Some Updates!

This summer is turning out to be really busy for me! Way busier than I'd expected. In fact, I was planning on taking a week off this summer and taking a real vacation, but at this point it's probably not going to happen until late fall. I wanted to give some updates, though, both on my fiction writing, my other writing, and my other projects. I've got a lot going on, but that's how I like it, honestly. So, without further ado, here it is:

The Smashing Idea Book

Looks like this will be out in October of this year. The cover is now up on Amazon (and I'm absolutely thrilled with it! I love the fact that it's black while the covers for all the other books in the series are white. It makes it really stand out), and it's available for pre-order. You can check it out here on Amazon (affiliate link) or on Barnes & Noble (B&N has it for a few cents cheaper). It would be awesome if it could come have a fair number of pre-orders before it launches. So if you're interested in web design, and need help coming up with inspiration at times, then please check it out!

The Steam and Steel Chronicles

I've been rethinking the series in preparation for writing the third book. I had started writing it, but I felt like it was really falling flat. I always feel like the third book in the series is the weakest (if you look at any long series, you may notice what I mean), and I don't want that to happen with this one. I want the third book to be at least as strong as the first, and stronger than the second.

So what I've decided is that I'm not doing a six book series after all. It's likely going to be four books now, but maybe five, depending on what happens when I actually start writing the third book again (which hopefully will be before the end of this month). I'd rather have a kickass four-book series than a mediocre six-book series. I hope my readers will agree. So at this point I'm expecting the third book will be out sometime in September. I'll keep everyone updated on that.

New Editorial Position

I've taken on a new editorial position for Webdesigner Depot this month. I'm now co-editor there. I've done editing work for two other major sites in the past (Smashing Magazine and the Tuts+ Network) and really enjoy it. It's a nice break from writing while still keeping me closely connected to what's happening in the design sphere. This doesn't mean I'm giving up any of my other blogging pursuits, simply adding one more iron to the fire.

New Design Work

I'm working on a series of child themes for WordPress, some of which will be aimed at writers, and some that won't be. It's slow going, since I only have a few minutes here and there to devote to it (which is why I'm doing child themes for Twenty Ten, rather than themes from scratch). Some will probably be released as premium themes, but I plan to give away at least one or two. The first theme I'm working on is going to be called Nineteen Ninety. I'll let your imaginations run wild with what that one will look like.

Filmmaking

Anyone who's been reading this blog for long will know that I'm really interested in indie filmmaking. Well, I finally bit the bullet and bought a Panasonic GH1 (affiliate link), which I promptly hacked. I've assembled a small kit of vintage lenses. Next will be some sound equipment (a boom mic and audio recorder). I'm actually going out this afternoon to get some footage for an experimental short I'm working on. I hope that next year I'll be working on my first feature film (I've got the script for that one nearly ready to go, and am working on three other feature film scripts)! Until then, I have three shorts in the planning/pre-production stage. Those will be my winter projects. I'll post updates as this new hobby progresses.

So that's what I've been up to this summer. It's been hectic, but I'm actually feeling really good about my workload. The spring was overwhelming for me, and I realized just how much I suck at time management sometimes (especially when tackling huge projects), but it's something I'm getting better at.

I'm going to try posting more regularly from now on, at least on a bi-weekly basis. We'll see how that works out…