24 Dec 2013

The Reefs of Time—a Complete First Draft!

posted in: my books, personal news, The Chaos Chronicles, The Reefs of Time, writing | 11

Great news! I’ve met my do-or-die goal of having the first draft of The Reefs of Time finished before Christmas Eve! Last night at around 3 a.m., I typed the fateful words:

To be continued in Book Six of The Chaos Chronicles

and heaved an enormous sigh of relief. Because that, of course, is another way of saying, The End! What a feeling. I’ve been working on this thing for a little over five years, and it’s just about caused me to lose all my remaining hair. But I feel really good about what I’ve got now (as a first draft!), and eagerly look forward to starting the rewrite in the new year. It’s a sprawling, complicated story, and I know there are pieces missing, and a lot of other sections that will be mercilessly cut, and a lot to be completely reworked. But that’s all stuff I know how to do. It was getting the basic story down that threatened to send me around the bend. For those who are counting, it’s just over 900 pages in manuscript, or somewhere around 220,000 words. (I think my writing group had a poll going on the final length, but I don’t know if anyone remembers who bet what.)

I hope my agent and publisher will be glad to hear this, as well! They’ve been incredibly patient, and all I can say is, If I could have done it faster, I would have.

Even a crashed car isn’t going to take this good feeling away.

Thank you, God, and thank you, everyone who has been waiting and periodically nudging.I think I’m going to enjoy a really good beer tonight, and focus on getting ready for Christmas.

23 Dec 2013

It’s Dead, Jim

posted in: personal news | 0

We got word from the insurance company over the weekend that our beloved Ford Fusion is being declared a total loss, following the accident in which Allysen got rear-ended. This breaks our hearts. It also means that our last week of the year has now been repurposed: After Christmas, we have to start looking for a new, or new-to-us, car. (Sigh.)

On the other hand, the car died heroically. It stopped fast when it had to, and saved Allysen from being squashed by the 18-wheeler that idiotically turned right in front of her. Then it saved her from injury when the SUV behind plowed into her because that driver couldn’t stop fast enough. It did exactly what it was supposed to do.

It was a good car, and we’ll miss it. Its name was Centauri.

Stay tuned for my next entry, though, because that news will be better.

10 Dec 2013

The Avengers meets The Hunger Games!

posted in: personal news, science fiction, The Chaos Chronicles, The Reefs of Time, work in progress, writing | 0

That’s The Reefs of Time, all right! Thrilling action, endearing characters, lively wit, and heart-rending trials. Plus, the whole galaxy at stake. 

Okay, I lied a little. The book will have all those things, but it bears no resemblance whatever to either The Avengers or The Hunger Games. (Both of which I liked, by the way.)

I am so close to finishing the first draft of this sprawling adventure that it is my hope and prayer that I will finish the first draft before Christmas. Actually, before Christmas Eve. The first draft. I have another chapter, maybe two, to write. Pray for me!

Why am I telling you about it now, instead of just doing it? Partly as a warmup. And because I want to put it out there that this is what I’m aiming for—like President Kennedy, calling for a moon landing before the decade (1960s) was out. And because so many of you, from time to time, gently ask me how the book is going, and will you have a chance to read it while you’re still alive. Here’s my answer: Yes!

Also, I just like to say, “The Avengers meets The Hunger Games.”

Stay tuned.

9 Dec 2013

Owww!

posted in: personal news | 0

The very good news is, no one was hurt. The bad news is, Allysen got rear-ended last Friday evening, while driving home from her mother’s place. She was forced to slam on her brakes when an 18-wheeler made a sudden turn, cutting right in front of her. She stopped in time, but the SUV behind her didn’t. The rear of our Ford Fusion is mashed in, and we are very grateful for the aggressively forward-jutting headrests which seem to have prevented any whiplash injury. (No sign of it so far, anyway.) The young adult driving the SUV, and his passengers, were also uninjured. The truck driver? He continued his turn into the parking lot and went on his way without any visible awareness that he had caused an accident.

Here’s our beloved 2010 Fusion. It’s four years old, but still feels like our new car. Too soon to know whether the insurance company will consider it repairable. I hope so. We love the car, and also we just gave it new tires and battery.

27 Nov 2013

Comet ISON: John Bandicut?

posted in: astronomy, ebooks, free ebooks, my books | 0

It took a loyal reader to point it out to me: The coming close encounter of Comet ISON with the sun is kind of reminiscent of a fateful ride taken by John Bandicut in my novel Neptune Crossing. (Tip of the space helmet to Kyle Michael Jeynes for noting it on my Facebook page.) Of course, in Bandicut’s case, he and the quarx Charlie were chasing the comet.

If you haven’t read Neptune Crossing, you should. I need the sales! No, actually it’s free, pretty much everywhere fine ebooks are to be found. Or, you could take the plunge and buy it in a high quality omnibus with the next two books in the series. Only $6.99 for three complete novels! A steal, even if you can get the first one by itself for free!

Seriously, though, ebook sales have been down something fierce the last few months. It’s been true for me, and I’m hearing it from a lot of other writers, too. Maybe it’s the economy, combined with organized governmental dysfunction. Even our local beer and wine store reports a recent sales slump. If people aren’t buying likker, you know there’s a problem!

So, support your favorite author and buy a book today. Or, maybe even better, recommend your favorite author to someone who hasn’t had the pleasure yet. Your favorite author will thank you.

12 Nov 2013

Another World Milestone!

posted in: personal news, quirky, weather | 0

My wife Allysen texted me this afternoon to alert me to the arrival of:

11/12/13 14:15

Did I marry the right woman, or what? 

Okay, it only works in parts of the world where dates are expressed as Mo/Da/Yr, but still.

It was kind of a strange day, meteorologically. We had snow flurries in the morning, or so I hear (I was asleep). What’s strange about that is, just a few days ago I was walking around in a short-sleeve shirt. Then, this afternoon, I noticed that the sky was mostly a thick overcast, with a band of clear sky just above the northwest horizon. The demarcation between the overcast and the blue was a ruler-straight line, with no visible movement. I had a great, big-sky view of it as I drove north out of Boston on the elevated freeway.

Several hours later, it looked exactly the same. I took this picture, using the Panorama app on my phone.

Click image to biggify

The line looks curved from the fisheye effect, but in reality it was straight as an arrow shot by the Arrow. Here’s a regular shot.

It was still that way at sunset, when the edge of the overcast was lit with a beautiful pink glow. Wish I’d caught that.

10 Nov 2013

Give to Charity, Get a Story!

posted in: good deeds, public affairs, writing | 0

My colleague Laura Anne Gilman, a fellow member of Book View Café, has made an interesting offer: Give to a local food bank, send her a pic of proof, and she’ll write a short story to put up for free on her website! If she gets enough, she’ll write a novella. She can do it, too. (I would not make such a bold offer, myself.)

So, go ahead. You’re probably going to give to charity anyway, this season. Why not encourage Laura Anne to write a story while you’re at it?

Details here: http://www.lauraannegilman.net/this-thing-i-do/

10 Nov 2013

Go, Buckeye Band!

posted in: performances, quirky, videos | 0

Back in my high school days in the Buckeye State, I played in my school’s marching band—first on clarinet, then bass drum, then snare drum. I vividly remember how difficult it was to keep our marching lines straight, stepping eight to five*, even when the band was just marching down the field. (*Eight to five means eight measured strides to every five yards.) With that in mind, prepare to be impressed when you watch the Ohio State University Marching Band perform a routine they called the Hollywood Blockbuster Show—especially the T-Rex from Jurassic Park!

You can skip the first minute or so, which is the other band getting off the field. Watch in full screen!

  
31 Oct 2013

Yay, Sox!

posted in: public affairs, sports | 0

Congratulations, Red Sox, for a great World Series! Even this generally-doesn’t-watch-baseball fan got pretty enthused about the series this year. We stumbled into the playoffs by accidentally tuning in about ten minutes before Ortiz hit his grand slam home run a couple of weeks ago. And from there on, we were all in. Way to go, Bosox!

I found myself wondering, though, why the two teams don’t come together and shake hands at the end, the way sporting athletes used to do. For all of the excitement, I feel as if we’ve lost something in our obsession with the win. I think acknowledging each other as worthy opponents makes the sport larger, not smaller–and I wish we could have a movement back in that direction. Imagine a game like tonight’s, but with both teams out on the field at the end: the losers congratulating the winners on their win, and the winners sharing just a bit of the spotlight to acknowledge that the other team put up a hell of a fight.

Well, why can’t I do my bit right now? Cardinals, you put up a hell of a fight, you played some great baseball, and you managed to grow beards without looking like mountain men! Congratulations to you, too, on a great series.

What the hell, while we’re at it–congratulations to the fans! And to the new owner* of the Boston Globe! Beers all around!

Boston Globe photo by Barry Chin

*John Henry, who also owns the Red Sox.

 

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