So I’ve been chatting on social media this month about The Songweaver’s Vow, sharing tidbits for #WIPjoy. Right now I’m throat-deep in revisions, which is always a challenge but especially so with this book, as I did not write it linearly (start to finish, straight through).
I know a lot of writers who can write out of order. Apparently I am not one of them. These revisions are kicking my butt like… well, like Vikings trashing a fishing town. Continue reading
This isn’t a real release.
Not really. It’s not a big splashy thing and it’s not a full collection of stories. It’s a novella, the next tale about Robin Archer. I’d like to do a whole series of short stories and novellas about Robin, a whole Circles & Crossroads series, and then release them in one set, but that’s not ready yet. But in the meantime, I’d like to share a new one with you, just because people have liked Robin so.
It’s a Halloween tale and takes place in Irvington, an Indianapolis neighborhood boasting the oldest and largest Halloween festival in the country. (I’ll be doing posting about some of the local scene soon.) When children begin to disappear from the festival, Robin and Jimmy offer to help search, and Robin recognizes a crime out of time.
Books traditionally release on Tuesday. But because this isn’t a real release, just a story for Robin fans, it hits virtual shelves on Friday, halfway around the week from Tuesday. That seems an appropriately Fae-like way to do it.
Continue reading
I wanted to share an excerpt from a short story I sold a few months ago. This is taken from near the beginning:
He could not look away, could not move, could not speak . His chest was tight and his lungs constricted, and a distant part of his mind realized he was having a panic attack. Another fragment of rationality told him that was impossible, that he had no pulse to pound in his temples and no breath to catch. He was experiencing only what his subconscious thought he should, patterned by a lifetime of… life, when faced with a salient stimulus from a highly traumatic experience.
He swallowed against the pressure in his throat and drew a deep breath of what he knew wasn’t air. He closed his eyes and exhaled, counting to twenty. Then he opened his eyes again and faced his murderer.
No release date yet for the anthology, but I’ll let you know when I have one! Probably mid to late 2015.
The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Collected Edition cover. Art by Don Rosa. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I’m listening to a comic book soundtrack, and I’m nowhere close to ashamed.
Tuomas Holopainen — you might know him as the founder of symphonic metal wizards Nightwish — has released an album “inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.” And it’s pretty darn good. Continue reading
Just for fun today, here’s a snippet from a suspect interview, from Con Job.
“So you had nothing against her?”
“Well, this is probably stupid to say while her murder’s being investigated, but I can’t honestly say that. She wasn’t a nice person. I’d rather stick a fork in my ear than spend another Thanksgiving with her. But it’s a lot easier for me to just skip Thanksgiving than to kill her.”
So I’m wrapping up Con Job, a murder mystery which takes place at a fan convention which is populated by the usual assortment of fans and guests: cosplayers, actors, writers, trivia nerds, fanfic enthusiasts, photographers, collectors, executives (from a cocky corporation with the ridiculous name of MEGAN!ME) and more. It has a lot of editing yet to go, because drafts are to books as crops and live poultry are to Thanksgiving dinner, but it’s coming along.
In the scene below, three guys are talking show business, and a voice actor drops the name of one of my own favorites, Rob Paulsen. I tweeted, just in case he’d see it, because it really was meant as an honor.
Continue reading
Bonus: you’ll learn to count with kanji in the paperback edition of KITSUNE-MOCHI.
Want a sneak peek? Here’s a glimpse from chapter 3 of Kitsune-Mochi (sequel to Kitsune-Tsuki)…. Continue reading
Today’s Teaser Tuesday comes from the short story, “A Short Walk Home.”
I don’t know why I even reacted; it was just a rustle, probably an opossum or raccoon. But I became newly aware I was beside a corn field, not soybeans, and I couldn’t see a thing in there. Soybeans can hide rabbits; corn can hide axe murderers and zombies.
…I know, I know, my Hoosier roots are showing.
Today’s #TeaserTuesday comes from “Torrent,” a science fiction short story.
Merced… Mercen… What had been the word Captain Trafalgar used?
Do you mean to search for Mercedarians?
She answered in the affirmative.
Continue reading
Another short excerpt for #TeaserTuesday! This one’s from Shard & Shield, which is today’s project anyway.
Ariana sipped at her drink and traced a finger through the condensation on the table, drawing loose geometric designs. Idly she asked, “Did you know some ancient art includes winged men as icons of beauty? Not quite Ryuven, but wings, anyway.”
Continue reading
