What I’ve been up to recently

14. June 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: SW I-IV: The Jeremiah Chronicles, SW VIII: Deliverance, SW-V: Reproach, SW-VI: Benefactor · Tags: , , , , , ,

It’s been a while since I posted anything except Trope Tuesday posts, so I figure I should do a quick one here explaining what I’ve been up to recently.

As far as writing goes, I finished the first draft for Star Wanderers: Reproach (Part VII) about two weeks ago.  Since then, I’ve been bouncing around between Lifewalker and other projects, writing only about a thousand words a day (which is kind of low for me), but it looks like I’m going to go full steam ahead on Star Wanderers: Deliverance (Part VIII).  That’s the story that really excites me right now, and it’s practically writing itself.  I should (God-willing) finish the first draft sometime next week.

As for Star Wanderers: Benefactor (Part VI), I’ve gotten feedback from first readers and sent off the first chapter to Kindal Debenham’s writing group, where they workshopped the first chapter.  It’s going to require a bit of work, but I should be able to publish it before the end of July.  My goal right now is to publish something every two months, and Benefactor is at the top of the queue.

Life-wise, I’ve had a whole lot of weird expenses pop up recently, including a wisdom tooth that needs removing (??? I’m like 28!).  But between my new job and a marked increase in book royalties, I should be able to cover it without any problems.  The job I have right now is really nice–it pays twice minimum wage at only 20 hours per week, with a schedule that leaves the whole day open.  It’s perfect for writing (well, as perfect as any day job can be), and it’s quite physical so I should be in pretty good shape by the time I’m done.  I’ll probably keep it for a couple months, up until the end of the summer, and hopefully save up enough to move elsewhere in the country, or perhaps go back overseas.  Who knows?

About book royalties: my sales on Amazon have really gone up recently, which kind of astounds me.  I’m selling about 10-11 ebooks per day, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but it really adds up.  Throw in Amazon UK, Smashwords, and all the other retailers, and I’m perilously close to actually making a living at this thing.  I have no idea if the current trends will continue or if sales will suddenly fall off, but it looks like people are reading and enjoying my books, so I’ll definitely keep putting them out there.

Speaking of sales, I inadvertently tossed a rhetorical hand grenade over at KBoards by suggesting that perhaps the community over there focuses a little too much on sales as the primary measure of success.  Well, they didn’t quite run me out with pitchforks and torches, but the debate did stretch to eighteen pages, so one way or another I think I touched on a sore spot.  In the end, though, it turned out to be a fairly constructive discussion, and I think the KBoards community is a better place because of it.

Other than that, I’ve been spending far too much time on minecraft than I probably should.  I’m on a server now with my brother-in-law and some other friends, and I’m building a city in the sky, kind of like Zeal or Shevat.  It’s actually turning out really well, but I don’t want to post any pictures yet because it isn’t finished.  Later, though–definitely later.

That’s just about it.  I want to put in at least two thousand words today, and it’s already noon, so I’d better run.  See you later!

Well, that was a quick revision

07. March 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Novellas & Novelettes, SW-V: Dreamweaver · Tags: , , , , , ,

SW-V Dreamweaver (thumb)First of all, sorry for forgetting to do a Trope Tuesday post (again!).  I guess I’m really flaky about doing those.  Oh well–better to be flaky about blogging than flaky about writing, right?

In fact, the reason I didn’t write-up the post was because I was busy doing a 2.0 revision pass for Star Wanderers: Dreamweaver.  This is the novella that retells the events of Outworlder, but from Noemi’s point of view.  I hadn’t looked at it in the eight months since I wrote it, but sometime over the summer I gave it to Laura to alpha read, and she just got back with her comments a couple of days ago.

Well.  Reading through those comments was simultaneously the most excruciating and most invigorating thing I’ve been through in a while.  I’ve changed a lot since I wrote the first draft, and a lot of things about it are horribly embarrassing, but the story … the story is actually pretty solid.  Oh, some of Noemi’s motivations weren’t close enough to the page, and some other elements needed a bit of pruning, but the structure, the bones–it all seems to be there.

So, long story short: I got Laura’s comments on Monday, and finished the revisions today.  TODAY.  Of course, it still needs to be proofread, and I’d like to send the new version out to some other first readers … but I don’t anticipate making any major, earth-shattering changes to the story.  In fact, I could publish it tomorrow, and most of you would probably love it.

So far, my Star Wanderers books are selling much better than any of my other titles.  They’re also much shorter, which means that I can put them out a lot faster–or should, at least.  I probably angst over them more than I should, trying to make everything perfect.  But I’ve got the extended series planned out to Part X, and I’ve already written half of Part VI.  Some of those might get moved up or down, depending on demand, but the more I write in this universe, the more stories present themselves.  And hey, if that’s what you want to read, I’ll be more than happy to write more of them.

If all goes well, Dreamweaver will be out in the first half of April, perhaps as early as the end of March.  As always, newsletter subscribers will get a two-week coupon code to download the book for free on Smashwords.  This also provides access to all future editions, in all ebook formats, completely DRM free.  If you enjoy it, I hope you’ll review it or tell a friend about it.  I’m not sure how I’ll end up pricing it, but I don’t anticipate going higher than $2.99.

In the meantime, here’s something to leave you with: an awesome remix of Jewel by Solarstone & Clare Stagg.  Man, I love Solarstone’s work.  I picked up his newest album, Pure, over the summer, and have been pulling songs from it for book soundtracks ever since.

Night! :)

Stars of Blood and Glory coming out soon

19. January 2013 · 1 comment · Categories: Bringing Stella Home, Desert Stars, Novels, Stars of Blood and Glory · Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

So last year about this time, I wrote a novel in the Gaia Nova universe.  Usually when I sit down to write a novel, it falls apart about midway through the first draft, or I have some kind of a break down, or something else comes up and I have to put it on hold for a while.

From start to finish, this one came out in about six weeks.

Even the title, Stars of Blood and Glory, really seemed to stick (usually, I go through three or four lame titles before finding one that works).  It took a lot of energy to write it, but the writing process itself was fun.  Seriously, everything just came together and the story practically wrote itself.

However, writers can often be notorious judges of their own work.  For that reason, I set it aside and tried not to touch it for a few months (I did rework the first couple chapters, but later ended up cutting out most of that stuff and going back to the original version, which was better).  Over the summer, I picked it up for the first revision, and while the scenes were out-of-order and a few of them were missing, but for the most part, everything that was there seemed pretty good.

Just to be safe, I sent it out to some first readers and laid it aside for another six months.  I didn’t hear back from everyone I sent it to, but those who did read it said it was pretty good.  The problems they found were relatively minor, or could be fixed relatively quickly, without having to overhaul the story.

To be perfectly honest, this blew me away.  My first drafts are usually really messy, and require a lot of work before they’re any good.  But this one…this one seems different.  This one, I might have just nailed it <fingers crossed>.  And if that’s indeed the case, it’s probably better not to risk revising it to death, or polishing the voice right out of it.

It’s always a scary thing to send a book out into the world.  However, I think the time to send out this one has come.  I’m going to do one last revision pass, just to make sure there isn’t anything too egregious, and then I’ll send it out to my editor and commission the cover art.  If all goes well, I’ll finish the revision next week, and publish it in ebook and print-on-demand sometime in February.

As an indirect sequel to Bringing Stella Home and Desert Stars, Stars of Blood and Glory has a lot of recurring characters.  Here are some of them:

  • Captain Danica Nova
  • Master Sergeant Roman Andrei Krikoryan
  • Rina Al-Najmi
  • Stella McCoy, aka Sholpan

Besides that, here are some of the other cool things you can expect to see:

  • A far future Japanese-Polynesian society on an ocean planet with giant floating cities.
  • A Hameji offensive, with massive space battles and planetary slaggings.
  • A lonely boy emperor who fears that he’ll never live up to his father’s dying wish.
  • A runaway princess who wants to experience everything the universe has to offer.
  • A young Hameji prince who yearns to prove himself in the field of battle.
  • A cyborg mercenary who feels like his humanity is slowly fading into irrelevance.
  • An unlikely assassin whose mind and body are not completely her own.

All of this comes together in a war of epic proportions that will determine the fate of the last free worlds in the galaxy.

So yeah, I’m really excited about this story.  It’s a departure from some of the more intimate (and less action-y) science fiction romances I’ve been putting out lately, but in all of the right ways.  If you read Bringing Stella Home and wondered when you’d get a worthy sequel, well, this is it.  And hopefully, it’s just the first of many.

Expect it to be out in ebook and print-on-demand sometime next month.

Have internet, will blog

17. November 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Heart of the Nebula, Novellas & Novelettes, Novels, SW I-IV: The Jeremiah Chronicles · Tags: , , , ,

Hey guys, I’m back in Kutaisi today, so I thought I’d drop in and post an update on this (much neglected as of late) blog.  Life hasn’t been too eventful, but there are a couple of things that I thought you might want to know about.

First of all, I’ll be participating in an ebook promo with some other sci-fi indie authors this cyber monday (the online equivalent of black friday).  My book Star Wanderers: Outworlder is already available for free, but if you’re a fan of science fiction and free / $.99 ebooks, be sure to check it out!  Here’s the link:

Also, if you check out the CURRENT PROJECTS section in the sidebar (over there ———>), you’ll see that I recently dusted off Heart of the Nebula for another revision pass.  This is a direct sequel to Bringing Stella Home, featuring many of the same characters (James, Lars, Stella) plus a few new ones.  I’m about midway through chapter 4 right now, and really getting into the story.

The previous drafts had some issues, but I think I’ve got a better handle on them now.  I have no idea when it will be ready to be published, but I’m shooting for sometime next summer.  With luck, this next revision will be finished in December, at which point I’ll send it out to my first readers and see what they think of it.

Also, I took some time out to work on meta-writing stuff, like goal setting and such.  I’ll save that discussion for new years, though, since that seems like a much better time to discuss goals and resolutions.  Also, it will give me a chance to refine them a bit in the intervening month.  Long story short, I was experiencing a creative block due to some unrealistic personal expectations, but I think I’ve more or less worked it out.

Other than that, life is pretty good.  I got to see my host family from last year a couple of days ago, when I came in late from Tbilisi and missed the last marshrutkka to my village.  Called up the family, and they were kind enough to let me spend the night on their couch.  Today, I said thank you by dropping by with a box of chocolates.

It was great to see them again and spend some time in the neighborhood where I lived last semester.  Also: twix cookies.  The market in Batoni next to ProCredit Bank is one of the few places in Kutaisi that sells them.  If you’ve ever spent any significant time in Georgia, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

So that’s just about it for now.  If all goes well, I should hear back from my first readers on Star Wanderers: Homeworld sometime during the Thanksgiving break.  Depending on their feedback, it’ll come out anywhere between 1-3 weeks later.  This will conclude the main story arc for Star Wanderers (at least, the first arc), but it won’t be the last book in the series.  More on that later, though.

Take care!

New Kindle! And some new old projects as well

10. November 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Bringing Stella Home, Novellas & Novelettes, Novels, Stars of Blood and Glory, SW I-IV: The Jeremiah Chronicles, The Back Burner, The Sword Keeper · Tags: , , , , , , ,

So I came out to Tbilisi today, because MY NEW KINDLE PAPERWHITE JUST ARRIVED!

Okay, sorry for the all-caps shouting, but I’m really happy that it finally got here.  My old kindle broke down a few months ago, leaving me stranded in my tiny village without any books.  With the weather getting worse and the power outages becoming more frequent, cabin fever has started to become a problem.  So really, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

It shipped out almost a month ago, but Georgia (the country, not the state) is a fairly remote place, so it’s taken a looong time to get here.  The wait has definitely been worth it, though.  I love this device, especially the cover browsing function.  And the backlight is going to be very, very useful, what with all the power outages we get in the village.

So I’m about 100 pages into The Sword Keeper, my latest project, and I realized that I need to do a lot more worldbuilding before I can continue.  I’ve got a good handle on the characters and have more or less figured out the plot, but there are still a lot of holes in the setting.  This new project is a fantasy novel, and it seems to be leaning more towards epic than heroic, so I probably should take the time to really build the world before trying to finish the story.

I’ve been drawing a lot of inspiration from my experience here in Georgia, but right now, I feel like I’m too close to it to really take it in the right direction.  The time I spent in Jordan was a huge influence in Desert Stars, but I didn’t start it until I came home (and didn’t finish the first draft until almost two years later).  Ideas are like wine: sometimes, you just need to let them sit in the back of your head and age for a while.

So long story short, I’ve decided to put The Sword Keeper on the back burner for a while.  I’m  sure I’ll come back to it, though–the story is far too interesting to let go.  Magical thinking swords that meld with the minds of those who wield them, ancient prophecies and a secret order of warrior monks–and that’s just the backdrop.  The characters themselves are much more interesting–I have got to tell their story!

But for now, I’m going to revisit the Gaia Nova universe and finish the revisions for Heart of the Nebula.  This one is a direct sequel to Bringing Stella Home, and while it definitely still needs work, I feel like it’s almost there.  The first draft had some major problems and needed to be revamped, especially toward the end.  If all goes well, I should finish this pass before the end of November, with enough time to write another Star Wanderers story before the end of the year.

Stars of Blood and Glory is still with my first readers, but if they give it the green light, I hope to publish it sometime in February.  This one is also a direct sequel to Bringing Stella Home, with Danica, Roman, Stella, and Stella’s son Abaqa, and a couple of characters from Desert Stars as well.  I’m really excited about this story, but I figure it’s best to get some more feedback first before putting it out.

Which brings me to Star Wanderers: Homeworld (Part IV).  I can’t promise that it will be out before the end of November, but that’s what I’m shooting for.  Of course, I’m not going to put it out until I’m satisfied that it represents my best work, but even my first readers do come back with problems, I’m 99% confident I can fix them all by December at the latest.  There is nothing–absolutely nothing–like the feeling you get when you finish a story where everything just comes together.  I may not be the best judge of my own work, but I know that feeling.  You can definitely expect to see this story come out before the end of the year.

That’s about all for now.  Internet is spotty out in the village, but I’ve got a couple of interesting posts brewing in the back of my mind.  I’ll probably write them up in the next few days, and post them the next time I get a chance.  Until then, see you around!

Star Wanderers: Outworlder (Part I) is now free on Amazon!

06. October 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Novels, SW I-IV: The Jeremiah Chronicles · Tags: , , , ,

Good news!  Amazon just made Star Wanderers: Outworlder (Part I) free!  It’s been free for a while on all the other eretailers, but if you do most of your ebook shopping on Amazon, it’s now free there as well.

Star Wanderers: Outworlder (Part I) is the first part of a four part series of science fiction novelettes, possibly with other installments after the main storyline is complete.  From the book description:

HE WANDERS THE STARS IN SEARCH OF A HOME. INSTEAD, HE GOT A GIRL WITHOUT ONE.

When Jeremiah arrived at Megiddo Station, all he wanted was to make some trades and resupply his starship. He never thought he’d come away with a wife.

Before he knows it, he’s back on his ship, alone with his accidental bride. Since neither of them speak the same language, he has no way to tell her that there’s been a terrible mistake. And because of the deadly famine ravaging her home, there’s no going back. She’s entirely at his mercy, and that terrifies him more than anything.

Jeremiah isn’t ready to take responsibility for anyone. He’s a star wanderer, roaming the Outworld frontier in search of his fortune. Someday he’ll settle down, but for now, he just wants to drop the girl off at the next port and move on.

As he soon finds out, though, she has other plans.

Also, for those of you who have been looking forward to the next Star Wanderers release, I have a tentative cover for Part III:

Pretty cool, huh?  What do you guys think?

The feedback from my first readers has been mostly positive, so I think this story is mostly ready for publication.  I’ll probably do another quick pass to touch up some relatively minor issues, then it’s just a matter of proofreading, formatting, and crafting a solid author’s note and book description.  If all goes well, it should be up in two or three weeks.

That’s just about it for now.  More updates later, especially on life here in Georgia and that new fantasy series I just started.  See you around!

New print proof and an update on Star Wanderers

02. August 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Desert Stars, Novels, Stars of Blood and Glory, SW I-IV: The Jeremiah Chronicles · Tags: , , , , , , ,

So the proof for Desert Stars came in the mail today, and it looks great!

The front cover.

The back cover.

Title page.

First page.

No matter how much I do this, it never gets old. :)

It’s available now from CreateSpace, if you want to pick up a copy.  If you’d rather buy it on Amazon, it should go live there in a few days.  And if you want to buy an autographed copy of this one or Genesis Earth, let me know ASAP: I can order author copies and ship them wherever you want me to, but I’m leaving again for Georgia at the end of August, so I can only do that for the next two or three weeks.

As for Star Wanderers: Part II, I finished the major revisions just yesterday, and plan to go through it again this next week before publishing, mostly to fix typos and get it ready for publication.  There weren’t too many story issues, but my first readers helped me to see a couple of areas where things were unclear (especially Laura–thanks for the awesome feedback!).

After going through this latest draft, I’ve got to say I am way excited to finish Part III and Part IV.  It’s going to take a little more work, and it’ll definitely need some feedback before publishing, but I think I can have the first round of revisions done before the end of August.  A couple of scenes are missing, and there are some key elments I need to change, but I definitely know where this story is going and I’m excited to tell it!

That’s about it for now.  I’ve gotten some initial feedback from my first readers on Stars of Blood and Glory, and so far it’s been surprisingly positive.  I may post the prologue here for you guys, or release it as an extra through the newsletter.  The unpublished prologue for Bringing Stella Home would also make good newsletter content too, come to think of it…

Electronic publishing is like playing a really awesome video game.  Once things get going and you really start getting into it, you just don’t want to stop!

New blurbs and an interview

23. July 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Bringing Stella Home, Genesis Earth, Novellas & Novelettes, Novels, Sholpan, Stars of Blood and Glory, SW I-IV: The Jeremiah Chronicles · Tags: , , , , ,

First of all, I recently did an interview with Elizabeth Baxter on her blog, Small Blonde Hippy. In it, I discuss Star Wanderers, Stars of Blood and Glory, and a bit about my path to becoming an indie author.  You can find it here–go check it out!

Second, in preparation for the new ebook versions of my novels which I plan to release soon, I’ve been going over some of the old blurbs and updating them.  It’s harder than you might expect!  I think the new ones are getting better, but I’d appreciate some feedback before I post them.  What do you think?

For Genesis Earth:

A BOY AND A GIRL ON A VOYAGE TO AN ALIEN STAR.

Michael Anderson never thought he would set foot on a world like Earth. He only studied planetology to satisfy his parents, two of humanity’s most brilliant scientists. But when they open a wormhole to an alien planet—one emitting a signal that can only be a sign of intelligent life—he soon becomes caught up in the mission to explore it.

His sole mission partner, Terra, doesn’t care nearly as much about the science as he does, though. The child of a bitter divorce, she sees the mission as a chance to escape from the expectations of others.

Before they can work out their differences, a mysterious alien ship begins to hunt them down. Alone, twenty light-years from the nearest human being, they must learn to open up and trust each other—but how can they do that when they can’t even agree why they’re there?

As Michael struggles to keep the mission from falling apart, he is forced to reexamine his deepest, most unquestioned beliefs about the universe—and about what it means to be human.

For Bringing Stella Home:

HE’LL GO TO THE ENDS OF THE GALAXY TO SAVE HIS BROTHER AND SISTER.

The New Gaian Empire is crumbling. An undefeatable enemy from the outer reaches of space is sweeping across the frontier stars, slagging worlds and sowing chaos. No one dares to stand up to them—no one, that is, except James McCoy.

As the youngest son of a merchanter family, James never thought he would get caught up in the Imperial wars. But when his home world falls to the barbarian Hameji, his brother and sister, Ben and Stella, are taken away as prisoners and slaves. With the rest of the galaxy thrown into chaos, only James has the determination to rescue them—even if it means losing everything in the process.

For Sholpan:

SHE’D RATHER DIE THAN BE A SLAVE TO THE CONQUERORS OF HER HOME WORLD.

Stella McCoy never thought she’d fall prisoner to the barbarian Hameji. The oldest daughter of a working class family, all she wanted was to finish her apprenticeship and start a career an astrogator. But when the Hameji conquer her home world with their starfaring battle fleets, she is forced against her will to become a concubine to one of their highest ranking warlords.

Stella would rather die than spend the rest of her life as a concubine. Fortunately, as she looks for a chance to escape, she starts to make friends in high places. But in the dangerous world of harem politics, with new friends come new enemies—ones that have the power to destroy her.

One of the changes I plan to make is to insert the blurb immediately before the first chapter.  I’ve heard that a lot of ebook readers are downloading so many free books and samples that it often takes months before they get around to reading them. This parallels my own experience, so I figure it’s a good idea to have something in the beginning to remind readers what the book is and why they picked it up.

Other than that, no big changes except fixing typos and formatting errors.  I’m not the kind of writer who makes sweeping changes to a published story based on reviews, one-star or otherwise.

In other news, I’m almost finished with the second draft of Stars of Blood and Glory.  This has been a surprisingly fast revision, but then again, that might be because I haven’t sent it out yet to my first readers.  Based on their feedback, I’ll probably do another draft before putting it in the publishing queue.

Star Wanderers is going to be my main focus until the end of the year, though.  I’ve gotten a lot of excellent feedback on Part II, and should start the revisions in the next couple of days.  With luck, I’ll have it published by mid-July.  Part III is going to take a little more time, but I’m pretty confident I’ll have it up by October at the latest.

For that to happen, though, I need to get back to writing.  So long!

« Older articles