Betsy Dornbusch, Guy Anthony DeMarco, David Boop, Warren Hammond, and others. Friday, 5:00-6:00 pm — Steam and Gears Saturday, 12:00-1:00 pm — Fans vs. Writers Saturday, 2:00-3:00 pm — Creating an Indie Publishing Co-op Saturday, 6:00-7:00 pm — Writing Outside the Lines Sunday, 2:00-3:00 pm — Character Building Sunday,
The winter months are infamous for weight gain, yet, it doesn’t bother us much because it’s easy to let ourselves go and pile on the kilos under layers of clothes. But, come summer and you’re all out looking for ways to shed those extra kilos they have gained. Having excess fat not just makes you look and feel terrible but also increases your risk of serious health conditions such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, certain cancers, etc. Creating and adopting plans designed for healthy eating and physical activity may help improve health and
Work on the next Ronin novel is coming along on schedule. The text is entering the final phases. Within a couple of weeks we’ll have a complete design, inside and out. All the artwork is also finished. I’d like to give you a little taste of that. Here is Alan M. Clark’s awesome cover painting. Here is Drew Baker’s painting. This will appear on the back cover of the hardcover edition. Thanks to the great success of the Kickstarter campaign, this book will also have interior illustrations by Drew Baker. I’m really
Like everyone, I’ve been hearing about digital publishing, e-books, self-publishing, etc., for some years now. This week marks the first that I step into this realm. I’ll be putting out a short story called Legs as a standalone across all e-reader formats, with even a chapbook-style print edition. This is a little scary, because it’s all new territory, and there’s somewhat of a learning curve. Thanks to fellow writer friends jim pinto, Guy Anthony DeMarco, and Quincy J. Allen, who helped grease the tracks on this little train, Legs will be available any minute now across all e-reader formats. I’ll put
I’m excited to be making my first appearance at COSine this weekend. Here’s my schedule. I’m really delighted to be appearing on panels with the likes of Kevin J. Anderson, Connie Willis, S.M. Stirling, Marie DesJardin, Peter Wacks, Guy Anthony DeMarco, David Boop, and Quincy Allen, among others. Looks like it will be a great time, so come and get your con on! FRIDAY 4 – 5pm – “The Future of our Favorite Vices” with Marie DesJardin, S M Stirling, Peter Wacks, Connie Willis SATURDAY 12 – 1pm – “Ebooks, podcasts, and online publishing – the effects of technology on SF
I have some great news to report. The Kickstarter campaign to fund Sword of the Ronin has been successfully funded. Thank you to all the friends, colleagues, podcast listeners, and readers who have backed the project thus far. That’s the good news. Now, the better news. There’s still two weeks to go! Stretch goals are now in place to raise this project to a higher level. I have brought artist Drew Baker onto the project now to produce additional artwork. If you’re familiar with the Legend of the Five Rings universe (a personal favorite of mine since 1996), you’ve likely
For a long time I have been steadfastly against self-publishing my work. I have seen far too many self-published books that look like amateurish crap on the outside, and then when I open them up and read a few pages I find that it is sadly true on the inside, too. As much as writers often resent what we perceive to be the gatekeepers in the way of our dreams, traditional publishers and literary agents do provide a value. They filter much of the good stuff from the chaff, add value to the product with professional editing (at least in
I have been tagged in The Next Big Thing, a series of interconnected interviews where writers talk about their current projects. I have tagged three fellow authors below, and you can follow the links to their web pages, but in the meantime, here is what I have been up to. 1) What is the working title of your next book? Death Wind. 2) Where did the idea come from for the book? It’s the adaptation of a screenplay that I wrote with my friend, Jim Pinto. Jim and I collaborated on a metric ton of roleplaying supplements, so a few
Come one, come all to help me celebrate the month of the release of my new YA horror-thriller, The Wild Boys. The Wild Boys tells the story of 16-year-old girl who finds herself at the forefront of a rash of strange murders in suburban Omaha, and she soon discovers that the disappearances are just the beginning of something far more sinister. Come out and support your favorite starving writer! I have it on good authority from the proprietor of Bean Fosters that there will be someone there giving away free drinks from 10:00-11:00 a.m., so that’s an added bonus! When:
Celebrating the release of my new Young Adult horror-thriller novel, The Wild Boys! Since this is the official launch event, I’ll be doing something special, with details still being worked out. The Wild Boys tells the story of 16-year-old girl who finds herself at the forefront of a rash of strange murders in suburban Omaha, and she soon discovers that the disappearances are just the beginning of something far more sinister. How many novels are set in Omaha? The book has gotten some good initial reviews, and I’m looking forward to seeing my Omaha friends. Come out and support your