What Else Is Going On?
June 27, 2010
I've added a new short story to my collection called 'Under A Molten Sky', a contest entry for the Wil Wheaton/John Scalzi Fan Fiction Contest to Benefit the Lupus Alliance of America. You can read the whole thing here. The contest winners won't be announced until the end of the summer, but whether or not I win, I still enjoyed writing it.
I am currently preparing for the 2010 PNWA Conference in Seattle where I will not only be attending, but moderating a session as well. Should be lots of fun, if not a little nerve-racking. My other preparation includes preparing my pitch for my agent and editor meetings, and reviewing 'The Forgotten Road'. I will also be working with Book Doctor Jason Black to do a final edit on TFR so I can, pardon the pun, close the book on that one, and decide where to go with that series. The series itself is on hold pending this edit, and pending the completion of some other work.
The biggest news is that my latest novel, with a working title of 'The Unexplored Territory', is going really well, and should be first draft complete by the end of the summer. I know this will sound self serving, but I absolutely love this story, and it just keeps coming. I can't wait to put it in front of people and see their reaction.
January 2, 2010
It seems to be a tradition for me to wrap up an edit on a book on the last day of December. I recently put the finishing touches on 'Nowhere Home', the revised version is shortened to just 67,600 words. The original 'Nowhere Home' was 139,000 words, but it has been sliced and diced into 'The Forgotten Road' and the new version of 'Nowhere Home'. It still feels a little light to me, but the story ended well where it did, and before I try and bulk it up, I'll let me reviewers tell me if it needs something more.
I'm already plotting out the third book in the series, but haven't quite gotten enough together yet to know where it's going. It could be the last book in the series, but we'll see. I plan to spend the next couple of weeks workin on the outline / synopsis, and letting the story stew in my brain a while. I've also got a reading stack two feet high to dig into, and a lot of technical reading for my job to get through as well. Don't worry, I'm not stopping writing, I just want to make sure I have a better plan for the next book, so I don't have to spend a year editing.
My real focus will be trying to find an agent in the first half of 2010. If you are an agent, and are reading this, please contact me. If you know an agent, please send them a link to my site.
November 6th, 2009
As promised, the latest edition of The Forgotten Road has been sent to the printers, and you can now read the first two chapters here. I'm already digging back into to Nowhere Home and will begin reworking it soon.
November 5th, 2009
" I will be wrapping the latest revision of The Forgotten Road (formally known as Nowhere Home) within the next few days, and sending it to the printers, for a draft print. I broke Nowhere Home into two books at the suggestion of various literary agents. It was 139000 words when I started. The Forgotten Road is now 83,000 words, and I expect Nowhere Home to come in around the same length when I finish it.
I completely rewrote over 30,000 words of The Forgotten Road to give it an ending that I think is quite exciting, and while Nowhere Home will continue the story, The Forgotten Road stands on its own. I'm hoping that even those who read the original Nowehere Home, will want to read this new version. It's tighter and faster, and I hope even more enjoyable to read.
July 26th, 2009
My latest version of Chapter 1 of Nowhere Home is now available. I've wrapped up the edit on the rest of the book as well, and although I know there will always be more edits until it is sold, I think it's as ready as I can make it, right now.
I'm really looking forward to the PNWA conference in SeaTac this week, and the opportunity to meet writers, agents and editors. I don't know quite what to expect. I've prepared as best I can, and now it's just a matter of finding someone looking to make a deal for what I think is a pretty good book.
I've also launched a series of blog entries on DevScape about my most recent technical project for work, the Microsoft Demo Showcase product. I'm using the opportunity to write while I'm at work, something I don't usually get to do, but am trying to make it part of my daily routine. Writing is writing. My blog is read by dozens of people every day, and the numbers have been steadily growing. I hope that by the time this series is complete to have been picked up by one of the large technical blog aggregators, and will draw hundreds of daily readers, all the more incentive to keep writing.
July 14th, 2009
I've uploaded a new version of the first chapter of Nowhere Home, making some changes from feedback I received from my submission to the Pacific Northwest Writers Association writing contest. I really like this new version, and am working my way through the rest of the book, applying those lessons.
Editing is so much harder than writing in the first place, but now that I've been away from the book for a few months, it's actually rewarding to make changes to sections that bothered me when I wrote them. In the software world, we call this 'code smell'. You look at your work, find the section that just doesn't smell right, fix it, then find the next smelliest section. Everything gets a little tighter, and a little easier to read, and I learn to like the story even more.
I'll be attending the PNWA Conference in SeaTac, WA at the end of this month. If you recognize me, please stop and chat. I'd love to hear what you think of my writing.
June 29, 2009
You'll notice a couple of logos at the bottom of the page. This site is built with Microsoft ASP.NET MVC and powered by Microsoft Azure. The site started as a pet project to help me learn ASP.NET MVC, and since I have a lot of experience on Azure, I decided to combine the two. It's possible I'll even write a blog entry about my experiences with both. If you want to see what's going on in my technical world, take a look at my regular technical blog, Devscape.
