Contests and Novels and Twitter, Oh My – The Eric Update

From time to time, I like to step back and offer a little update on what’s going on in the world of Eric. So, without further ado, here’s the top of the pile.

A while back, I agreed to participate in The Iron Writer Challenge.

Here’s is the particularly awesome image from the Iron Writer site that sums it all up

For those of you who don’t know about The Iron Writer Challenge, it’s a flash fiction contest. Each incarnation of the challenge features four writers that must take four, randomly selected elements and weave those elements into a 500 words or less story. Here’s the kicker. You only get four days to complete and submit the story, which is harder than it sounds.

Without giving away too much, my entry features all new characters set in an entirely new universe. Sorry Sam Branch fans, the muse spoke and I listened. The stories go live later today and you’ll be able to read them here. Please do go, read the stories and cast a vote. It’s good for writers to know people are reading their stuff. It helps keep us sane.

I also put together a gag promotional bit about the contest that you can listen to here.

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As most of you know, I’m working on the third novel in the Samuel Branch series. I gazed into my crystal ball, consulted the cards (maybe snuck a glance at the word count on the document), and it looks like I’m set to crack the 30,000 word mark this weekend. I’d like to think that means I’m somewhere around 30% finished, which is also the point at which I start feeling compelled to settle on a title and start cover artwork, so keep your eyes open for those.

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In other news, I recently reached a personal goal of accumulating 2,000 followers on Twitter. When I set that goal, back in the dark days of having 200 followers, it seemed like one I couldn’t possibly reach. Yet, over time, the followers appeared and I appreciate them all.

For anyone wondering how I did it, I owe some of that success to having a diverse range of interests. My followers include professional artists, writers, marketers, and people interested in the wonderful world of transmedia storytelling, to name but a few. I do, however, owe a special thanks to the Authors Social Media Support Group for helping me reach this goal. They helped to bolster my numbers, but, more importantly, they retweeted my interesting stuff and helped to get my name out there. Thanks guys, you’re awesome!