Progress is being made.

It’s not big progress. It’s not flashy – like fireworks – yet, but it’s being made

Status

Salt – Book 1 in the Barbarians.
We have a cover. We’re waiting on a content critique from a subject matter expert. It’s in the “coming soon” category, pending that feedback. Note: This is the book I wrote with my daughter. It’s set in the Tanyth Fairport universe, just not where Tanyth lives.

The New Ishmael
I wrapped that file at almost 350,000 words. It’s enough for three books. I think there are three books buried in that pile. I need to spend some Quality Time with it and start pulling out the parts.

The Wizard’s Cat
It’s in the word processor. It’s happening, people. It’s happening!

Audio
Dark Knight Station: Origins dropped on the 29th. Yes, it’s only on Audible. No, I don’t have any control over that.

What Am I Reading?

I finally came to the end of Jerry Boyd’s Bob and Nikki series, but I think it’s the only thing I’ve read since last month. Seventeen of them takes a while. I picked up the latest in Mackey Chandler’s Family Law series and noticed that I’m a little behind. I read the first two volumes some time ago and dove back into the series a few days ago. It’s just as good as I remember.

Family Law follows a young woman (Lee) and her alien friend (Gordan) in adventures in deep space. Along the way they have to deal with The Authorities on multiple planets and pull a family together from across the galaxy. There is some fighting. Some exploring. A lot of fun.

Maybe grab a sample of book 1, Family Law, and see what you think

Last Words

June was a vacation month. Finally coming to the end of the File That Never Ends left me completely drained. I got started on The Wizard’s Cat but put it down and lost myself in Mass Effect Legendary. I’d never played the game before and it took a lot of getting used to compared to my normal game fare. I’m still mostly in the clouds here.

I also haven’t managed to re-establish my walking habit, although I keep trying. The wall calendar has a lot of red on it, but also a lot of green. I’m certain there’s a balance there. Somewhere.

I just need to find it.

Safe voyage.

When I look back, last month was pretty much all writing. My walking didn’t happen except for a few scattered instances. That problem needs to be resolved this month.

I wrote every day last month except for the one day I took off last week.

Status

Salt is still hanging fire. Neither of us could get it together to finish the cover or the edits. It’s one of those tasks that just seemed to get put off day after day.

The New Ishmael
The bad news is that I still haven’t found the end. The good news is that I’ve found the story. Yes, this is definitely more than one book. At 250k words already, I’m relatively certain it’s going to be three before I’m done.

The Wizard’s Cat is on deck and mewing for attention.

Audio

The Wizard’s Butler dropped. I’ve swapped the covers to use the Podium artwork.

Dark Knight Station: Origins should release on 6/29. Look for the pre-order mid month. Podium shared their version of the cover and it’s pretty spiffy. I may adopt it the way I did for the last book.

What Am I Reading?

The stand out read of the last few days has been book three of James Beamon’s Pendulum Heroes series – The Pendulum War.

I’ve talked about this series before and the newest volume reminded me just how much I enjoyed the first two and Beamon’s ability to spin a tale. It continues the story of four guys caught in a game and learning that, sometimes, winning isn’t everything. The stand out feature in this volume has been the character growth for each member of the ensemble cast. James has woven a terrific tale.

I’ve linked the first book of the series Pendulum Heroes. Maybe grab a sample and see what you think.

[Transparency: James and I both serve on the board of directors for SFWA. I’m not getting anything for promoting this book beyond the knowledge that I’ve shared a good book with you.]

Last Words

April was as much of a struggle as March, but I’m feeling better about May. My ADHD is still kicking my butt, although I’ve made progress on rebuilding the cage around it. Ishmael’s adventure has some form now. I’ve redone the alarms on my phone to help me stay in the moment and focused on what’s really important instead of what’s shiny. I’m fully vaccinated and the rest of the household should be within the next couple of weeks.

In short, I’m doing better and looking forward to what may be a more productive month.

Safe Voyage.

I spent the month writing and not walking. I need to do both but since I couldn’t seem to to that, I wrote.

I got my second shot, spent a couple of days just contemplating my navel. I missed one day’s writing in there. I just couldn’t seem to focus. It was like I was asleep with my eyes open and sitting up. I’m not sure if it was the vaccine doing its thing or exhaustion from the snowpocalypse.

Status

Salt – book 1 of the Barbarians – should be out in the next couple of weeks. The artist is putting the final touches on the cover and I’m only a couple of days away from finishing the edits. Note: This is the book I co-wrote with my daughter and I’m looking forward to having everybody read it.

New Ishmael.
I don’t know what the heck is going on with this. It’s the story that won’t end. I’m pretty well convinced that I’m writing more than one book under this working title but I can’t tell. I’m just pushing to get new words put in it every day and trusting that my vision for the story will clear up once I can see it in its entirety.

The Wizard’s Cat is still on the list. I’ll be ready for it by the time I get done wrestling with Ishmael and company.

Audio

The audio coming from Podium is The Wizard’s Butler. It’s up for preorder now. Release date is April 20. Last month I said it was Dark Knight Station. I claim brain cloud.

What Am I Reading?

I found a new author this month and I’m intrigued. The generation ship genre isn’t my normal fare, but I got pulled into the universe and I’m enjoying the stay.

I can’t tell you too much about the story without spoilering it, but good characters in bad situations. The story is a ship captain whose primary selection qualification not her license. In spite of that – or perhaps because of it – she’s a great character faced with terrible choices.

The book is Exodus by T. S. Valmond.

Maybe grab a sample and see what you think. I’ll be going to the second book as soon as I finish the series I’m almost done with now. 🙂

Last Words

March was a struggle, but I’ve made some progress. In April I need to follow up with getting back on the sidewalk, getting Salt out, and finding the end to the story that never ends. (There is an end. I just haven’t found it yet.)

On the upside, I’m fully vaccinated. My spousal unit will be soon. My kids will be eligible in a couple of weeks. There might be a light at the end of the tunnel after all.

It’s still going to be awhile before I go out without my shemagh. 😀

Safe voyage.