Before I get to dead birds, I just found out that my book, The Chosen, is featured on Spalding’s Racket today! If you don’t know Nick, you should check out his blog. He highlights indie authors, is an indie author, and has a fantastic snarky sense of humor! Check out his book, Life…with no Breaks, when you need a good laugh!
Now, about my albatross. The one that’s been hanging around my neck all week, I mean. I’ve finished my short story for the Twelve Worlds anthology that the inimitable Derek J. Canyon is putting together. The anthology will be out sometime in late spring and will feature a dozen short stories from self-published authors, as well as a few extra stories from previously unpublished writers. It’s also for a good cause, as all proceeds from the sale of the book will go to charity. I’ll post up more info as it develops, but I think it will be a cool thing. I wrote a Black Knight Chronicles story, a short adventure set before the events in Hard Day’s Knight, so I hope that people who enjoyed that book will pick up the anthology and get some stand-alone back story for our boys. There’s certainly nothing in there that is required reading for anyone’s understanding of the universe, it’ll just add a little color for the folks that read it.
I’ve been reading Side Jobs, which is a collection of stories from the world of The Dresden Files, and it’s really good. Of course, by reading in this case I mean listening to while I drive, but that’s how I’ve “read” the last four or five Dresden books, so that’s just my M.O. for those novels. I signed up with Audible forever ago, and for $15/month I get one free audiobook. And as much as I drive, I love it. All of these stories are similar to what I tried to do for the anthology, a separate story that doesn’t impact the continuity of the universe, but allows for a little depth into something that I haven’t yet explored in the main storyline. Of course, since I’ve written two books as opposed to Butcher’s dozen or so Dresden novels, it was a little easier for me. But I turned it in at around 5,000 words, which is a nice length for a short story.
Now on to the next thing – I think I’m going to work on Return to Eden Volume 1. I posted the first chapter here a week or so ago, and I think I want to spend some time with those kids and see what I can make of their story. I need to pump a little more immediacy into it, or at least get ready for a big conflict soon. I’ll keep you posted. I have no idea how long this one is going to be, but if it runs like most of my stuff, in that 60K range, I’ll be ready with a first draft of it some time in late March or early April. Depends on how the prep work for Back in Black (and Blue) goes.
I fly to Wisconsin tomorrow for work, because the baby Jesus hates me and wants me to be cold. I just hope all my flights are ok from the weather they got earlier this week, and I can get there on time. Wish me luck!
