Tag: friends

LTUE 2013

Man, LTUE 2013 was this weekend, and it was AWESOME.  One of the best conventions I’ve ever attended.  I spoke on my first panel, attended my first book signing event as an author, and got to meet up with some old friends, as well as some amazing new people.

Since I live tweeted most of the panels I attended, I thought it might be interesting to repost a few of those here, with some additional thoughts.  So…here goes!

THURSDAY

I believe this was Scott Parkin from the “What Do You Write?” panel. Good advice. Megan Whalen Turner also had some very interesting things to say on the subject of genre, which I have since forgotten. But I recorded it, and the recording will eventually be made publicly available in the LTUE conference archives, or so I’ve been told.

This one was from the “What Is ‘Punk’ Literature and Its Many Genres?” panel. David Butler and Larry Correia were HILARIOUS. Nearly got into a wrestling match right in front of us.

And when the esteemed Mr. Butler began to describe his book, I swear, a choir of steampunk angel Moronis somewhere began to sing a heavenly chorus. I mean, he had me with Edgar Allen Poe faking his death to become a secret agent, but Orson Pratt’s phlogiston guns? Eliza R. Snow as chief counterintelligence officer for the Kingdom of Deseret? I will definitely be checking out this book, City of the Saints (which is apparently a finalist for the 2013 Whitney Award).

David Butler is also a way cool guy. I hung out with him a bit in the dealer’s room, chatting about Mormon history, Lyman Wight (“shoot and be damned!”), Sir Richard Francis Burton’s expedition to Salt Lake City, and all sorts of other crazy zany stuff. And the whole time, he was playing a guitar. So yeah, definitely a way cool guy.

This discovery CHANGED MY LIFE. Also, it helped me to save immensely on lunch money, as well as join in on some way cool conversations with other panelists as they desperately tried to escape their fans. Okay, not really, but the green room was AWESOME.

Howard Taylor’s presentation on teasers was tremendously insightful. In a nutshell, he said that a teaser (aka book description on Amazon / back cover) should have or at least point to the following things:

  1. The inciting incident
  2. Character action
  3. Conflict
  4. Hook

We then went over a few examples, including some good ones that broke these rules, and finished up by doctoring a couple of teasers volunteered from the audience. Howard Taylor admitted to me later that he wasn’t entirely satisfied with the way he presented it, but I get the impression that he’s never entirely satisfied with anything less than perfection. It was a great workshop.

From “Engaging the Reader.” Great panel. Lisa Mangum described the planning / drafting / revising process for each of her first three novels, and they were all wildly different. With seven novels under my belt so far, I can definitely relate. Some, like Genesis Earth and Stars of Blood and Glory, practically write themselves. Others are like having a c-section with a hacksaw. And others…yeah, I’m not going to go there.

FRIDAY

Okay, maybe I said one useful thing: when there’s a language barrier, little things become big obstacles. One of the other panelists, Anna Del C. Dye, also had a bunch of stories about adapting to a foreign language and culture (in her case, the United States).

Overall, the panel was really, really fun! I also had some cards out for Star Wanderers: Outworlder, and a bunch of people came up afterward to get them. Guess I must have said something interesting. I hope you guys enjoy the book!

 

From “Current Trends in SF.” Great panel–it totally wasn’t just another over-hyped discussion about what’s hot right now. I asked how the panelists think the trend cycle will change in the age of self-published ebooks, and they had some very interesting things to say. They all agreed that speed to market, while it may give some advantages, isn’t a make-or-break game changer, or even really a good strategy (unless you really love the trend you’re writing to). Some things change, others remain the same. It will be interesting to give this one a re-listen.

 

 

From “Creators in the Community.” Probably one of the best panels of the entire convention. Tracy Hickman is really on top of the changes in the publishing world, and had a lot of interesting things to say about it in all of his panels. As for the subject of writerly communities, much wisdom and insight was shared by all of the panelists. Definitely look for this one.

Man, I’d forgotten how cool the guys at Dungeon Crawlers Radio are! They interviewed me back in 2011, when I was just getting ready to publish Genesis Earth. This time, we talked about space opera, sci-fi romance, language barriers in marriage and all the crazy things I have to look forward to, and a bunch of other stuff. I also shared some of my thoughts and opinions on self-publishing myths, especially regarding the “tsunami of crap.” We coined a new word, “nerdaissance,” to describe all the awesome new stuff that’s coming out now, thanks to the ease of self-publishing.

So yeah, it was a great interview! I’ll definitely be cross-linking once it goes live.

From “Effective Book Covers.” Great panel with some very good artists and cover designers, including Isaac Stewart who does all the maps for Brandon Sanderson. Although some parts were geared toward illustrators, most of the advice was for writers (especially self-pubbing writers) who are looking to design their own covers. Lots of great and insightful perspectives from the visual arts side of things.

FRIDAY NIGHT BOOK SIGNING

Okay, I’ve got to be honest: when I went into the mass signing with my cardboard box of CreateSpace POD novels, I didn’t expect to sell anything. I figured that was just my ticket to get a seat at a table and hand out cards for Star Wanderers: Outworlder to some of the casual book browsers.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised! An uncle of one of my old mission companions was impressed enough to buy a couple of copies. I think he’s one of these guys who likes to buy things from new authors to help encourage them. It’s great to see people like that. He told me to keep writing, and I told him I definitely would!

Lots of people snagged the card for Outworlder, and I came up with a pretty decent pitch: “it’s about a starship pilot who accidentally marries a girl who doesn’t speak his language.” That raised a lot of eyebrows! A lot of people were really happy to see a science fiction story, especially a space adventure. I get the impression that there’s a craving for this kind of stuff in the market that isn’t currently being satisfied. So yeah, that was very encouraging!

After things wound down a bit, I wandered around the signing checking out some of the other books. Saw a couple that I recognized from the Kindle Boards, which was interesting. Chatted with them, as well as a bunch of geeky guys about chain mail, Halo, Frank Herbert, and all sorts of awesome stuff. Man, the best part about sci-fi/fantasy conventions is the chance to just talk with people! So much interesting stuff. It was great.

SATURDAY

 

 

From “Write For the Market or Write What You Know?” Another great panel. Definitely will be re-listening to that one.

From the main address with Megan Whalen Turner. She talked about book censorship and the need to teach children how to make their own reading choices, rather than keeping them sheltered and making the choice for them. She pointed out how every time a New York Times article comes out bemoaning some YA book for inappropriate content, it’s kind of hypocritical because there are so many other books they miss. The Golden Compass, for example, didn’t even pop up on their radar until the movie came out. Kids don’t magically become mature, well-adjusted adults when they turn 18–we have to teach them to make these choices (and mistakes) for themselves.

From “How Does Your Story Mean?” Great discussion on the writing process. Saw a lot of other good live-tweets during this one.

Okay, I take back what I said about the best panel of the convention. THIS was definitely the best. “The Engines of Exploration,” with Howard Taylor, Megan Whalen Turner, Roger White, James Owen, Kevin Evans, and Charles Stanford–the panel was packed. It basically turned into a round-robin discussion of which commodities are most essential to modern civilization, which ones will be the most valuable in the event of a societal collapse, and which ones will take us to the stars. The eventual consensus on each of these eventually came down to goats. Seriously. GOATS!

 

From “Writing Romance Without Erotica.” Lots of delicious awkwardness, as well as some really interesting thoughts and perspectives on the subject of romance. One of the panelists talked about the importance of “character penetration” without realizing about halfway through the panel how hilarious that phrase sounded in this context. But yeah, there was also a lot of wisdom in there as well. There are a lot of strong opinions about sex and romance floating around in this part of the world, so it was a very spirited and interesting panel.

 

 

The last panel of the convention (technically, symposium, but whatever) was “eBook Publishing” with some highly successful indies like Michaelbrent Collings. As you can tell from the tweets, it was a bit controversial, but very, very interesting. Questions were flying all over the place, on subjects ranging from formatting to building an audience. The biggest shock to me was that none of the panelists (none of them!) are on Smashwords. It’s a wild, wild west out here in indie-land. Makes me wonder, maybe I should publish to iTunes through another venue? Hmmmm…

So yeah, that was pretty much the whole convention/symposium. I finished it out by playing Alhambra with a bunch of friends from Kindal Debenham’s writing group who came down from Seattle and Idaho. Good, good times–it was actually kind of sad to say goodbye. Definitely worth coming 11 time zones to attend.

All I can say is that I am STOKED for Conduit!

Back in Utah…again!

Chillin' on the observation car of the California Zephyr.

So Sunday afternoon, I boarded a train with most of my earthly possessions (at least, all of the ones I care to enjoy for the next year) and headed out to Utah.  I arrived Tuesday night, without a car, a job, or a place to live, but things have been working out really well so far and I hope to get all that stuff squared away in the next few days.

This was my sixth or seventh time traveling cross country by train, so I knew the drill.  The hardest part is getting enough sleep, so I brought a blindfold and some earplugs, and that actually worked out really well.  There were a lot of interesting people on the train, and I spent some time chatting with a few of them.  The train is one of the easiest place to make friends, just because the people who take it tend to be very laid back and friendly.

BAsUBItCIAAYenbMost of the time, though, I spent reading, figuring out my new phone, and writing.  Made some good progress on The Sword Keeper, though it looks like I’ll be putting it on hold for a while to get Stars of Blood and Glory ready for publication.  Wrote a little bit in Star Wanderers: Benefactor as well–man, whenever I need a good escape, it’s always fun to write a Star Wanderers story!  I have no idea when this one will be ready, but I think it will turn out well.

The train arrived in Provo late Tuesday evening, and I spent the night at my brother in law’s family, where I’m staying until I find a place to live.  Let me just say, it’s great to have friends and family to help you out when you really need it.  My old car was in the shop, so I set out on foot the next morning in search of an apartment.  Not much luck on that front so far, but I got my car back and found a few job leads, so it looks like I should be settled back down before long.

So why am I moving back to Utah?  A lot of reasons, but mostly because I just really like it out here.  I wanted to take a break before my next overseas adventure, catch up with some old friends and spend some time in a place that I know and love.  It also helps that there’s a good writing scene out here, with a bunch of great local conventions and conferences in the spring.

I didn’t always like Utah, but it’s really grown on me since I first came out here for college back in 2006.  The landscape is beautiful, with lots of amazing places to explore.  The people are really friendly and easy to get along with, even if your political views aren’t conservative (though admittedly, it’s harder).  The Mormon culture makes some things kind of quirky, but not in a way that makes it too hard for me to fit in.  In fact, if there’s any place in the world where I “fit in,” it’s probably here.

Things are kind of upside down right now, of course, but that will change once I find a place to live.  That’s going to take the focus away from my writing for a while, though hopefully not for too long.  In the meantime, today is another day, so I’d better get busy!

Oh hey! Happy Thanksgiving!

Funny how holidays creep up on you when you’re in a foreign country.

We have Friday off here in Georgia, due to an Orthodox religious holiday.  I’ll probably head east and check out the Stalin museum, maybe Mtskheta and Qazbegi depending on the weather.  A friend of mine in Tbilisi said she’d get me a Svan hat, so if that works out, I’ll be sure to post pics.

In school today, we made the hand-traced turkeys from construction paper, with “I am thankful for…” on it.  I got to tell the kids the thanksgiving story, too.  I’m not sure how historically accurate it was, but they seemed to enjoy it.  They also enjoyed all the stickers I gave them for their finished projects.  The Nintendo stickers were the most popular.

So what am I thankful for this year?  Let’s see…

  • Delicious homemade Georgian food.  Beans, cheese, bread, potatoes, peppers, chicken, borscht–almost all of it grown right here in the village where I live.  It’s awesome.
  • My students.  Seriously, some of the awesomest kids I have ever known.  Every day when I get to teach them, I feel like a rockstar.  I’m going to miss them when the semester is over.
  • My friends and family.  Even though I’m literally on the other side of the world and hardly ever have internet, I’m glad that we still keep in touch.
  • My readers.  Seriously, it’s awesome that you guys are reading and enjoying my books.  I just wish I could put them out faster.
  • My first year of running a profitable business.  That’s right–with last month’s sales reports, I’m on track to run a modest profit for 2012.  Let’s hope that this growth continues well into the future!
  • The changing face of publishing.  Seriously, it is so awesome that for a very little upfront cost, a guy like me can sell his books across the world and find fans in places as far away as Singapore and the Czech Republic.  There are so many choices, so much freedom, that it’s staggering to see how different things were just a couple of years ago.  Kris Rusch said it much better than I did, so be sure to check out her most recent post on the subject.

There’s more, of course, but those are the big ones off the top of my head.

I know I missed Trope Tuesday again this week, but I wrote up a long post and then got dissatisfied with it just as I ran out of time.  We’re on the magic flight stage of the hero’s journey, but I’m having trouble finding a page on tvtropes that really fits it.  It’s not really a stage that I’m all that familiar with, either, so it’s going to be a bit of a challenge to figure it out.  But I will, don’t worry–hopefully next week.

As far as Star Wanderers goes, I’m working on the final revisions for Homeworld (Part IV) right now.  It’s going really well so far, so I expect to be finished in a week or two.  After that, I just need to get it copy edited / proofread, and then it should be good to publish.

Just to tease you all, here’s the cover:

So yeah, definitely look out for that soon!

I’ve got to go, but I’ll post again when I get the chance.  Happy Thanksgiving, and I’ll see you around!

New print proof and an update on Star Wanderers

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!

One Confirmed Kill by Peter Johnston

The best description of this book that I think I could give is the disclaimer at the front:

The following is not fiction. The characters and events described are closely based on real life, and any resemblance to real persons, organizations and events is purely intentional, and should be construed in the most negative light the text will support. Some names have been changed to protect the author from violent reprisals from the real people thus depicted, in the unlikely event that any of them have learned to read.

Thus begins a darkly cynical account of one soldier’s experience (or lack thereof) in Al-Anbar Province during the Iraq War.  At times hilarious, at times surprisingly moving, this book made me laugh out loud and kept me engrossed all the way to the end.

Full disclosure: the author is a friend of mine from the Leading Edge slushpile, and I was one of the beta readers for this book.  That said, I really enjoyed this novel, both the earlier draft that I read and the finished version that I bought as soon as it came out.  It’s a lot like Catch 22, except I actually liked this one (whereas I could hardly get through the first chapter of Catch 22).  The writing is witty and sarcastic, and the story, while far from honeycoated, ends on a note that makes the read worthwhile.

If you’re happily employed by the military, this book will probably make you livid with rage…or it’ll send you roaring on the floor laughing your ass off.  I can see my military friends taking it either way.  But one thing is for sure: you won’t find it boring.

One Confirmed Kill is an indie published ebook, and you can currently pick it up in all formats for $.99 on Smashwords.  Disclosure: as a Smashwords affiliate, I get about $.10 from the sale.  However, even if I didn’t get anything for it, I’d still recommend it, because it’s a great read.

Getting settled in the land of the Kartulis

About three weeks have passed since I came to Georgia, and I’m starting to feel comfortably settled in this new place.  I like it a lot out here: my host family is great, I get along really well with everyone at the school where I work, the kids are so crazy eager to learn it’s awesome…really, I couldn’t ask for more.

Of all the places in Georgia where TLG volunteers are placed, Kutaisi seems like one of the best.  It’s the second largest city in the country, so it has access to several amenities such as markets, hospitals, restaurants, parks, and basically anything else you’d  expect in an urban center.  However, it’s about 200 km from Tbilisi and has very little exposure to the West, so culturally it’s very authentically Georgian.  It’s also much less crowded, and (in my opinion) much more beautiful.

My host family is great; I get along with them real well and already feel like a member of the family.   My youngest host brother, Kako, is 9 years old; I showed him Star Control II over the weekend, and he’s been addicted to it ever since.  We also play chess, and I’ve kind of taken him under my wing to teach him the basics of good strategy.  He’s getting steadily better!

Gura and Kati are the two teenage kids; they also speak English, so we’ve had some fun discussions.  Besides Facebook and her cell phone, Kati is really into books; I showed her my Kindle, and she wants me to help her persuade her father to get her one!  Gura is into Call of Duty and spends a lot of time hanging out with his friends; he lacks confidence when it comes to English, but he knows it better than he thinks he does.

The parents don’t speak much English, but they are really good people.  It’s a working class family; the dad works as a welder, and the mom is a nurse part-time and a home-maker full time.  They spend an amazing amount of time and energy on their kids, which is pretty typical for this part of the world.  They’re both non-smokers, and they’re very respectful of the fact that I don’t drink coffee, tea, or alcohol.  Some of the extended family keeps trying to push wine on me, but in the land known as the cradle of wine, that’s to be expected.

We basically spend all of our time in the family room when we aren’t sleeping; it’s where the heater is, so despite the relatively cramped space it’s the most comfortable room in the apartment.  Furniture consists of a couch, a computer desk and office chair, a bucket seat from an old van, a folding table, several small wooden chairs and a stool.  The TV isn’t quite a member of the family, but when the power isn’t out, it’s usually on.

The neighborhood is this bizarre mix of urban and rural elements.  The roads are super muddy and free-range chickens wander everywhere at will, but everyone lives in 9-story apartments that were built back in the Soviet days, when Kutaisi was a major center for the auto industry.  The school was built 50 years ago this year and has barely been renovated since, but it’s just starting to get some much-needed attention, with a computer center and a resource room for special needs students.  When the weather clears up, I’ll bring my camera to school and take some pictures so you can see what the classes are like.

I’ll have to do a post later on Georgian culture; there are some really bizarre and paradoxical juxtapositions, such as the way they mix religion and alcohol, or their strong belief in the nuclear family with their easy-going acceptance of bride-napping as a “Georgian tradition.” I have yet to really get a handle on all this stuff.  However, as a culture, they have a great respect for literature; when people ask my profession and I tell them I’m a writer, their eyes light up, and they show me a degree of deference that I never would have gotten back in the States.

Partly to have something to talk with them about, I’m reading War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy right now.  I just finished Book III, where Napoleon smashes the Russians and Austrians in the Battle of Three Emperors.  Everyone says that it’s the best novel ever written, and now that I’m in the thick of it, I’m starting to agree with them.  There’s a lot of really good storytelling here, as well as passion and depth.  I have the feeling that I’m going to be on a Russian literature trip for a while, though I should probably pick up some Rustaveli and Kurban Said as well.

As far as writing goes, I’ve had some difficulty settling down into a solid routine, not because of lack of time so much as trouble with my current WIPs.  Star Wanderers has more or less stalled; I ran into another wall midway through part III, and I’m still not quite sure how to get past it.  I’ve decided to take a break for a while, but I think my experiences here with the Georgian language are going to give me what I need to really make this novel come together.

In the meantime, I’m working on the 2.0 draft of Stars of Blood and Glory.  I’ve decided to try something new: revising not by chapter, but by viewpoint character.  Isolating each of the five viewpoints is helping me to see which ones work, and which ones are missing something.  I’ve also been using Dan Well’s 7-point outlining method, which is helping out a ton.

It feels like I could be writing more, but I’m not pushing myself too hard at this point.  I’m still adjusting to life in this totally new culture, and I’m also spending a lot of energy getting my TEFL career off on the right foot.  It’s paying off; I’m having a great time teaching, more than I thought I would.  Pretty soon, though, I’m going to start putting more energy into my writing.  I just hope that I’ll have enough mental space left over to really immerse myself and make it work.

Wolfhound by Kindal Debenham

Jacob Hull may be just a spacer’s son, but he’s not afraid to dream big.  As an ensign in the Celostian Navy, his biggest dream is to pilot a destroyer like the Wolfhound, the brand new ship on which he receives his first assignment.  But when pirates attack on their training exercises and drive them far from the rest of the Celostian fleet, Hull realizes that his dream might be more than he asked for…

Full disclosure: Kindal Debenham is actually a good friend of mine–we were both members of Quark in college and still keep in touch as alpha readers for each others’ books.  That’s not why I’m saying that I loved this book, though.  I’ll admit, I had a few doubts when I first started it.  The descriptions are a little wordy, the formatting isn’t perfectly clean–but none of that really matters, because the story is AWESOME.

Why is it so awesome?  Because it’s full of characters you want to root for, facing one impossible conflict after the other, each one bigger and more daunting than the one before.  The story gets off to a decent start, but it really starts to take off after the first third or so, and just keeps getting better and better right up to the end.

Seriously, this is the kind of book I used to hunt for in the library as a kid.  It reminds me a little of the old Star Wars novels by Timothy Zahn, Kevin J. Anderson and Michael A. Stackpole.  Forget dark, dystopian futures and boring, high-concept stuff–this is some rip-roaring space opera, with stations you wish you could visit and starships you wish you could fly.

So yeah, I loved this book.  Great read; once I got into the second half, I couldn’t put it down.  If you’re a fan of space adventure stories, you should definitely check out this book.  It’s available from both Amazon and Smashwords as an indie published ebook, and it’s actually holding it’s own quite well on the Amazon bestseller lists.  It definitely deserves the spot!  Oh, and if you want to check out Kindal’s blog, you can find him here.

Tomorrow, tomorrow

So, I was going to finish Stars of Blood and Glory today…and then I went and spent some time with an old friend, had some dinner and spent the evening with the missionaries…long story short, I think it would be better just to wait until tomorrow than to do a rush job tonight.

I’ve only got two scenes and an epilogue left, which is very strange, because the novel isn’t even 75k words long yet.  Something definitely seems to be missing, and it probably has to do with the storyline of the new characters I introduced.  They’re the prince and princess of a futuristic Japanese culture (with a mix of Polynesian elements) that’s built on giant floating cities on a water world that never fell to the Hameji.  I think I skipped a little too much on the research, so the culture doesn’t feel fleshed out enough at this point.  Also, there’s a whole host of minor characters that I neglected to even give names; in the next draft, I’ll have to work out who they are and how they fit into things.

I’ll definitely finish this book tomorrow, though.  There’s nothing stopping me, and I really need to get it done.

After that, the plan is to immerse myself in the world of Star Wanderers.  I’ve got to be honest, I’m really looking forward to it.  This story came to me like a love child: completely unexpected at a time when I was supposed to be working on other things.  And yet, few other projects I’ve worked on have given me so much satisfaction.  When I let my mind wander, I inevitably find myself daydreaming about it.  And yet, it’s not a story I can force.  I tried that once, and it was as if the characters just refused to cooperate; the answer, quite firmly, was “no.”

As for my next publishing project, I’m going to try to get the illustrated version of Journey to Jordan formatted and up on Amazon and Barnes & Noble before the end of the week. It’s a little intimidating, because I don’t yet know how to add pictures in html such that they turn out well in ebook format.  However, I think it will be a good learning experience, once I climb the learning curve.  Expect to see some news about that very soon.

And as for my New Year’s goal to read a book every week…I know, I know, I missed it last week.  But I plan to make up for it with a couple of really good books in the next couple of days.  Both of them are indie published, and they’re both really fun reads.  The only reason I haven’t finished them is because I’ve been too busy working on my own projects.

So on that note, I think I’m going to retire for the evening with a good book while I wait with baited breath for Kris Rusch’s next Business Rusch post to go live.  Have a good night!

Quick update and Star Wanderers cover previews

First off, I’m happy to say that Stars of Blood and Glory is coming along quite nicely.  I’m currently finishing up with the last couple of chapters, and should have the first draft done by the middle of next week.  Hopefully by then I’ll know if and when I’m starting my TEFL job overseas, but I’m sure I’ll have it finished before then.

This first draft is pretty rough, so I’m sure it’ll be a while before it’s up and ready for you to read.  For some reason, this draft is extremely short–I doubt it’ll be much longer than 80,000 words.  I don’t know if that means my writing has gotten tighter since Bringing Stella Home, or if I’ve unintentionally left too much out.  I’ll probably let it simmer for a few months, do a quick revision, and send it out to some first readers, just like I’ve done for Heart of the Nebula.

In the meantime, I’m getting really excited to pick up work again on Star Wanderers. I’ve been workshopping part II in Kindal’s writing group, just to get some reactions.  I’ll probably revise that part while I’m writing parts III and IV, getting it ready for publication after I hear back from Writers of the Future according to the serial model I outlined previously.

I’m so excited, in fact, that I went ahead and made some mock-ups for the cover art!

Pretty cool, huh?  These make me sooo happy. 🙂

I’m not quite sure if this is the right design, though.  Star Wanderers is very much a science fiction romance, and while these covers definitely scream “science fiction!” they don’t really seem to say “romance!”

My original idea was to use these as backgrounds and commission an artist to do some character portraits from the waist up, using one portrait each for the foreground.  But then again, that might make the covers a bit too complicated.  I can always redo the first one to get rid of the planet, keeping the galaxy–the other ones probably wouldn’t be so bad with a character in the middle.  But then again…

I don’t know.  What do you guys think?  If you saw one of these covers while browsing for ebooks, what kind of impression would it give you, and would you be interested in checking it out?

(By the way, I made the covers with Celestia.  Coolest.  Space simulation.  Ever.)

EDIT: I decided to redo the first cover; the planet wasn’t quite doing it for me.  I’m not sure if that means I should redo the cover for the third part, since that one is a heck of a lot more colorful than the others…hmm.  We’ll have to see.

Back from Texas, or My Last Day in Provo

So!  My Christmas vacation in Texas is over, and I’m on the road again, hanging out here in Utah before catching the train to my parents’ house in Massachusetts and (hopefully) going overseas before the end of the month.

It was a great break!  Great to see my niece and three nephews together.  I swear, my sisters have the cutest kids; it’s going to be a real challenge to find a woman beautiful enough so that my kids will be able to compete!  For Christmas, I gave them all trilobites from my fossil collection.

My favorite moment was probably playing with them at the community park, on the slides and other stuff.  Jane, who is two and a half, likes to wear pretty dresses and run around the playground talking to herself, which is really cute.  Dan, who just started to walk, would climb up to the slides and then stop at the top because he’s too scared to go down.  It was fun watching him discover and explore his world.

On the way back to Utah, we stopped by my old roommate Steve’s place up in Dallas.  He lives in an apartment that is just like a freaking motel…how crazy is that?  Pretty cool, actually.  It was fun to see him again, especially since he’s getting married in April.  Good times.

My sister gave me the gift of her stomach flu, though, which really hit the next day.  Around Amarillo, it got so bad that we pulled over on the shoulder and I fell out of the car vomiting. It was…like something from one of my novels, actually.  We were hoping to make it all the way to Farmington and the Navajo reservation, but ended up in a Hotel 8 outside of Clines Corner for a very miserable night.

The next day was much better, though, and we made good time all the way back to Provo.  My brother in law couldn’t stop talking about the book I’d gotten him, Born to Run, and said that it’s changed his life (he’s a runner…go figure).  We also talked about story structure, Girl Genius, places we’d like to settle down, life plans, etc.  Stopped in Moab for some dinner, and in Bluff to check out this really cool looking historical site.  We switched over in Blanding, and before we knew it, I was pulling us into Provo after driving almost five hours straight.

As a side note, I want to say that I love Southern Utah.  ZOMG, it has some of the most beautiful desolate country I have ever seen.  Inasmuch as I can see myself settling down anywhere, I’d really like to settle down in a place like Monticello or Blanding or Saint George.

Texas is also beautiful, but I’d probably find the rampant consumerism a bit too stifling, and New England winters are far too dark and depressing (unless you have a cozy little cottage with a wood-burning stove).  But Utah–this is my people, living in my kind of country: wild, open, and desolate, where the pioneers are remembered by name and ancient Indian ghosts still haunt the land.

So anyway, I’m back in Provo for a day before heading out on a train late tonight to Massachusetts.  If you’re in the area and want to hang out, give me a call.  This is my last day in Utah for at least the next couple of years or so, and I want to make it count!

My internet access in the next couple of days is going to be spotty, but I want to do a couple more posts to round out the year.  A lot of things changed for me in 2011, so I want to recap that, and I’ve been thinking a lot about my New Year’s resolutions, so I’ll definitely do a post on that as well.  I’ll probably write those on the train, though, so they might not go up until next week.

That’s the plan, anyway.  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and I look forward to hearing from you again soon!