M.G. Herron's Blog, page 21

Huge giveaway of signed science fiction paperbacks

I’m involved with this incredibly massive signed paperback giveaway over at Sci-Fi Bridge. They’ve got such an amazing deal going on right now I can hardly believe it myself, and it just seems a crime not to share it.

The giveaways SFB does are particularly special because everyone is a winner. Those who sign up will get these 6 ebooks straight away, no strings attached (and you can unsubscribe from the list whenever you please, although I don’t know why you would).

A little bit about each of...

Giving up on perfect

At some point in every draft of every novel I’ve ever written, I’ve had to give up on the idea of perfect and get out of my own way.

Like many artists who want their work to be considered good, the words that end up on the page often fail to match—sometimes barely even resemble—the shape of the story that exists in my head.

Such is the nature of the beast.

No reason to fight it. Just the way it is. People aren’t perfect, and neither are the things they create. I’m certainly no exception. I ju...

First words on Translocator 3

I’m finally making some visible headway on Translocator 3. Spent the first half of the month planning/outlining the book using a combination of the 9 point outline from Larry Brooks and 4 act plot structure (see Lester Dent’s Master Fiction Plot), journaling madly, and then blowing it all out into a chapter by chapter synopsis.

Some people think I’m crazy for doing that kind of legwork up front—they’re either afraid of the work or it bores them, or they call themselves pantsers and just don’t...

July-August writing challenge finished

Did anyone else notice it was nearly the end of September? Good grief.

Despite the late date, I wanted to return to the subject of the July-August challenge briefly and review the results. I always get mad at myself when I don’t close the box on goal-setting exercises like this, so here we go.

My goal was to write four short stories in July. This got bumped by other project back to August, hence “July-August Challenge.”

I managed to write only 2 of the four stories—a 2k word story and a 8k wo...

Low Desert, High Mountain, Big Lizard: A Post-Apocalyptic Story

My post-apocalyptic novelette Low Desert, High Mountain, Big Lizard is now available as an ebook!

Originally published in a monster anthology back in the Spring, this is the first time the story is available by itself—and it’s only $0.99. Here’s the blurb:

Low Desert, High Mountain, Big Lizard

A basilisk barks and chases boulders across the desert.

Has the thing lost its blinking mind?

As a scavenger, Das is no stranger to the beautiful and deadly alien creatures the invaders left behind. He’...

Short Fiction: The Road Is Three

Earth changed the day the invaders attacked, and even though they’re gone now, departed for reasons unknown, our world will never be the same.

All I want for my son, David, is a chance at a normal life. We survive by scraping together a meagre existence in the Rocky Mountains, but we’re isolated. No friends or family to speak of. That might be living, but it’s a great distance from normal.

So when a woman contacts me on the shortwave radio and tells me there’s a place where David might have a...

Deep in writing mode

I’m deep in writing mode now, so my mind is a million miles away.

Spent this week outlining two novels, including Translocator 3, and brainstorming ideas and writing backstory for the post-apocalyptic short stories.

The two novel outlines are coming together nicely. And I got 500 words today on a brand new story today. Nothing is done, but all my projects are once again in motion.

I’ll admit, the novels are more exciting to me, and I know they’ll perform better in the stores. But the short st...

Words complete on the sci-fi mystery project

Yesterday I finished my part of the sci-fi mystery cowriting novel.

*Fist pump*

The title is undecided (different than what you see here) and I can’t share much of the concept yet, but we reached 50k and the book is currently being revised by my industrious co-author.

All told I’ve probably written 30k manuscript words and 5k plotting/planning words so far on this novel. Feels awesome. And goes to show that steady work, even slow, adds up over time.

I had planned to be done this by August 1s...

The Alien Element is here

It’s my pleasure to announce that The Alien Element, my pulse-pounding, throat-grabbing, ancient alien-having technothriller, is now available!

The Alien Element

Earth is endangered by an ancient source of power…The Alien Element is here.

On Kakul, Rakulo scours the Wall for a way to free his people from centuries of subjugation. On Earth, Eliana searches Mayan ruins for clues to the origins of Kakul, and Amon is brought under investigation when an intruder in the lab is murdered.

The intrude...

AMA Q9: What are some of your favorite hidden dining ‘gems’?

(As a reminder, this is a question I received in my first blog-style Ask Me Anything.)

Jeff Wetherbee asks, “As somebody who spends a lot of time in Austin myself, I’m curious…what are some of your favorite hidden dining ‘gems’?”

Last question! This is a fun one.

I love Radio Coffee and Beer, especially the taco trailer out back, called Veracruz.

If you want another truly Austin experience, La Barbecue is probably my favorite BBQ place in town.

For fine dining, I usually recommend South Congr...