January has been a cold car with a half-dead battery. Every once in a while I try to crank it over, but all I get is a few half-hearted groans before the starter just clicks.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that I’m getting a few more groans each time I try. The battery isn’t magically charging but there seems to be a trickle of juice coming from somewhere. I keep trying, hoping that maybe the beast will roar to life with the next turn of the key.
Status
Salt – Book 1 of The Barbarians
My editor has it. It’s a long book and I expect she’ll need some time to get through it. My co-author is working on the cover. The mock-up looks great. Magic 8-Ball says “February looks good.”
Dark Knight Station: Origins
Ebook is out. Paper is coming – eventually. Audio depends on Podium and I don’t have the dates from them yet.
You may not have noticed that the “Course Corrections” signup widget is missing from the sidebar and bottom of the post. I took it out because it didn’t work right. Never did. I set up a new landing page and linked it to the “Newsletter” tab on the menu above. If you’re not already subscribed, but would like to try it, come on in. The water’s fine.
Next Steps
I’m working on the next Ishmael book. It’s something to do with the academy and a new ship – the Marva Collins. Also some new characters. It’s setting the groundwork for a new series – three? four? I don’t know – of books featuring the fearsome foursome.
On deck after that is The Wizard’s Cat. I’m getting a lot of suggestions of how it should go. I’m still cogitating on how this will roll out, but I think you’ll be pleased with the result – even if I don’t take any of the suggestions.
I may have to go back to Finwell Bay for another story about Otto. I didn’t think that I needed to, but I keep being drawn back to the sound of the surf and the slow beating heart of the tides.
Then we’ve got the next volume of The Barbarians. That’s going to take a lot longer because we’re only barely done with book one. We’ve got some mythology and folklore to develop to make the next books work. Stay tuned on this one.
What Am I Reading?
I’ve been getting serious about reading this month. While it may seem counterintuitive, if I’m reading a lot, I’m more likely to be writing a lot. It’s kind of like setting the table with the good china. I’m more likely to cook something nice.
I’ve read a lot of Women’s Paranormal Fiction this month, a ton of space opera, and I’ve just picked up a GameLit title by Dustin Tigner. I know Dustin from an online group and we’ve been teasing him unmercifully for months about “going to write a book” but never doing it. He’s finally done it and he satisfied the first criteria. I got through the sample and hit the Buy Me link at the end.
I hate the title, but it’s funny, quirky, probably appeals more to me as a gamer than a reader. If you’ve wanted an introduction to the GameLit, rpgLit genres, you might grab a sample of Wrong Divinity.
Last Words
It’s still winter here on the High Plains – both literally and figuratively – but I think I’m beginning to smell spring in the air. I’ve written more in the last week than the last three months. I don’t like a lot of it, but they’re the first trickles of new work and it makes me happy that things feel like they’re moving again.
Fingers crossed that it’s not just a January thaw before being plunged back into the icy grip of February. I’m cautiously optimistic.
Until next month, safe voyage.
