Brent is more than welcome to come squat in my cyber-space, especially after the great review he gave to Hard Day’s Knight! Check out his new book, Bert the Barbarian, over on Smashwords! You can find out more about Brent and Bert on his website here.

I’m thoroughly happy to be kicking off my blog tour in the company of John Hartness.  John writes his books just the way I like ‘em.  I checked out Hard Day’s Knight and I think I was laughing out loud before I reached the end of the first page.  He doesn’t let a good joke get in the way of a good story, though.  Mystery, suspense, action, it’s all in there.  And the prose is solid as well.  John’s hitting the marks that I’m aiming for.

But enough about him.  I’m here to talk about myself, or more accurately about my creation.  I’ve been a novelist for a couple of decades now, but not a successful one.  It takes a long time to learn this goofy trade.  I wrote, I re-wrote, I sent submissions off to editors and agents, and I racked up an impressive stack of rejection letters.  And I got discouraged.

After a while I wasn’t writing very often.  I wasn’t satisfied with the results when I did write.  Writing was a disheartening chore, and the meagre results hardly seemed worthy of lining the floor of a bird cage.

Then I heard about NaNoWriMo.  How many of you have heard of it?  Let’s have a show of hands.  Okay, more than I expected, but not nearly everyone.  NaNoWriMo stands for “National Novel Writing Month.” Speaking as a Canadian I can assure you that it’s international.  The idea is to spend the month of November writing a novel of at least 50,000 words.  NaNoWriMo is a beautiful concept because it gets writers out of all kinds of mental traps.  If you’re going to finish a novel in a month you can’t agonize over every paragraph.  You can’t spend a year trying to get the first chapter perfect.  You have to move on.

It was exactly the kick on the seat of the pants that I needed.  After years of dithering I finally got back to work, and an unexpected bonus was that writing became fun again.  It actually took me about three months to get through my first draft of Bert the Barbarian, but that was still a massive increase in productivity.

At the end of it, of course, I had a deeply flawed manuscript.  However, you can’t fix a blank page.  For me at least, the only way to write a good novel is to write a bad novel and then refurbish it.  It’s been a couple of years and an astonishing amount of learning since I finished that first draft.  I’m pretty proud of the end result.

Bert the Barbarian is science fiction that reads like heroic fantasy.  Bert Hoover, who’s a bit of a loser, gets kidnapped and taken to a primitive planet.  His friend Janice is in terrible danger with no one else to turn to. Bert must find strength and courage to escape from slavery, rescue Janice, and find a way back home.  Look for it wherever fine e-books are sold.

Thanks for stopping by Brent, and good luck with Bert!

Today we welcome Christine Amsden, author of The Immortality Virus. Christine is the first indie author to take me up on my offer of guest posts here, and I’ve got one scheduled weekly for the next two weeks as well. She’ll tell us a little about her book and where the idea came from. You can check it out on Amazon here, and on Barnes & Noble here.

Dreams of Immortality

Inspiration never strikes me all at once. It grows from seeds, and it takes time to blossom. When it came to “The Immortality Virus,” it all began with Wikipedia, and the “random article” button. My debut novel, “Touch of Fate,” had just been released and all I had were vague notions of doing something more science fiction than fantasy for my second book.

I like to tell beginning writers that ideas are cheap, and they’re everywhere — in the news, in the fight you had with your best friend, in your dreams, and even in Wikipedia. An article on DNA led me to look into a genetic cause for old age, which led me to consider a world in which that did not happen. How? With The Change, an event that, in my world, takes place in the mid 21st century, though no one is sure precisely when. Most people barely noticed the odd strain of flue that hit so many people that year, nor did they connect their fevers and runny noses to the life-changing event that followed.

What would cause an entire race to stop aging? If immortality were for sale, it would go to the highest bidder, and not everyone would have access. For a fundamental change to the human genetic makeup, we needed something else: Biological warfare. An engineered virus, highly contagious and capable of altering DNA on a cellular level. I drew this idea from a novel by Orson Scott Card: Xenocide.

Who would do such a thing, though? And how? This was probably the toughest part of the entire process, and one that took several revisions to perfect. My heroine and sole point of view character, Grace Harper, was a far easier character to create than the elusive Jordan Lacklin, who we get to know mostly through old journal entries. First, he had to be smart, capable, and armed with a lifetime of experience, so I gave him a background in developing biological weapons for the military. Then, I had to turn him into someone who honestly believed the entire race would be better off if they didn’t age. Deep inside, I wanted him to be a good person, with good intentions, even if they didn’t work out very well. So I gave him a wife, a woman he loved deeply, a woman who was there in body, but who, thanks to Alzheimer’s Disease, had pretty much gone in every other way that mattered. He did it for her, and for everyone else who might have to experience similar pain. Growing old, he believed, was the worst thing that could happen to people.

After that, I spent a lot of time working on his journal entries. The ones in the book are sort of the highlights, the ones I hoped would convey his motives and character most concisely. He’s a complicated man, however, and by the time I finished with him he had become, at least in my mind, more than a tool to implement The Change. He and The Change have kind of blurred together a little bit in my mind, so that despite the results, I think of the actual event as a work of honest human compassion, and a sign of the best humanity has to offer. I suppose the message there is that we sometimes don’t know what’s best for us.

I began working on “The Immortality Virus” in the summer of 2006, and finished it in the fall of 2008. It wasn’t a smooth process, as I set the manuscript down several times while I worked on other things, and at some points I wasn’t sure it would ever be truly finished. Perhaps it still isn’t. I did leave the end open for a sequel, even if I haven’t written it yet, and I hope to one day revisit the world and the possibilities therein.

Thanks for stopping by, Christine, and I hope you have great success with your book!

Another year here on the interwebs. I worked out this morning, and now I know why they call it “work.” That crap’s hard. But I’ve let myself become a great big fatass again, so I’ve gotta do it. I can hear Suzy pounding away on the treadmill downstairs as I write this, so we’re definitely getting something going. Of course, it’s January 1, so that’s easy enough to say today. Check back in April, and if I’m still wearing this size jeans, you can feel free to kick my ass. And I’ll still be an out of shape tub o’ lard, so it’ll be easy, too!

Played a little online poker last night, over at Full Tilt. I do a little bit of Rush Poker most every day, micro stakes PLO usually. I’ve found that it’s easier to get people to put their entire stack in while behind in PLO, because most folks just aren’t very good at it. I’m not very good at it either, but I have a little tiny edge in that I’m so broke online right now I cant afford to shove unless I have the nuts, even at micro limits. So I’m making a little bit. I usually open up two tables, and if I win or lose one buy-in, I rathole it and go away. That keeps me from playing too long, so my minute attention span can keep up, and it also doesn’t get in the way of other things I need to do, like writing and working out. And obsessively checking my sales numbers at Amazon. But it’s fun, and is a good way for me to pass a few idle minutes. I’ll have to step up my attention span when the Gambling Tales Freeroll Series kicks off (hopefully this Thursday, download the latest episode for more info!), because if folks are going to just give away money, it would be rude of me not to try and take it, right?

Just a quick note for now, because I need to finish getting ready to head south for my annual New Year’s Poker excursion this afternoon. More about that upon my return. In the meantime, I know you’re off work, go buy a book!

If you got here through the linky, give us a read then keep on hopping!

Because it was all supposed to be pretty smooth. My sister Bonnie had been dropped off at her daughter’s place, Suzy and I had exchanged gifts (she got me a treadmill and a recumbent bike, so hopefully there will be less of me to love in 2010), and Suzy was off to get a pedicure Friday morning while I was chilling in the recliner watching Netflix with a cat in my lap.

Then, as so often happens, the phone rang and it went all pear-shaped.

My sister’s ringtone is Dierks Bentley’ cover of the Bob Dylan tune “Senor,” so when she called I answered with lyrics – “Where we headed? Lincoln County Road or Armageddon?” When she answered, I knew it was bad. Her voice was shaking, and she said, “it is Armageddon. Tommy’s house is on fire.”

My brother’s house went from a home to a pile of rubble in the time it took for him to go finish his Christmas shopping. We believe the problem started in the wiring, but no one is really sure. What we are sure of is that on Christmas Eve everything he and his wife owned, including their two incredibly loving Jack Russel Terriers, went up in smoke.

So I packed two suitcases, one full of clothes that are two small for me so that Tom would have something to wear, and another full of my clothes and toiletries in case I needed to stay down there for the weekend. I got in touch with Suzy, and we decided that she would follow me later, and I hit the road.

I grew up a volunteer firefighter, and the smell of a house fire is something you never forget. It’s a mix of wood, plastic and dreams, all mixed in with cold air and tears. I was only seven when my older brother Bob’s house burned 30 years ago, so I don’t remember much about that time, but this was fresh. I spent a ton of time in that house as a kid, playing Nintendo with my nephew or even a little babysitting for Tom’s kids. So it was a devastating loss for the whole family, especially given the crappy timing.

The rest of the day was a lesson in small-town caring. The community came out in droves before the coals were even cold, bringing food, clothing and money to my parents’ house. The love and compassion shown by that community of working-class people blew me away and brought tears to my eyes and those of my entire family.

Tom and his wife Sherry are now settled into my parents’ guest room for the time being while they fight over insurance and work hard to rebuild their lives. There are things lost that are irreplaceable like Sherry’s parents’ wedding bands and all her photos of her deceased mother, their poor dogs, and all of their keepsakes and memories. Clothes have pretty much been replaced with everything that has come in, but the sheer volume of stuff that it’s going to take to get their place rebuilt and refurnished is astounding. Even with insurance, it won’t cover everything. It might cover the note on the house, and maybe some of the contents, but it’s doubtful that they can get everything rebuilt and refurnished with what insurance will pay out.

That’s why I’m writing this. Time and again, my community of invisible internet friends has chipped in to help someone in need, and this time it’s my family. I’m putting a paypal button here on the page so that people can donate to help out. This goes to my account for now, but I will be setting up a special account for them as soon as I get all the details like internet access for Sherry set up, since my parents don’t have internet and her computer is now a pile of melted plastic. So if Santa left a little something in your stocking this year, please chip in and help out my brother, who got left a lump of coal where his home used to be.

And thanks.

So in a fit of excitement about some upcoming readings, and a looming realization that I didn’t have any new material to sell at said readings, not to mention the understanding that Returning the Favor has finally almost sold out the initial print run and thus pretty much broke even or maybe actually made me a little bit of money, I have put together another collection, this time all poetry. This is poetry for people who don’t like poetry. Poems for people who drink too much, live too loud and have too many skeletons in their closet. Basically, people like you and me.

So Red Dirt Boy is now available from Lulu, my print on demand publisher. And Lulu has a deal going right now that if you buy more than $20 worth of stuff from them, you get free shipping, so you should totally combine your purchase of Red Dirt Boy with a copy of Returning the Favor if you don’t already have one. And if you do, toss a couple of copies of Red Dirt Review Vol. 1 into your cart.

If you’re only interested in one poetry collection, but still want to fill out your order to take advantage of the free shipping from Lulu, I highly recommend Lost Vegas, by Paul McGuire. This is a book I’ve been waiting to read for years, and I ordered my copy today. You should too! And if mystery is more your thing, check out Same Difference by Martin Harris. A real hard-boiled detective novel from another Carolina writer. And adding either of these books to your Red Dirt Boy order gets you free shipping, so it’s a great deal on some great summer reading!

I will have copies with me at most readings, so if you want to get a copy signed, that’s your best bet. Also, if you have a literary blog and want to do a review, contact me for a sample. I have very limited review copies, but can swing a few.

So am I. I’m here, kinda. Been an odd couple of months with no real motivation to write here. But after a good weekend of cranking out some 5,000 words on a new novel (which I think might be the first of a series), I’ve rediscovered the need to write here. So I will. More. I promise. But don’t hold your breath for any kind of daily content or anything like that. Let’s not get silly.

That’s where I’ll likely be for the rest of the week. I’m currently in Charleston, WV en route tomorrow to Lexington, KY for the Southeastern Theatre Conference for work. I’ll be manning our booth part of the weekend, teaching two workshops, herding kittens for a new products seminar and spending entirely too much money on booze for the rest of the week. So I thought I’d drop a brief post to let you know what’s up in the Hartness household.

Suzy’s in pretty good shape, she had a checkup this week and was told that it would be about two weeks before she’s able to resume all normal activities. Her mobility is very good, but she still runs into some pain when she tries to lift anything too heavy. She’ll be taking my place at a booth at the All Arts Market this week with our friend Lindsay, who will be selling some of her photography. Suzy will have copies of Returning the Favor for sale at our booth, and hopefully my order of Red Dirt Review will come in tomorrow and she’ll be able to have those as well. I dunno if they’ll make it in time or not, but they have shipped.

I have a few more things on the publication front to report – my poem “Aftermath” is now live on The Dead Mule’s March issue. I also had four more pieces accepted this week, three by Calliope Nerve and one by Writer’s Bloc. I’ll link up the other places once those are live. That brings me to 11 accepted for the year, so I’m pretty thrilled with that. I went down to the SC Book Festival last weekend to check it out, and made a couple of good contacts with publishers. A couple of them expressed some interest in Choices, which I think I’m renaming to I Made the Devil Do It.

I also put up some Red Dirt Review shirts in my Zazzle store, so head over to the RDR site and check those out. I think they’re moderately cool, but I’m a little biased. So I’ll probably not be able to post much the rest of the week, and then I’m headed straight back to Atlanta on Sunday, then to the week of endless boogie. I’ll try to post photos from the shenanigans that ensue. A

And I got a badass lucha libre mask to wear while I party!