R.W. Krpoun's Blog, page 14

Update 7-20-20

OK, Grog II is still on track at 35,000 words of rough draft. Plot holding together, no major issues so far.

Nothing much else to report. I’ll be hitting the keyboard, and reporting back next Monday.

It is official

As you know, I am hesitant to public ally state what my current project is, because I have countless projects that have stalled and been set aside. In fact, Grog, Wastrel, and numerous of my novels have lurched to completion in fits and starts over a period of years.

However, I am now prepared to risk it: my current project, weighing in at 31,000 words of rough draft, is a sequel to Grog, currently with the working title of ‘Grog II’.

I will post weekly updates as to my progress, hopefully until the book is finished.

A great landmark for me

Grog just hit 100 reviews, the first time one of my novels has hit three digits. This is especially important to me as I while I will not shy away from asking for a review, I have not purchased or traded for reviews.

So I feel very revitalized and motivated, and will continue writing with renewed ambition. There’s no new word on the audio version of Grog, but I will report in when I have something.

Stay healthy everyone, and thanks for all the support.

Two of us

Two more Krpouns have immigrated to the USA, buoying our numbers to a whopping six, which is as high as it’s been since 1971!

I only know the newcomers via the Net. There’s still a number in Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Brazil (that bunch came over after WW2).

We are the mithreal of the modern world.

Conspiracies

The interesting thing about conspiracies is that they take on a life of their own. People become invested in their pet theory. And should the truth come out on a mature conspiracy, a significant part of the interested parties will simply refuse to believe it, and incorporate the event into their ongoing theory.

A conspiracy theory, IMO, is a means to an end, not a search for the truth. It comforts, it neutralizes a threat.

Conspiracy theories are a hedge against fear because they bring order back to the world. They deny that civilization is an incredibly fragile mesh of imperfect systems operating one step ahead of disaster, and instead focuses on the idea that events happened because they were planned. It is much easier to live in a world where malignant forces cause events, than one where terrible things happen for no good reason.

Taken to the next step of belief, a conspiracy theory empowers: you’re not some pointless wanker who doesn’t matter to your government or the economic powers-that-be or 99.99999999% of the population, you’re one of the ones who really KNOWS whats going on.

Conspiracy theories are beautiful; they are a direct, living link back to the distant days when oral traditions were the foundation of shared culture. They are the foundation of our writer’s trade, and they are proof that Humans are not as faceless a mob as they so often appear, but a community of people with depth.

The muse is upon me, and I am writing well. More as the project develops.

Still writing

The audio paperwork is done, so that project is out of my hands. Meanwhile, I am still pounding the keyboard. No major break-throughs to report, but rough draft is rough draft, and I expect most projects to someday reach the finish line. As to which will be next, I cannot say, but I am hoping to release another book before the end of the year.

What will it be? I can’t say just yet. But I believe it will break loose.

A New Venue, and a big surprise

Well, last week I received an inquiry from Tantor Publishing for the rights to release an audio version of Grog.

Obviously, I was very pleased, as Tantor is a well-established publisher in the audio field. And a couple exchanges of e-mails, we hammered out an agreement, and I should be signing the contract this week.

I’m actually getting an advance! A very small advance, but an advance all the same. I am very excited about expanding into the audio realm, which can only help my name branding.

I’m hoping that success with Grog will lead Tantor to pick up a couple more of my titles.

In the meantime, I am still hammering the keyboard and hunting inspiration. Stay safe, everyone.

Ode to a destroyed series

I’ve always been a fan of the Gotrek and Felix novels; while the early books were a little rough, and they frequently changed authors, it provided a tour of a vast and detailed setting such as has been seldom been done.

The novels were only loosely tied together at first, but as the series went on, they moved towards a coherent and intriguing central core, especially the five by Nathan Long.

Then the Black Library changed authors again, and abandoned the plot Long had built up. And for inexplicable reasons, they deliberately killed off every major character set in the War Hammer setting.

It is inexplicable to me why anyone would do this.

Yes, I have killed off a main character or two in my time; I have done it for the sake of the story, and to avoid being the sort of author who has a predictable plot line. But to destroy a number of series? Unimaginable.

So I re-read the last few books, and mourn beloved characters. Much as I watch my Firefly DVDs.

Haunted by opening paragraphs

Some people are haunted by loss, by what could have been, by lost loves and days gone by.

Me, I’m being haunted by opening lines to unwritten books. I’ve had it before; Zerk’s opening was written after a couple weeks of this feeling; finally I knocked out the first chapter, the project stalled, and life went on. Several other inactive projects have gone that route as well. Perhaps someday they will become novels.

But for the nonce, I am haunted. It is there when I go to sleep, it rushes in when I wake, it hangs over me like an itch. Simply sitting down and writing it will not work, I need a bigger picture, so until the entire picture comes together, I’m haunted by what will be.

It’s not a bad thing.

Stay and home and read more books

Preferable some of mine.

Personally, I think the stay at home policy is doing far more damage to the economy than to the virus’ chances, except in hard-hit areas such as New York or Louisiana.

Still, politicians need to feel like they’re doing something.

I hope all my readers (and people everywhere) are safe and healthy, and weather this pandemic with nothing more than the trauma of living with dwindling supplies of toilet paper.

In the meantime, I am hammering at the keyboard on the next book. I have to say, for a writer of zombie tales the news is conducive to inspiration.

Good luck, and God Bless, everyone.