ABS:UHS Update

I got an E-mail from my publisher with the final version of the cover for my upcoming story, ABS:UHS. The illustration - a fun cover that includes all of the main characters in a non-story setting - looks fantastic! I can't wait to share it with the world. This one has been a lot longer coming than I have wanted. Still, I think the wait is going to be worth it. If for no other reason, having something I wrote illustrated with nearly 100 beautiful images by an artist that is known and respected in the community is going to be worth the price of admission.

Yes, you read that right; this one won't be free. Even so, I think that those that choose to pay for the story won't be disappointed. I don't have a price point yet, but I would guess it will be well under the price of my Reluctant Press stories, yet having far more value. I can't rave about the illustrations enough. Some of them will be worth the price of admission all by themselves. Thank you, my artist friend! You know who you are. ;-)

Computer Update

I'm still limping along with a PC that is ... well, let's call it "a gimme." It works, but it's kind of like driving around in a Yugo; it's gets me where I need to go, but that's about it. As an example, the hard drive is only 30 GB. Amazing how fast that fills up with modern applications.

The good news, though, is that I was able to upload the backup copies of my writing from disc a few weeks ago. My recently finished project is one that was on hold because of that repair issue.

My grand hope now is to purchase a laptop and migrate my files to that. I also intend to back-up to flash drive regularly. My writing takes up almost no file space as .doc files are so small. Never again to be caught flat footed. (Yeah, I know. Famous last words.)

Another One Bites The Dust

I finished another story. Now what?

I had a week off this last week. As I often do, I used some of my extra free time to write. I banged out 28 pages to finish it off. Writing at an average pace of about one (1) page an hour or less, that's more than three days of full time work. The time flew by. I could do it again easily, because it's just too much fun to write. "T_ P_ F_" (TPF, from now on) is now sitting on my hard drive, needing revision, waiting to be polished to a gleaming shine before being published at ... I don't know where.

Like my other unpublished work (ABS:UHS), I will not be submitting it to Reluctant Press. I think I've outgrown them. It's less about them than it is about me wanting more control over the content I create. If I write something and it bombs, I want to know. If it succeeds wildly, I want to know. Most of all, I want to succeed or fail based on the merits (or lack thereof) of my own work.

To that end, ABS:UHS has been extensively illustrated (paid for by a third party) and will be published at some point in the future at a website that won't suprise anyone that follows my writing. As great as that is, I'm looking to publish independently for my next story. I have Lulu and Createspace (Amazon) accounts set up, but I'm not sure which I'll use. I'm leaning towards Createspace, as I think it will get more exposure if I use them. A friend of mine uses them with great personal success.

For now, I've got a several stories with finished outlines and enough pages to know I want to finish them. (C_ O_ T_, MAU:S_ E_ , T_ B_, TotTC:M_ V_) Before I worry about publishing, that's were I'm going to put my focus, starting with COT. Besides, TPF makes reference to a licensed character that needs to be edited out if I'm going to sell it.

It's Up!!!

"The Milkman," my newest story is up. You can find it over at TG Comics. As I've mentioned here before, I'm pretty fond of this one. The biggest part of that for me is because I think it's the tightest piece of writing I've put out yet. Femur gave me some feedback on the ending. After some mild grumbling on my part, I capitulated and the story is far better than it was because of that. Here's a great big THANK YOU to femur!

Hint Hint

For those of you daring enough to read my blog, here's a scoop just for you!

If you head on over to TG Comics, the same update that includes the last chapters of Sturkwurk's "WTF?!?" has a promise of a new writer and a new "official" artist. Guess who the new writer is? That's right ... lil' ole me! I even know who the artist is, because I signed off on their selection. I wish I could say more, but I don't want to steal Femur's thunder. I will say this, though: I really excited to share this one with the world.

Coming Soon

One of my projects is about to be released soon: MM. I'll have more to say here as soon as it's up. That includes sharing what "MM" stands for. I'm really excited to share this illustrated story with the community and hope it's well received.

Pins and Needles

My computer - already sputtering along due to a past malware incursion - is now in critical condition. I took it in to try and recover my personal files, which have not been backed up for ages and ages. If that fails ... most of my stories are dead. I have some "in the cloud" (Lord how I hate that term) on Google Docs, but the majority of my partial works are on that hard drive.

I'm praying for a positive outcome.