Michael McClung's Blog, page 6
December 22, 2014
Amra Book 4 Excerpt
The first draft of the next installment in the Amra series is coming along nicely, so I thought I'd share the first chapter. Remember, this is only the first draft. Anything and everything is subject to change before publication, including the current working title, which is The thief Who Wasn't There.
That said, I'm fairly happy with this, and with what comes after. Enjoy!
###
One
“There's
That said, I'm fairly happy with this, and with what comes after. Enjoy!
###
One
“There's
December 17, 2014
Not Poughkeepsie, No; Nor Elfland Either
In 1973 Ursula Le Guin
published an essay on the importance of writing style in fantasy.
That piece was titled “From Elfland To Poughkeepsie” and it has
been oft-quoted and remarked upon by those who care about such
things. I, too, care about such things, though I did not realize I
cared about them until I bought a paperback copy of “The Wind's
Four Quarters” at the age of seventeen and read
published an essay on the importance of writing style in fantasy.
That piece was titled “From Elfland To Poughkeepsie” and it has
been oft-quoted and remarked upon by those who care about such
things. I, too, care about such things, though I did not realize I
cared about them until I bought a paperback copy of “The Wind's
Four Quarters” at the age of seventeen and read
October 21, 2014
Ahem. Tap-tap. Is this thing on? Just a brief couple of a...
Ahem. Tap-tap. Is this thing on? Just a brief couple of announcements: Item One: The first two books in the Amra Thetys series are currently free, as in gratis, no money down, no payments for 9,999 months: iTunes (US) Barnes & Noble Kobo Amazon (US) iTunes (US) Barnes & Noble Kobo: Not available because Kobo is weird & glitchy & the book just disappeared one day & I've been
Ahem. Tap-tap. Is this thing on?
Just a brief couple of ...
Ahem. Tap-tap. Is this thing on?
Just a brief couple of announcements:
Item One: The first two books in the Amra Thetys series are currently free, as in gratis, no money down, no payments for 9,999 months:
iTunes (US)
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Amazon (US)
iTunes (US)
Barnes & Noble
Kobo: Not available because Kobo is weird & glitchy & the book just disappeared one day & I've been
Just a brief couple of announcements:
Item One: The first two books in the Amra Thetys series are currently free, as in gratis, no money down, no payments for 9,999 months:
iTunes (US)
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Amazon (US)
iTunes (US)
Barnes & Noble
Kobo: Not available because Kobo is weird & glitchy & the book just disappeared one day & I've been
October 10, 2013
Comes The Conqueror: New epic fantasy serial
New to everywhere but the inside of my head: Comes The Conqueror, an epic fantasy in serial form. This one I started more than a decade ago, but it was so vast in scope, and so strange in its premise (no spoilers, sorry) that it frightened me, and I shelved it.
Things are different now. I can write it, which I had no confidence in being able to do more than a decade ago. I can also
Things are different now. I can write it, which I had no confidence in being able to do more than a decade ago. I can also
August 5, 2013
37,109
After years of telling authors they could not give out the numbers of free downloads at the Apple iBookstores, a few days ago Smashwords downloaded all this information to authors' accounts, apropos of nothing. I won't get into bashing Smashwords; it does no good and changes nothing. Instead, I'll focus on the numbers:
My 2012 Apple sales (free and paid), were 37,109. Subtract the 385 paid
My 2012 Apple sales (free and paid), were 37,109. Subtract the 385 paid
May 19, 2013
Amra #3: An excerpt
When
Hurvus returned it was full dark. He’d obviously filled his skin
while he was out. His hands had stopped trembling. He brewed a willow
bark tea for the boy and forced it down his throat, then put some
foul-smelling plaster on my cheek and a liniment on my hands. Then we
ate, he and I. Black bread, clam soup from a clay pot, a quarter
wheel of a young gray cheese. When it was plain that
Hurvus returned it was full dark. He’d obviously filled his skin
while he was out. His hands had stopped trembling. He brewed a willow
bark tea for the boy and forced it down his throat, then put some
foul-smelling plaster on my cheek and a liniment on my hands. Then we
ate, he and I. Black bread, clam soup from a clay pot, a quarter
wheel of a young gray cheese. When it was plain that
May 2, 2013
Status: Editing
Just a short note, Dear Reader, to inform you that I am still alive, and working, if only tangentially. Mostly what I'm doing is editing, going back over previously released material with a fine-toothed comb, and finding an embarrassing number of typos, especially in The Thief Who Pulled On Trouble's Braids.
It started out as a general once-over in preparation to get on with Amra #3; looking for
It started out as a general once-over in preparation to get on with Amra #3; looking for
April 16, 2013
Status Update: functional, if not optimal
Dear Readers,
I'm alive. In some ways I'm healthier than I've been for years. I've lost a fair amount of weight, most of it fat, through a changed diet, exercise, and admittedly a certain indifference towards the gustatory arts. Physically I'm stronger and have more energy than I have had in years. I'd like to put some more weight on, this time muscle. We'll see.
What else? I sleep more now.
I'm alive. In some ways I'm healthier than I've been for years. I've lost a fair amount of weight, most of it fat, through a changed diet, exercise, and admittedly a certain indifference towards the gustatory arts. Physically I'm stronger and have more energy than I have had in years. I'd like to put some more weight on, this time muscle. We'll see.
What else? I sleep more now.
April 15, 2013
The Grimdark: excerpt
An excerpt
They came through the Riddlemarch, as they always did, at the tail end of winter; enough had grown hungry by then to consider their offer. To see them in worn but warm clothing, riding instead of slogging through the muck, to smell venison or rabbit roasting on the spit over the fire of their camp on the village swards, and to think the dangers of the Grimdark were not so fearsome,
They came through the Riddlemarch, as they always did, at the tail end of winter; enough had grown hungry by then to consider their offer. To see them in worn but warm clothing, riding instead of slogging through the muck, to smell venison or rabbit roasting on the spit over the fire of their camp on the village swards, and to think the dangers of the Grimdark were not so fearsome,
