Cover Reveal: “Fire” by yours truly
There was a surprising amount of drama associated with this cover. The firm that did my last cover seemed eager to do this one, but took their time with an initial design and then went silent on revisions. Several promises later, I gave them a deadline. A week after that passed, they said they’d get…Read More
Down 20
Book update: After vacillating on names, I’m back to Fire for the second book. Revisions have made it more realistic, and the plans I have for Book 3 make it realistic that I will finish the series at 3…plus the novella that I’m creating from all of the things I’ve pulled out of Fire. Fire…Read More
Book Review: The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson can write. No doubt about it. So, when I picked up the Hugo Award Winning, The Years of Rice and Salt, I knew I was in for a treat. Robinson’s tale is of history reimagined. The characters are interesting, and the perspectives are fun at times. It’s just that the book gets,…Read More
Imposter Syndrome
They say it represents “all Canadians” who have worked in the Space Program. But it’s really Chris Hadfield. I struggle a bit with Imposter Syndrome – the feeling that I don’t really deserve the success I’ve had, and that I’m not as smart as some other people believe. It started when I was 29 and…Read More
The Importance of Submission
Don’t get your perverted hopes up. This post is not about *that* kind of submission. Nor is it about Mixed Martial Arts. It’s about that tiny little button you must click in order to complete your book’s acceptance by Amazon. Submit. I blew it. For the last week, I’ve been cursing Amazon and their tardiness…Read More
SPARK Second Edition: Cover Reveal
The journey to this point has been a bit longer than I anticipated. I ran this as a competition through 99designs and was very pleased with the results. One major lesson learned for the next time will be to make the competition “private” so that artists can’t see each other’s work. Some artists were very…Read More
Book Review: Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
Beautifully written. Bas-Lag is a well-crafted, steam punk world full of fantasy science and fantastic species. I would not want to live there. Mieville put together a wonderful story that is, in his words, “new weird.” This book won a Hugo Award and it was well deserved. I listened to this as an audio book…Read More
(Mis)Adventures in Publishing
So. I’ve been promising everyone that Book 2 will be out in time for Christmas this year. That may still happen. Here’s the deal: I signed a contract with a publisher that gives them the rights to everything in the SPARK universe for ten years. Earlier this week, they told me that the book will…Read More
Comicpalooza – Houston – See you there!
Please note that the bird will not be attending.
Book Review: The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
This was a fun read. At times, it reminded me of one of my favorite books – The Starless Sea. There’s a similarity to the magical realism that takes place and, well, both are related to books and libraries. I was quickly hooked by the narrative and characters. We meet Nell Young first. She’s Dr….Read More