Justin R. Macumber's Blog, page 16

Just a quick update

There are times when I wonder if updating this blog serves any purpose. I rarely get comments or emails, and by rarely I mean once in a blue moon, so does anyone even read it? Perhaps if I put up notices on Twitter and Facebook letting people know I made an update, that might draw more people in. I'll have to give that a try.

Anyway…

First, an update on my writing and the upcoming books. It looks like A MINOR MAGIC will be the first to hit the market. We're hoping for a November/December release. And then, somewhere around March of 2012, you should see HAYWIRE come out. I'd like a bit more space between then, but I won't know if that's possible until dates firm up a touch more. I'll keep you in the loop. And as for STILL WATER, I took a break the past two weeks to work on my podcast's anthology plus to rest for a few days, but next week I'll get back into it hardcore. If I'm not done with it by the end of October I'll be upset with myself.

Speaking of podcasts, I'm still doing two of them right now. The Dead Robots' Society is nearing it's 200th episode, which doesn't include all the convention panels, special episodes, and audio dramas we've produced, so in reality we have over two-hundred files available for download right now. I'm proud of what we've accomplished with it. But I'm also still co-hosting with the guys over at The Hollywood Outsider. If you haven't listened to it yet, I really encourage you to, especially if you like movies and TV shows. I have a lot of fun doing it, and the guys I host with are a lot of fun. I wish they lived closer so that I could hang out with them in person. Please, do yourself and us a favor, and give it a spin. We just put out our ninth episode.

If you're interested at all in video games, I just finished replaying Gears Of War 1 and 2 in preparation for playing the third game, and I also just finished playing a new RPG (that's Role Playing Game for you non-gamers) called X-MEN: DESTINY. As you can tell from the title, it is a comic book game, but with an RPG feel. It's not the best RPG I've ever played (Hey, Bioware, what's up? Get Mass Effect 3 out NOW!), but it was still a lot of fun. I'd give it a solid 8 out of 10.

I think that's it for now. This brings you up to date on where I am with some of my projects, and as they develop I'll post 'em here and keep you in the loop. Thanks for coming, and please let me know what you think regarding anything I've talked about.

Oh, before I go, please notice the new icons I've put at the bottom of this post. I got the idea for this from Robin Sullivan, and I'm hoping they'll help in keeping people connected with me and what I've working on. If you see any problems with them, or have other ideas, please let me know.

Take care.

And now HAYWIRE has a publisher too!

Yep, you read that blog post title correctly. Following hot on the heels of my announcement that A MINOR MAGIC was picked up by Crescent Moon Press comes the news that my science fiction novel HAYWIRE has also found a publisher with Gryphonwood Press. I met the founder of Gryphonwood Press, David Wood, a few months ago. I had him on my podcast, learned about his publishing history and how he came to found Gryphonwood Press, and greatly enjoyed talking with him. I knew right away that I wanted to work more with him, so I submitted HAYWIRE. Over the weekend he told me that he liked the manuscript and wanted to publish it. I am incredibly excited.

As more news develops and time tables start to shape up, I'll let you know the details. Thanks for continuing to read this blog.

A MINOR MAGIC has a publisher!

I just wanted to officially announce that A MINOR MAGIC is going to be published by Crescent Moon Press. I'm grateful to them for wanting to publish the novel, and I'm strengthened by their belief in me and my manuscript. I'll let you know more about the book and its release as I get the information. Thanks to you for reading my blog, and thanks to all those who helped me in this process.

Hollywood Outsider – Episode 5

In Episode 5 of the Hollywood Outsider, we run through some current movie news before reviewing the recent releases Fright Night and Conan the Barbarian. After discussing next weeks upcoming releases, Scott puts his own spin on 'Does It Make Me A Sally?' before a quick trailer break. Our 'From The Outside In' topic this week is 'A Night Out At the Theater: What's it going to take to get us there?'. We round out the show with DVD releases followed by our Flashback Pick's of the Week and outtakes.

Podcasters: Aaron Peterson, Scott Clark, Brian Williams and Justin Macumber

Email: HollywoodOutsider@comcast.net

Twitter: H_Outsider

Updated my site a bit

In an effort to make the site look a bit more professional, I've gone through the pages that contain my short stories and I updated them so that they are more uniform in their presentation, so that all the audio links work properly, and so that free PDF versions are available on each page. I also updated a couple of them to notate new publishing credits and the like. The only two short stories that I've not yet put on the site are IN THE DEEP DARK and The DAME WORE WHITE, and the reason is that they will both soon be published, and until their exclusivity period is over, I can't make them available here. BUT, when they ARE published, you can bet your bippy (what is a bippy, anyway?) that I'll let you know so that you can seek them out and let the publishers know how much you liked what you read.

Anyway, not really much else to say at the moment. Thanks for visiting, and I hope you give my short stories a read if you haven't already. And hey, if you purchased a copy of either THE TIES THAT BIND or PIRATES OF THE CRIMSON SAND, that'd be okay too.

Talk to you later…

The new novel is coming along well

It's been a little while since I last talked about my writing, so before I leave tomorrow for a short road trip with my brother Scott (we're heading to San Antonio to get a little bro time) I figured it would be a good idea to check in. Seems like all I update folks on anymore is podcasting, and not all of you are interested in that.

Well, as you know, my latest novel is STILL WATER. It's a horror story about a fictional West Virginia coal mining town and the ancient evil that sleeps below it. The two heroes that the book follows are Kyle and Maya. Kyle is from Still Water, but left it the day he graduated high school and never looked back. After joining the Army he hoped he'd never have to set foot in it again, but his younger sister has sent him messages saying that their father is getting abusive, and that she needs him to come back and do something. Maya, on the other hand, had never heard of Still Water, West Virginia until just a couple of weeks before she arrives in it. Maya is a blogger of the paranormal, and she's been on the hunt for the place that could be the next big supernatural tourist spot, a place with a spooky past but that no one else talks about. After searching the internet and comparing a multitude of statistics, the town of Still Water comes to her attention, so she drives out there to take a look at it for herself. What Kyle and Maya don't know, however, is that an evil nearly as old as time itself had been laying dormant in a hidden mountain cavern until a team of coal miners breaches it and begins a release of the water that had been holding it at bay. With every ounce that pours out of the mountain, the evil comes that much closer to waking. And, to make matters worse, the cavern water has been seeping into the town's water supply, slowly poisoning the townspeople and awakening their own inner evils. If there is to be any hope of survival and of stopping the terror that is to come, Kyle and Maya will have to work together, giving everything they have, perhaps even their own lives.

I'm planning on the novel being about 90,000 words long, though of course it'll be as long as it needs to be, goal be damned. So far I've written just under 16,000 words, so I'm getting closer and closer to finishing the first draft. I'm hoping to have that done by the end of September. It's certainly an attainable goal.

I also have two other novels, HAYWIRE (formerly known as DIGITAL DECAY) and A MINOR MAGIC, that I'm trying to sell. HAYWIRE is now being looked at by one small press, and A MINOR MAGIC is being looked at by another. If HAYWIRE doesn't get picked up, I'm considering publishing it myself. A MINOR MAGIC, though, is one I'm willing to shop around more. If the small press that's looking at it passes, I'll probably start a massive agent hunt for it. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, however.

And that's it for now. I've got a horror short story that's going to be published in an online magazine in a few months, as well as made into a podcast at another website. I even have a graphic novel site interested in it. I'm crossing my fingers it does well.

Take care, everyone, and have a great weekend.

Hollywood Outsider – Episode 3

In Episode 3 of The Hollywood Outsider, we take on the weeks upcoming releases, how Apes and Smurfs are conquering the Box Office as well as numerous news items including looks at 5 newly released trailers and some recently announced projects. Our weekly topic is 'Remakes: Is Hollywood Creatively Bankrupt?'. Brian takes a stab at a new segment called 'Does It Make Me A Sally?' (seems like a rhetorical question to us) and we finish out the episode with our Flashback DVD/Blu Ray picks of the week and, of course, outakes.

Podcasters: Aaron Peterson, Scott L. Clark, Brian Williams and Justin Macumber

Intro/Outro music provided by: The Buddha Nuggs

Email: Hollywoodoutsider@comcast.net

Twitter: H_Outsider

The Hollywood Outsider Podcast – Episode 2

I'm not sure if I'll be a permanent or constant guest on this podcast since I'm not the person in charge of it, but I hope I'm able to be on as often as possible. It's a lot of fun to talk about movies with people who just as passionate about them as I am, if not more. Here is this episode's description:

In Episode 2 of The Hollywood Outsider, we tackle our regular format for the first time. After sharing some impressions of Cowboys & Aliens and thoughts of some upcoming releases, we dive into the week's news and new trailer releases. We also have a spirited discussion on 3D and whether or not we should take out James Cameron for this epidemic. We finish up with DVD releases and each of our own 'Flashback DVD' choices. Be sure to stick around through the end song for our own version of film outtakes.

And now hear me talk about movies

Well, the guys over at the Official Thread podcast asked me to come back on their show, but this time it wasn't to talk about video game. Instead we talked about movies. Most of the discussions was focused on this year's movies, especially the summer blockbusters, but we did talk about films from the past as well as those that are upcoming. I had a blast, and I hope you give it a listen.

Let me also apologize for how loud my voice occasionally gets. Apparently I was too close to the mic or I had my gain up too high, but either way I was louder than I should have been, and I'm really sorry about that.

Wanna hear me talk about video games?

Recently I was a special guest cohost on the Official Thread Podcast, which is a show all about video games from some of the fine posters at the Rotten Tomatoes forums. If you'd like to hear me wax on and on about gaming, I encourage you give it a listen. I really hope you enjoy it.