Everybody knows the scene is dead

Good afternoon, everyone! Let's kick off this post with a Maplecroft roundup - because I've shown great self-restraint, and I haven't done one in like, a week. Ahem:

Maplecroft at Kirkus Reviews - I'm pretty chuffed by this one, since Kirkus tends not to be super impressed with anything of mine :) "Maplecroft is at its most basic level really fun. I love the imagery of its evil creatures, the idea of Lizzie Borden going around with an axe destroying soul-sucking things because she wants to protect her town and her sister. And I loved her romantic relationship with Nance....Maplecroft is also really good at depicting the slow, all-encompassing horror of the events surrounding and immediately following the Borden crimes in a cool mixture of horror, mystery and female characters’ badassery."

Maplecroft at the Fiction Reboot - "I’ve never been a devotee of the ‘true crime’ genre, so I’ll admit right now that I’m no expert on the Borden story; I’m probably more familiar with the jokes made about it in The Man Who Came to Dinner. But I’ll give you the bottom line on this post right now: if you’re a fan of horror, if you’re a fan of Mythos horror, and you haven’t gotten to Maplecroft yet, do so. Library, bookstore, friend’s copy, whatever."

Maplecroft at VampChix - "It feels so Lovecraftian, and yet, it is not just a re-hashing of his ideas. It pulls from his themes, and as you follow the characters in their own discoveries, the sense of horror builds and builds. It has such a familiar feel- the blending of science and myth, the ancient evil waiting to be re-awakened... this is stuff I know and love. And yet, this is also something entirely new and refreshing."

Maplecroft at The Road So Far - I'm not gonna lie - I have NO IDEA what this review says, as I don't read this particular language. But I am assured that it's quite good, and the 4.5/5.0 star rating suggests I have not been mislead.

Maplecroft giveaway at The Nocturnal Library - Don't forget this giveaway! You still have six days to enter!


And, of course - the obligatory shilling for ratings. So if any of these very kind readers/reviewers have piqued your interest, well then, allow me to make it that much easier for you to pick up a copy for yourself:


Maplecroft at Amazon
Maplecroft on Kindle
Maplecroft at iTunes
Maplecroft at B&N (Nook and trade paperback)
Maplecroft at your local bookseller via IndieBound
Maplecroft at Goodreads


Here's today's progress on my modern gothic ghost story about a salvage crew trapped in a doomed southern mansion - now with a crunchy murder ballad center and Bonus! clandestine cemetery where the stones don't match the bodies (and were never meant to). As inspired by a (semi)true local legend:
Project: The Family Plot
Deadline: January 15, 2015
New words written: 4222 (BAM)
Present total word count: 63,328



Things accomplished in fiction: Got everyone on board with the new plan, using threats and bribery and logic; discovered a new room with a ghost in it; drank a bunch; did not do anything stupid like a horror movie cliche; couldn't get a lick of sleep.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; important emails; paid some bills; made a doctor's appointment (no big deal); honestly, that's about it.

Other: Pulled out another 4k+ today, which is awesome - because I probably won't hit that number tomorrow. Tomorrow is Clean the Whole Damn House day. But I'll still do my best to produce something respectable.

Giveaway Other: All right you non-tweeters - you still have until noon on Friday to enter to win a signed copy of Maplecroft! Click here for details!

Number of fiction words so far this year: 214,709
Puppygram.