My wife is doing well; the corporate world is finally realizing that the economy is not as strong as their pundits in government say it is. Her workload increases while the resources at her disposal dwindle. He and the lady she practices with are looking at doing some long skates marathons (50-plus miles.) They are talking about putting together an audition tape for 'the amazing race.'
Me? I've been writing in my spare time. I've two stories in the works. One will wrap up at light novel length at about 70k in words (the hobbit is 90k ish depending on the printing). The other will be close to 30k. That makes the two of them too long for most short story submissions I've been doing. I'll probably bundle them together with a couple of my returned-to-me rights stories that I rework and touch up and put them out in a standalone (short storybook)
I cleared my editor's edits from the first of my five novels and submitted the second novel's draft to her for editing. I also received the final work of book four's cover, and my illustrator started the work on book five's cover. Reading through the book as the edits cleared was an amazing feeling.
Right now, I am working on learning to publish the book, which is its own kind of unique craziness. I've learned to write the much-dreaded blurb! I've got to pick up my ISBNs, you need one for each type of book you will sell, E-book, paperback, and hardback. On top of that, your revisions will need a new ISBN. I need to submit the manuscript to the copywriter's office. Finally, I've got all the back-end work that comes with publishing. Like the venues I publish to and what versions (E-book, paperback, hardcover) along with setting up formal author pages and a website that links to the seven or eight short story collections I am in.
It's a lot to learn, but with five books written that are a combined 1.34 million words, I think it is worth it. If you've read any of my short stories, you will recognize the universe that they are all set in. All my shorts are character stories for minor characters or their descendants within the books.
So, Book One's cover reveal and announcement.
Hopefully, by the end of October, I will have Book One published. Book two should come shortly after that. I'm excited, relieved, and scared out of my wits.
The dreaded book blurb.
The Cover:It has been seven years since I was injured on a mission workup, which cost me my career in the Compact Military. Adding insult to that injury, the past two years of recovery since the failure of the Dillon Dimensional Gate have been a harsh lesson.
Thankfully, a brother from my days in the mud and the blood has offered me a new purpose in life while allowing me to pilot again. And I have found her: my siren, my love, who grounds me in my humanity as I forge mankind's path on new worlds.
With the aid of new friends and old allies, I begin to unravel the mystery of my past and the tragedy for which I am implicated.
The cover courtesy of Brad Fraunfelter @ http://www.bfillustration.com/
