A quick writing update

Well, it's been about two and a half weeks since HAYWIRE was released, and that first week was straight-up crazy! I spent about two days living on Facebook, with periodic side trips to Twitter, Goodreads, and Amazon. So much more exhausting than I thought it would be, but I have to admit to it was also fun. You might be wondering, though, what was the net result of all that work and effort? Did I sell a bajillion copies? The sad answer is no. Not even close. In situations like this there are always two worlds at war with each other, one the real world where I'm a first time novelist with a debut book in a niche genre, and the other is the dream world in my mind where everyone is dying to buy my work and bury it in praise. And, as usual, reality won. I sold what my publisher assures me is the usual amount for someone in my position, but then quietly follows that up with urgings to not quit the day job just yet. Little does he know I already did that years ago.

But, before I get too sad about all the people who haven't learned of my book or who haven't bought a copy, I want to make sure I thank all those who did. I was astonished by all the people who helped me get word out through Facebook posts and retweets, who put the book on their "Reading" or "To Read" lists on Goodreads, who let me come on their podcasts and blogs to promote it, and who went to Amazon and posted a review. I received kind words from people I never expected, such as classmates I haven't seen in years, and co-workers of my wife who don't even know me. The kindness and support that came in, and still comes in, has humbled me nearly beyond words. I am so grateful to you all, and the thanks I feel goes beyond what a blog post can convey. I am deeply in your debt.

If you'd like to see some of the people I'm talking about, I have a Pinterst board devoted to all the people who bought a copy of my book and then went even further by taking a picture of themselves with it. John Mierau was the first person to do it, and all it took was that one to have me begging people carry it on. They did, and now I have this — a constant reminder of the wonderful people who've helped me get one step closer to my dream. You all get a very special thanks.

Okay, now that the HAYWIRE talk is out of the way, let's move on to my other projects…

I talked with my editor over at Crescent Moon Press yesterday, and she informed me that I should be getting her edits for A MINOR MAGIC next week. I look forward to seeing their notes and diving back into that world. I haven't touched or read the story since they bought it, so plunging back into it will be a lot of fun. Once I start on that process I'll put a progress widget on the right side of my home page like I did with HAYWIRE. That way you can keep track of it without me constantly posting.

On Wednesday I finished the first draft of my horror novel STILL WATER. To be honest, I don't know how much I've talked about it here on my blog, but a quick and dirty synopsis would be — In the small West Virginia town of Stillwater, coal mining has long been a way of life, but when an ancient evil that has slept in the mountains for millenia is awoken, the entire world could be plunged into an unending nightmare of pain and darkness and death. Now that the first draft is complete I'm going to put it away and let it rest while I work on other things (such as the aforementioned edits of A MINOR MAGIC). I really like STILL WATER and think it's a solid horror story, but the proof will be in what eventual readers think, so here's hoping they like it as much as I do.

I'm also trying to get more of my short stories up and available for sale on Amazon, so if you're interested in those you can head over there and take a look. We're also close to finishing the EXPLORERS anthology that my Dead Robots' Society podcast has been working on for about a year. I'll be glad to have that launched and into the world.

And that's it! I think that's brings us up to speed. If you've bought a copy of HAYWIRE, I thank you. If you haven't, then why not? It's good! Trust me!

Peace…