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.

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.