This is where you’ll find information and updates about my latest projects, publishing status, and appearances (for when I become famous!).
—————————————————————————————————————-
September 5, 2022: Exciting news, maybe, if you don’t mind a step back before I step forward. I’ve been working on a book trailer for the last few months. It’s always been something that’s been in my head but I never thought it would be possible for me to do. Sure, it’s not necessarily going to generate sales but I didn’t break the bank doing it. And it was a lot of fun to do. I have a lot of creative sides which you can see from several of the tabs on this website but this was the first time I ventured into video production. With a script that I wrote and a talented voice actor and comedian, Charlie Hopkinson, I was able to bring my vision for the trailer to life. It turned out a little long (three and a half minutes!) which is nearly twice as long as any book trailer should be but I think it is very captivating and entertaining and I hope that those who watch it think so, too.
April 7, 2022: Well, it took way longer than expected but now when you buy Eden M51 you will automatically get the deluxe version that includes the short story “Toward an End Known.” I did increase the price by $1 so technically it all balances out anyway.
January 28, 2022: So I’ve been thinking about this more and more lately. Maybe it’s just second-guessing myself as a result of the SPSFC contest I entered back in July. But I am thinking about updating Eden M51 to include the short story “Toward an End Known.” I realized that many people who read Eden M51 may not read the companion short story yet it is integral to the plot and provides a new perspective to the story as well as new scenes and insights from several main characters. So, in the next few weeks I am going to make this happen. I’ll keep you posted.
December 29, 2021: We are almost ready to usher out 2021 and enter a new year. I take these first few steps confidently, with a newfound determination coupled with wide-eyed innocence. Surely 2022 has to be a better year, right? Right? Anyway, I am fully motivated to continue my writing journey. “The God Gate” now sits at over 100,000 words (approximately 70% complete). Slowly, I turn, step by step, ever closer to the finish line.
November 8, 2021: So it’s official. Eden M51 is a quarter-finalist in the SPSFC! You can see it for yourself at the Big Bearded Nerd’s blog (http://bigbeardednerd.com/blog/). So what does this mean? First, it means that Eden M51 is one of 10 quarterfinalists that will get a full read through by Team Space Lasagna. In late January, semifinalists will be announced (only the top 3 get selected and move on to the other judging teams). The competition only gets tougher but I am riding this buzz for the moment at least.
September 10, 2021: So it bears mentioning that I have once again thrown Eden M51 in the ring (or perhaps to the wolves) a few weeks ago. I happened across a post by author Mark Lawrence about the self-published fantasy book competition and its (newly established) sister contest the self-published science fiction competition, SPSFC, (organized by authors Hugh Howey and Duncan Swan). It just so happened that the competition was nearly ready to accept entries. It would be fun, right? To see how I stacked up against similarly struggling-for-attention writers? Well, then just call me a masochist because it is fun. And this is why writers publish works in the first place, to have people read them and discuss them and critique them. The competition parcels out 300 submissions to 10 teams of judges. In the first phase, each team reads 10-20% of the books and down-selects them to 10 for a full read through. For phase two, the top 3 from each team go forward to all the teams for review. That gets whittled down to 10 finalists and ultimately one winner. The whole process will take about a year but hey, I’m not going anywhere.
So, after a little bit of digging I was able to find out the names of the 10 judging teams and I have been allocated to Team Space Lasagna. Personally, after looking at the genres that the team likes I feel that I am in the best team for my novel. Also, I really like lasagna! But eating preferences aside, it’s not that simple. There are a lot of other good books in my grouping by a lot of creative and talented writers, so time will tell if I make it through to the second phase. In the meantime, I have more writing to do.
August 22, 2021: Whoa. An entire year has slipped by. That is just crazy. Well, regarding the sequel to Eden M51, there is good news and there is bad news. The good news is that I have finally worked out all the remaining plot details and at the current moment I have 14 more chapters to write. The bad news is that I have 14 more chapters to write.
August 7, 2020: I finished the side story. It came out to be much longer than I anticipated, over 18,000 words, but it has tremendously helped me flesh out the culture, religion, and backstory of the new world I’ve created. “The God Gate” (or TGG) is now sitting at over 90,000 words but I still have a long way to go. It is hard to estimate accurately, but I think I have about 40-45,000 words to go before it will be complete. I’ve figured out most of the story arcs with just a few details still to work out.
May 5, 2020: Working in the midst of a global pandemic creates new obstacles, not the least of which is just staying focused. Being able to agilely adapt to this new environment has been challenging, but I can at least say that I have managed to find more time for writing. In the last month I have added over 5,000 words to my novel. If I can keep up the pace the first draft will be complete within a year. With social distancing, no sports, and working from home, I have no excuses. I’ll update this site in another month or so just to see what additional progress I’ve made.
March 16, 2020: Coronavirus hits! Not me personally but it is having a huge worldwide impact. With the emphasis on social distancing maybe (just maybe) I will have more opportunities to write. Just started on Chapter 14. Sequel currently sits at about 80,000 words. Plus, in order to help me develop the culture and characters of the “new” world that is discovered, I began writing a side story that will eventually be included at the end of the book. That side story has been an extremely useful exercise and has given me a lot of momentum to take forward although it’s turning out to be longer than I anticipated (so far it’s around 10,000 words).
August 30, 2019: The sequel is at 75,000 words so far. A story is never done until it’s done, but my best guess is that it will take about 50,000-60,000 more to finish.
May 3, 2019: Plugging away on the next novel. Though pretty soon I may hit a wall. I am going to have to make major plot decisions soon.
April 13, 2019: At long last, my short story “Laster” is now published…and it is free! It was a lot of fun pulling out my old brushes and paints and doing the cover artwork myself. Hopefully people like it; it’s a wicked little story. Also, I have been very hard at work on the sequel to M51. Finished a couple more chapters. I am very close to the halfway mark.
November 12, 2018: You know you are getting older when your childhood icons start passing away. This day marks the passing of Stan Lee whose superhero characters had a profound impact on me growing up. Sure, works of Science Fiction and Fantasy by Tolkien, Bradbury, Zelazny, Piers Anthony, Clarke, and Heinlein shaped my love for the genre but that only came later in my teens. As a kid, I collected comic books. Hundreds of them. Some are still boxed in my attic (none of them are worth much, I’m afraid; I already checked!). In those days you were either in the DC camp or the Marvel camp, and I was firmly entrenched in the Marvel universe, and the heroes that Stan Lee created were the best of the best. Just as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were to the tech industry, Lee was to the comic industry. Hard to believe that many of the characters he created over 50 years ago still have incredible appeal to the masses.
March 5, 2018: Lots of things going on. Some sad, some glad, since I last updated this site. My family and I had to make the very difficult and emotional decision of putting our Golden Retriever down this past Fall. He was nearly fourteen and suffering from cancer. It left a big hole in our hearts, though. We didn’t even realize how his happy go-lucky personality infected us and lifted us up when we needed it. (Goodbye, Chester, we’ll always remember you.)
It was only a couple weeks later that we decided we really wanted to have another Golden around the house. So we contacted a breeder and after a few months of anxiously waiting, this weekend we ushered our new bundle of joy into our house: Bunsen.
In other news, the results of the scriptwriting contest I entered (and have been patiently waiting six months for) came out and have been a little disappointing for me. I’ll give my script another once-over and give it another go in a different contest but after that I’ll have to devote my resources to other things.
On the writing front, I recently completed chapter six on the sequel to “Eden M51.” Still a long way to go but for some reason I had gotten somewhat stalled at that point. It’s been difficult finding a consistent block of time to write given all the other work and life distractions, but I think there are some good writing opportunities coming in the near future and I’ll continue to stay focused on the story.
September 14, 2017: Ah, back to doing more sailing T-shirt designs. That, and I have to decided I will make my short story “Laster” available for free on Amazon and other e-book sites but that means I have to come up with a decent cover treatment for it. And, of course, I am hoping to do it myself. The only obstacle I have is finding time.
I have been doing some writing, though, both on the sequel to “Eden M51” and the sequel to “Peacemaker of Purgog.” But I am quickly getting to the point on both stories where I will need to make major plot decisions. I need a good bit of uninterrupted time to puzzle out and plan out the plot details. Once I cross that threshold the writing will come much more easily.
July 31, 2017: I did it. 120 pages. And I think I did it while still maintaining the integrity of the novel as it was meant to be. I had to remove some character details that I believe added depth to several main characters, but if the script ever gets optioned and produced, some of these details could easily be added as visual cues.
As a result of this exercise, I have gained newfound respect whenever I see the phrase “Adapted from the novel by…” It was much more difficult than I ever imagined it would be. Challenging and painful, yet satisfying to have actually done it. And in fact, I have already submitted it to a scriptwriting contest. Now perhaps the most painful part is the 6 month waiting period to see if it gets recognized.
In the meantime, it is time that I get back to my previous writing projects. Time to move them forward again.
June 13, 2017: Progress on script writing. Okay, this is where the rubber meets the road. I am on the 8th draft. I have cut and cut to the point where I physically wince when I hit the delete button. It is that painful! I am down to 140 pages. Just 20 more to go. It doesn’t seem like much, but it’s another 15% out of the story that has already been pared down to its bare bones.
April 20, 2017: Can I just say that I love Pope Francis? Aside from being an all-around cool guy, he is a true “pope for the people.” He actually cares about people and practices what he preaches. But what I really like about him is that he recently made the following comments:
“When we read about creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so,” Francis said. “He created human beings and let them develop according to the internal laws that he gave to each one so they would reach their fulfillment.”
And:
“God is not… a magician, but the Creator who brought everything to life,” Francis said. “Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve.”
It’s like he read my book. Seriously, how cool would that be?
March 28, 2017: Progress on script writing so far. First draft was 450 pages. After the third draft I am down to 300 pages. I’ve cut out characters, deleted chapters, trimmed dialogue. Still a lot of slicing and dicing if I want to get this down to 120 pages.
February 11, 2017: Wow. It has been a long time since I have posted an update. I recently finished the first draft of converting “Eden M51” into a script. It came out to be 450 pages. Way too long. A script has to be between 110 and 120 pages. That means I’m going to have to cut about 75% out of the writing while still maintaining the most important concepts and keeping the general flow of the story. I now have a newfound respect for scriptwriters who are tasked with turning existing novels into movies.
July 29, 2016: I don’t know if I’m having focus issues or what. I was working most recently on the sequel to “The Peacemaker of Purgog.” But I seem to enjoy challenges. I’ve begun trying to turn “Eden M51” into a movie script. I have to say it’s quite a labor intensive process. There’s a lot of formatting and if the first few chapters on any indication, I’m going to have to pare down the story to get it to fit to a standard feature length (120 pages)…a lot! This is going to be a challenge. Did I mention I like challenges?
May 22, 2016: The short story will be called “Laster.” It is complete at around 7,500 words, give or take a few, and I’m mostly done with the editing. Hopefully I can find a sci-fi magazine willing to publish it. Just saw Captain America (Civil War) last week. That was awesome! One of the most well done superhero movies I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a bunch!). Marvel seems to have found the winning recipe, mixing in the right amounts of plot, action, snappy dialogue, and real dialogue to give the characters a human touch. Keep ’em coming, Marvel.
May 1, 2016: Still working on my short story. It is about 7,000 words at the moment and still growing. There are only four more scenes I need to finish before I can start editing and tightening up the writing. But I’m happy with how it’s developing. I feel like I can’t move on to “The God Gate” until I finish. Hopefully just another month or two. Sorry if there are those who are waiting for more updates on the sequel to “Eden M51.” They will be coming soon, I promise.
February 20, 2016: Just returned from a business trip. Managed to add a couple thousand more words to the novel and finished chapter 4 while I was on the plane. I also came up with a short story idea, unrelated to anything else I’ve been working on, and started to jot down my notes.
February 9, 2016: Relaxing couple of hours working on the sequel to “Eden M51.” I’ve got a long way to go but I’m excited to see where it takes me. I feel like I’m starting to get my writing groove back. In fact, I think maybe it’s time to reveal the title. I’ve been going back and forth over two different, but similar titles. So here goes: “The God Gate.” (Hopefully that wasn’t too anti-climactic.)
February 7, 2016: Hanging at home watching the Super Bowl. Great defensive game. The only downside is once the game is over I’ll have to wait another seven months for football season. In other news, I’ve been writing when I can. And I just entered “Eden M51” in a writing contest on Inkshares, a crowdfunding publishing house. The top five books will receive editing/publishing services from Inkshares. But the contest is based on people voting and ordering the book, so if you are reading this, please head over to their website (www.inkshares.com/contests) and order.
January 3, 2016: New year, new resolution: find time to write! Between holidays and viruses, it’s been hard to get into a rhythm to write. Every time I can scrape together a few minutes I need to re-read the chapter I’m working on to remind myself where I left off. No more. I’m going to start forcing myself to spend at least 30 minutes a day writing.
November 17, 2015: Wow. Didn’t realize I was neglecting updating this section. Trying to write. Life gets in the way. So does work. But I managed to write a couple thousand more words. Working on chapters 4 and 5. I’m still happy with how it’s shaping up. In football news, it was a thrilling game between the Giants and the Patriots. Even though my team lost in the final seconds, it was more competitive than I ever expected it to be. Maybe it’ll provide the same emotional lift to the team that it did in 2007. I can hope.
October 7, 2015: Recovering from head cold. Logos are done and one is uploaded into the art section. I’ve also been busy researching agents and agencies.
September 28, 2015: Third logo nearly 100% finished. But I’ll tell you what is finished: editing “The Peacemaker of Purgog.” Now I’m currently formatting the manuscript for print and e-book versions. I also need to revise my query letter and do the research to find out whether an agent is willing to take it. It’s an exciting moment. There is always a little bit of a thrill when I complete a project and fish it out there. Will there be any nibbles? Time will tell.
September 23, 2015: Two down and halfway through the third logo. And I’m inching my way through my editing.
September 14, 2015: Scratch that. Make it three logos! I got one done and halfway through the second. In the meantime, I put up samples of some of my artwork under the ‘gp artwork’ tab. In other news: “Damn you, NY Giants! You allowed me to dare to hope. You had the Cowboys on the verge of collapse in their own stadium and you gave it to them.” If they continue to make bone-headed decisions like that it’s going to be a long season. On the positive side, if that happens I might get more writing done since I won’t be glued to the TV every Sunday.
September 11, 2015: Hit a roadblock in my editing. I was asked to design a logo for my daughter’s team. That’s going to derail my schedule for a few weeks. And then I thought, hey, I should post some of my artwork here for the fun of it. So come back and look for it soon.
August 28, 2015: It’s been a long while since I posted any news. I’ve just started the second round of editing of “The Peacemaker of Purgog” and I’m really pleased with how the story came together and the overall voice. It shouldn’t be long now.
July 10, 2015: Just posted a writing sample of “The Peacemaker of Purgog,” the first in a series for middle-grade readers. You can access the sample through the link in the ‘gp books’ section.
June 30, 2015: Editing, editing, editing. Beware 2015! The frogs are coming.
June 3, 2015: Writing, writing, writing. Chapter 3 is done.
May 14, 2015: Two thousand more words and chapter 3 is nearly done. I’ll probably start to switch back to “The Peacemaker of Purgog” and start editing/rewriting. As it’s a shorter length novel, it shouldn’t take as long and I’d like to get another title out there.
April 26, 2015: I’ve been working hard on the sequel to “Eden M51.” Got about another couple thousand words done and chapter 2 is nearly completed. I’m still waiting for some feedback from my beta-readers on “The Peacemaker of Purgog.” So far, the preliminary comments I’ve gotten from a couple people are “I want more! When’s the next one coming out?” Well, that could be awhile, I’m afraid. Too many stories to write, not enough time. But I’ve been getting into a good rhythm lately so that’s a good thing.
April 8, 2015: The manuscript is done! Not kidding this time. I’ve sent it out to a few of my beta-readers, but in the meantime, while I wait for them to finish it I will start to go through and edit myself. In the near future I will post a writing sample of “The Peacemaker of Purgog: Book 1 of The Accidental Diplomat” under the GP Books tab. Plus, I will go back to the M51 sequel and see if I can revise chapter 1 and finish chapter 2. I sort of figured out the spike in my web hits. Apparently some site has linked to one of the graphics on my website. Not sure why or which one, but it explains why I’m getting hundreds of hits that last ten seconds or less.
April 1, 2015: The manuscript is done! Just kidding. But I did finish the song. That leaves only the final chapter.
March 28, 2015: I’ve recently had a big surge in web hits lately. Not sure why exactly. They haven’t translated into any new sales or reviews, so I’m curious where the buzz is coming from. Hopefully that will change, though. I’ve set up a new KDP Promo for the first weekend in April. My last one was in January. As for updates on writing, I am now officially at 90% of “The Accidental Diplomat.” I have just one more chapter and one more song (*groan*) to go and then I can start the true editing phase. Before I start that, though, I will shift back to working on the “Eden M51” sequel. I posted Chapter 1 awhile ago (you can find it in the ‘gp books’ link. But I’d like to try to finish Chapter 2.
March 22, 2015: First international giveaway went to Brazil! Congratulations to the winner. In the meantime, I’m almost 90% done with the manuscript of “The Accidental Diplomat.” And although I haven’t updated any progress to the sequel to “Eden M51,” I have been busy doing research on supernovae, particle accelerators, plasma acceleration, gamma ray bursts, dark energy, binary star systems, and lots of other cool stuff so that I can understand the science and the physics as I try to incorporate these concepts into the novel.
March 4, 2015: Getting back on track. I’ve been working on “The Accidental Diplomat.” Also, just eleven more days left for my first international giveaway on GoodReads.
February 12, 2015: Not happy. I have been swamped with work and have not had time to write anything! To add insult to injury, I am being forced to move offices which will only complicate my life. Why must work always get in the way? *sigh*
February 3, 2015: Happy day. Chapter One of the “Eden M51” sequel is available on a link at the bottom of the ‘gp books’ section.
February 2, 2015: I was hoping to get some writing done during the Super Bowl since I wasn’t necessarily cheering for either team, but instead I got caught up in the game. It was one of the best Super Bowls I’ve seen, except for Super Bowl 46 (Giants vs. Patriots) but that’s because I’m a Giants fan and the Patriots had been undefeated that season. Still, this game had everything: great defense, multiple lead changes, a tie at half-time, many unexpected players stepping it up. In a way, it was like a great book that you can’t put down, and even when you thought you knew how it was going to end – BAM! In comes the final plot twist. I would have preferred if the other guys had won, but it was still a great game.
January 24, 2015: I apologize for those people who have checked back for updated news on writing progress. Unfortunately, I have been busy, and will be for the next week, working on a number of essays for professional interest. However, I am VERY close to finishing the first chapter for the “Eden M51” sequel and when I do, I will post it. (Just waiting to get some feedback from some of my personal beta readers.)
January 12, 2015: Got to do something I haven’t been able to do in six months, play one of my still-under-development games with my kids. I tweaked the rules a little which helped move the game along, but there were still issues with the playability of the game. I had a flash of insight into a change that could make it better. Now I’ll just have to test it again. Even though it could be anywhere from years to never before it’s ready, maybe I’ll update my ‘gp games’ section of my website for the fun of it.
January 9, 2015: Finally had a chance to make some progress. Updated the status in “gp books” section. I decided to run an international giveaway on GoodReads. I hope it will attract new readers to my writing.
January 4, 2015: About 2,000 more words split between two books. Handwritten, though. I still have to type them up. Holidays were crazy as usual, but now I will get myself back on track. (But still hopefully watch some NFL playoff games.)
December 28, 2014: Over 50 countries have been to my site. But most people are probably mostly interested to know if I’m still writing. Well, I did make some progress yesterday and hope to get more over the next few days.
December 22, 2014: I haven’t updated any news lately. Probably because I haven’t had a chance to do much writing. Been busy shopping, wrapping, visiting family, and wrapping some more. And I anticipate more shopping over the next two days. Bah-humbug.
December 8, 2014: I’m at a point now where there are certain scenes I can no longer procrastinate. There are several reasons why I may do this. First, I may still be undecided about the flow of the scene. Second, I may know that I want the scene to go from A to B, but I am struggling with the character dialogue to get it there. Third, and I find this to be the case more in SF&F than any other genre, I need to write a rhyme or song. I have never been particular good at lyrics or poetry. The only poetry I’ve ever had any success with is the Haiku (traditional 5-7-5 syllable format), but that’s not going to help me in my current predicament. Am I just fretting over something that does not add any significant depth to the story? I don’t know. But I summed up my feelings in the following haiku.
Important or not?
Does it add to the story?
Struggling with verse.
December 4, 2014: The Holidays are really wreaking havoc on my productivity. Must. Write. More.
November 30, 2014: N.Y. Giants. How low can you go?
November 24, 2014: I will be running a KDP giveaway in the Amazon Kindle Store on November 26th and over the weekend on November 29th and 30th. Be sure to download your copy of “Eden M51” for free.
November 24, 2014: Oh, N.Y. Giants, how you disappoint me. I stayed up to midnight just to watch them leading through most of the game and then lose in the final few minutes. And against Dallas of all teams. *sigh* This is just one of those rebuilding years, I guess.
November 22, 2014: Oh, Brazil, I love you! For four months straight I have had way more website hits from Brazil than from the U.S. How is this happening? I don’t know, but I’m going to have to return some of this love. Maybe a GoodReads giveaway of a signed copy of Eden M51? The only problem is that GoodReads selects the winner, but still, I have to do something. Also, since I last reported this in July, I have now had hits from 45 different countries. Onesies and twosies as you might expect, but impressive nonetheless, to me anyway. Still working diligently on writing. The Accidental Diplomat is getting the most attention as it’s closest to being finished, but I do want to get the first chapter to the Eden M51 sequel up for everyone.
November 13, 2014: Whew! I came close to making my goal of 10,000 words last week. Only made it to just under 8,000 but that was a lot of work. I updated my progress on both stories I’m writing under the ‘gp books’ page. Even though the “Eden M51” sequel has over 25,000 words now, I still haven’t completely finished the first chapter! I keep skipping around throughout the book developing the plot in other areas. I guess that’s just how I tend to write. When the first chapter is finished, though, I will post it here on my website, kind of like a teaser. From that one chapter you’ll really get a sense of how the Myng’h world has changed and the tone of the novel.
November 1, 2014: Been working on the “Eden M51” sequel. I am very happy with how it’s evolving. When I get the first chapter completed I will post it on this site. I’ve got a business trip coming up which usually means additional free time for writing, so I’ve got plans to make some good progress this week! Oh, and “Eden M51” will be available for free download on November 2nd.
October 18, 2014: Running a KDP promo this weekend.
October 8, 2014: Hit 30,000 words on The Accidental Diplomat. More than halfway done and it’s really coming along now. In other interesting news, to me anyway, my website has reached 40 different countries around the world so far. Wow. Real cool.
September 15, 2014: Well, that was fun. My website was down a few days and I lost a couple of my posts due to a corrupt file, but no worries. Here’s the latest. I just finished my first GoodReads giveaway. Plus, I’ve been working on writing, bouncing between two stories.
August 21, 2014: Personal life kept me busy for the last few days but I’m writing as often as I can. I keep a little memo pad so I can jot down bits of dialogue and plot ideas as they come to me. A key aspect I need to figure out for the sequel to “Eden M51” is the geological formation of the planet and for that I rely on my friend, Bryan, to make sure I get all my astrophysics details correct (or at least conceivably correct).
August 08, 2014: 9,000 words on “Eden M51” sequel. Certain plot details are coming to me, but I don’t want to reveal them yet (too early and things could change as novel develops). Again, a note on web hits, if I ever have the opportunity to do an international book tour Brazil will be my first stop!
July 24, 2014: Five thousand words and counting on “Eden M51” sequel. Still a lot of plot-lines to figure out, but otherwise things are rolling. Got to get moving on the other story though. Also, planning to do a little advertising campaign for “Eden M51” for the first week of August. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that it gives me a good boost. Meanwhile, though, I’ve been getting some favorable reviews, so thank you to all those responsible. It gives me the inspiration to keep writing. What truly fascinates me as well is that I’ve had people from over 20 countries visit my website so far. Wow. (Who are all these people in Brazil???)
July 12, 2014: Personal life and work life both busy, so no progress on “The Accidental Diplomat.” However, some ideas have been coming to me for the sequel to “Eden M51” so I’ll be working on characters and plot for that in conjunction with the other.
June 29,2014: Had a few sales and hits to the website. Hope this means that people have been enjoying my work. Recently I joined a couple of GoodReads book groups and I’ve had some fun commenting on the different posts and talking to different authors and readers. Also found some very useful posts and gotten some good bits of advice. I’m hoping to put up a teaser image for the novella I’m working on very soon, and I may add a new page to the site (Morgan Freeman rant) as well.
June 16, 2014: Running a KDP promotion today and tomorrow for “Eden M51” and so far, so good. I’m still working on the YA novella series “The Accidental Diplomat.” I’d estimate the manuscript to be about 40% complete.
May 26, 2014: I’ve been incognito for awhile. Came back from vacation and now I’m ready to keep plugging away. Got a good bit of writing done in the last few weeks. I’d guess that I’m about 33% done with the first draft, but I’m about to get bogged down with special events in my personal life, so don’t expect much progress to get posted here until July. I had a fairly successful KDP weekend a few weeks back. Hope all the people who downloaded it will provide me with some kind of feedback on Amazon or wherever. Some people have left comments and I think I may need to add into my book description that the story has strong metaphysical elements. Several people downloaded the book but weren’t expecting, or wanting, that type of sci-fi sub-genre.
May 09, 2014: It’s been awhile since I posted anything. I’m recently coming off a KDP giveaway weekend and I’m pleased with the results. I hope some of the good folks who downloaded “Eden M51” enjoy it and post me some reviews or ratings. This is the first post where I am giving a status update on the YA fantasy I’m working on. It will be called “The Peacemaker of P’urgog, Book One of The Accidental Diplomat” and I’m about 25% done with the first draft. Still a long way to go, but at least progress is being made. More news to come soon (I hope).
April 14, 2014: Well, the results are in…and the good news is, “Eden M51” is back up for sale. Okay, so I didn’t win. Now I’m just more determined to get back to finishing more books, so be sure to check back often for up-to-date updates on my progress.
March 30, 2014: Print version of “Toward an End Known” went live on CreateSpace. Should be available on Amazon within a day or two.
March 18, 2014: ABNA status…”Eden M51″ made it through the PITCH round. Next ABNA update will be April 14.
February 28, 2014: “Toward an End Known” will soon be available in print on Amazon. Just have to finish the cover and spine. In other news, judging of ABNA 2014 submissions will begin soon.
February 15, 2014: Well, I made it. After two full passes, I managed to get the word count under the limit. Tomorrow the contest opens and I’ll submit it. Wish me luck.
January 19, 2014: Ugh. Had the flu all weekend. Looks like I should end up with over 900 downloads. In other news, Amazon announced their breakthrough novel award. My plan is to submit “Eden M51” but there’s only one problem. A new stipulation to the contest has been making a maximum word count (125,000). That means I’ll have to trim 9,000 words (about 18 pages) and I have just under a month to do it.
January 18, 2014: Kindle Select Free promotion is in full swing. Over 600 downloads so far. There’s only one problem. I just discovered that the formatting in the download file somehow got corrupted. I am working furiously to fix it, but it’s going to take hours. Essentially, some error code got attached to the beginning of nearly every paragraph and I have to manually delete it. I will be running another promotion over February 1-2, so if you are one of those affected, please try downloading again on those dates. I’m sorry for the inconvenience. If you want, you can try friending me over at GoodReads and I’ll work something out to get you a pristine copy.
December 30, 2013: Okay, the after-Christmas promotion didn’t happen. Blame me for not reading the fine print in Amazon’s new promotion rules. So, to make amends, the free promotion will now take place from January 17-19.
December 13, 2013: Print version of “Eden M51” is available now on Amazon. Next KDP Select free download of the Kindle version of “Eden M51” will be on the weekend after Christmas.
November 25, 2013: Next promotional period on Amazon will be over Thanksgiving weekend. Hopefully, lots of book shoppers will be on-line checking Amazon’s Countdown Deals. Also, a print version of “Eden M51” will be available soon on Amazon’s CreateSpace. Stay tuned.
October 28, 2013: Just got my first one star review. Ouch. That stung. I guess I wouldn’t mind so much except that the reviewer didn’t seem to get the underlying message. Well, maybe the other 373 people will like it.
October 26, 2013: Well, 374 people have downloaded “Eden M51.” Hopefully, if any of you well-discerning readers are visiting this page, please consider leaving me a review on Amazon. Thank you.
October 21, 2013: Well, I’m feeling a little anxious this week. On Friday, I’ll be featuring my first free promo on Amazon KDP. I’m hoping it’ll lead to good things.
July 29, 2013: Seems like as good a time as any to start this blog. I’ve finally gotten my short story, “Toward an End Known,” up on Amazon. Now that it’s done, it’s time to work on the next story. I’ve got two ideas that I want to develop: 1) is a medieval fantasy trilogy of the typical “teenage boy must face his destiny to save the world” mold, but with a few unique elements and interesting turns. Book 1 is written but needs a lot of editing and backstory. 2) is where I’m leaning toward right now and is a lighthearted, young adult series reminiscent of Piers Anthony.
