Darin Kennedy's Blog, page 13
June 29, 2013
On the eve of my 42nd birthday
Something strange is afoot at the Circle K.
Tonight, many of my favorite people are coming over to celebrate my birthday (which is actually tomorrow), as well as enjoy general merriment and fun. Jay will likely bring spirits of multiple types. Eden will bring something baked that will no doubt be better than most of what you would get at a five-star restaurant. Nicole will bring serenity, as well as lurid tales of amorous encounters with wildebeests, sleestaks, and possibly a chimera for our entertainment. Aaron will salsa in the door and shake his money maker (his actually has made him money, to my understanding). Robyne will bring her sardonic wit. Bethany her unbridle enthusiasm. Margo her winning smile and contagious laugh.
We will of course be missing Matthew, who will be home helping care for his almost two week old son, and Lara, his wife, who was amazingly chipper over dinner two nights ago despite many sleepless nights of nursing, crying and diaper changes. Godspeed to you both, and may the full night’s sleep return as soon as possible.
This evening will begin with a viewing of the classic “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and may segue into a “Bogus Journey” if we feel so led. I suspect the evening will devolve into random tales of awesomeness, conspiratorial plans of publishing industry takeover, and lots of laughter, the one thing you can count on with this group.
To my writers clutch, thanks for making Charlotte such a great place. It is an honor and a privilege to spend my Wednesday evenings with you and the occasional Saturday ripping you/me to shreds (in a polite and genteel manner, of course) And with that, I’m off to lunch, a thousand words, then getting this place in order for guests.
Staycation day 1 of 9 – here I come!
June 15, 2013
State of the Union – June 2013
So, midway through the year, I find myself at a bit of a crossroads. I’ve taken a few months off from any serious writing since turning in my second manuscript to my agent late last year. At the end of 2012, I turned out the first 18,000 words to a new Sekrit Projekt that I think is going to be awesome, though I haven’t worked on that one in a few months after hitting a bit of a story road block. I’ve also written a few short stories, including three new April Sullivan shorts, one of which found a place in The Big Bad: An Anthology of Evil by Dark Oak Press that came out last month from Dark Oak Press and another under consideration at Dark Oak as well (turned in this week). But all in all, I’ve been in the disconcerting position of “not” working on something specific for about six months. After working non stop on one of three different novel length projects for literally (no pun intended) years, not having a go to project to work on has been strange.
Often, decisions carry weight and wrong decisions can lead you down , but the real danger, it appears, is in indecision. It’s become clear that I need to just decide on one project and go with it. Therefore, I am returning to my Sekrit Projekt, code named Ghost Story, and plan to go after that one full tilt till its done.
Now, to see if I can keep my resolve. Perhaps, 1,000 words before bed is in order.
Happy writing, everyone!
June 13, 2013
And the winner for Worst Blogger Ever goes to…
Me.
I have every intention of being a great blogger, writer, author, doctor, friend, brother, son, human being, etc. Then that whole 24 hours in a day thing kicks in. Burn the candle at both ends a few days in a row and I end up with a summer cold. Try to work on getting out and doing stuff and the writing suffers. Try to get some writing done and want nothing more than to be outside for all the beautiful weather. Is the grass really greener over there? Sure looks like it.
In other words: Hi! and welcome back to my blog. (That’s me talking to myself as much as you, kind reader.) Back in September 2012, I kicked off this whole “Checkered Ramblings” thing, and since then, other than putting up a couple of publications, haven’t been back. Had time to accumulate about 3700 spam messages in the filter since I was last on, and have sentenced them all to WordPress Purgatory. Now that it’s all cleared out, all publications up, and I’m feeling a bit motivated again, I’m going to follow my friend Jay’s lead and try to get in one blog a week. I can do that, right?
So, starting this Saturday, we’ll get started. A proposal I am considering:
First Saturday of the month – A writing related post
Second Saturday of the month – Something a bit more personal
Third Saturday of the month – State of the Union (Agent, Publishing, etc.)
Fourth Saturday of the month – Something funny
Fifth Saturday of the month – Hey, I’ll write something if I feel like it. 
All right everyone, it’s going to take a village to raise this blogger. Keep me honest.
And now, to work on putting a 25th hour in this day and get back to my new steampunk story…
Happy Writing!!!
May 22, 2013
“Solomon”
The Big Bad: An Anthology of Evil
May 2013 – Dark Oak Press
April Sullivan’s fifth appearance,
this story is told from the point of view of the villain,
an ancient demon called Solomon who intends to feast
on the souls of thirteen innocent children with April for dessert
unless our favorite necromancer can find a way to stop him.
March 25, 2013
Write what you love – Guest post on Marisa Corvisiero’s blog
Hi everyone! If you have a moment, drop by and see my guest post on my agent’s blog. Hope you leave just a bit inspired!
Darin
December 1, 2012
The Sicilian Defense and Other Dark Tales
The Sicilian Defense and Other Dark Tales
December 2012 – 64Square Publishing
My second epublication, this is a collection
of some of my published short stories.
October 12, 2012
Necromancer for Hire: The April Sullivan Chronicles
Necromancer for Hire: The April Sullivan Chronicles
October 2012 – 64Square Publishing
My first epublication, this is a collection
of the first three April Sullivan stories.
October 9, 2012
Happy National Chess Day!
Apparently today is National Chess Day, and has been since its proclamation in 1976. Thought it would be appropriate to commemorate this day on the blog before heading to bed. Hope you all celebrated in your own way. Good night, all! More next time…
October 6, 2012
An interview with Marisa Corvisiero
This is an interview from October 2012 with Marisa Corvisiero, the founder of Corvisiero Literary Agency. She and Stacey Donaghy are my agent team and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with such consummate professionals. I thought this was a great interview, both for the agency in particular, but also for writers to see a bit behind the curtain. Check it out, and also check out Marisa’s and Stacey’s blogs in my blog roll. Over the next few weeks, I will be adding more content to the column there on the right, but thought I would start with my two favorite ladies. All best, Marisa!
October 1, 2012
“The Sicilian Defense”
October 2012 – Chess Life Magazine
Ray found himself enjoying the bizarre chess match against his invisible foe,
that is until the people that meant the most to him began to die one by one,
as if they were being removed from the board themselves…
