The Story So Far...

Having taken Steven Pressfield's 'Turning Pro' to extreme heart, I have been doing my best to turn pro and do the work.

This post is a reminder as much as anything else for myself, because 'Resistance' as Pressfield calls it, is always right there ready to smack you down. You have got to keep the momentum going and produce what matters, keep the passion hot and flowing...

So coming down the pike...

The next thing I "think" will be available, is my novel about an exiled Spartan, BLESS THE CHILD. I am still going through the edits and such, as well as everything else that comes with releasing a self-pubbed book.

What is a little different about the process with this particular Sword & Sandal's novel, isn't the book itself but what I am going to do with it. I am going to have 100% of the profits go to the Gan Warriors. They're local and I felt touched, hearing their story and wanted to do something to help them meet their current goal and hopefully do something for their sake, research and what not. They don't seem to have a terrible lot of time.

I've honestly been sitting on this novel for far too long and I have to wonder if perhaps it isn't serendipitous that I have something that might be able to help. While it is a historical action-packed story ala Gladiator, Troy and the like, I can't help but think the theme and hence the title will in spirit be carried on as helping the Spencer family.

Immediately afterward, I have the former Roar of the Crowd novella, Whispers of the Goddess, to be released as well. It's going through final edits etc. All of my self-published stuff will go through what will be Lost Realms Press- including eventually The Hand of Fate. How do you like the rough draft logo my talented wife came up with (with my suggestions). I wanted the Old and New World merged.

If you have looked at the blog in the last week plus, you would have seen my inspiration pics for my Space Eldritch story. This fine collection will be Lovecraftian space opera pulp. I'll be sharing the TOC with a small facebook group of pro's called the 'DIMWIT's' which include, Nathan Shumate, Dave Butler, Howard Tayler, Robert Defendi, Michael Collings, a cover and possible story by the talented Carter Reid, and I'm not sure if Brad Torgerson is in or not. It should be out in November I believe. As the deadline junkie I am, I still don't have a title that really moves me yet, but I am working on it. I worry mine isn't space opera enough, but at the same time, I am very stoked about this story. I talked about some aspects of it when I was interviewed by Douglas Dietrich. I want to bring a Sword & Sorcery tale to space, yet I would not call it Sword and Planet either, in fact no swords at all, but the same spirit. I hope I bring that.

I currently have 12 stories that are subbed that I am waiting to hear Yea or Nay on.
The Dogs of War, Stumps, Burnt Offerings, Obsidian Moon, The Mad Song (at least I know its been shortlisted), Baptism By Fire, Soma for the Destroying Angels Soul, IF, Make a Monkey Outta Me, Red Wolf Moon. Bring the Fire's proposal has been accepted but certain publication is still in the air. And Sailing to Valhalla has been sent to a to a S&S reprint market with Wildside Press.

I honestly don't know for certain when the accepted tales, Garden of Legion, A Good Home for the Spoon, The Cry of Carrion Birds, The Serpent's Root, and Rolling in the Deep will be published. But in theory soon enough.

And finally, not counting the many other shorts in progress, the many other novels in midstream Gods & Robbers, The Bastard Prince, The Dispossessed, Dance the Ghost With Me, Midnight Sons; the sequel to Heroes of the Fallen, ~ Blood of Our Fathers is still on my mind, but a computer crash severely set me back from the progress I had been making in its finalization.
It was the one thing that when I lost it/halfway retrieved it, that made me so heartsick that I haven't touched it in a long long time-everything else was short enough that I was able to retrieve it, dust it off and rework it. But at some 100,000 words BLOOD seems very daunting to tackle. I have played with the idea of completely rewriting it, simply because I know there actually exist people who want it AND because in theory if I went at it from scratch, it would be a much better book than when I first wrote it.

Amid all the obligations and wants and needs, I will get the work done eventually.