Web-book is going well, if you're interested in signing up, email me at theroguewriter@aol.com - it's not too late to influence the course of the story, you get a chapter a week for bite sized pieces of fictional enjoyment, and there may be pertinent info involved for the Elder Worlds series...what more could one ask for? Really? Join already!

In other news, I've got about half a book done on a potential 2012 disaster - not sure where it's going next, but that's where it is at the moment. Got the start of a story about an assassin, and finally I've started Hand of the Stranger - the next Elder Worlds Novel. Yes, that, including the Web-Book, means I'm working on four books at once. Like I don't have enough to do.

Keep apprised for new stuff soon. And stuff.

More on the Web-book. The title is Experimental, which seems appropriate enough. I am still looking for more authors who want to join this new movement and write their own Web-books which I will host and distribute. Email me directly for more information if you want to post your own Web-book!

I'm already getting more folks signing up for Experimental, so get in on the action early. Comment on the book as it goes from the beginning and have a say in where the plot goes and what happens next. No time to read? Rev-Co Web-books are delivered a chapter at a time to your inbox, sent out Sunday evenings. Wake up Monday morning and have a nice bite-sized piece of fiction to read.

Join now - paypal button is now up on http://rev-co.net, or you can contact me at theroguewriter@aol.com if you want to pay via check or money order.

Yep, flight delayed, but not canceled. Just been a busy few days and lack of sleep have contributed to me being slow. Get by it.

Anyway, here's the idea I allueded to before. I plan to start an E-book...a web-book...kinda like a blog. Call it a blook (blog-book). Heh. So this blook will be an ongoing story that will, at minimum, reach average book length (80,000 words plus). Final length will be determined when it ends. I still need to figure out payment (cash/checks/possibly paypal if my account still exists). I also need a delivery system...do customers want a .pdf deliverd via email? A password protected webpage? Both? Let me know...you are the customers after all. Price will be less than a standard book - probably about $5.

Here's the kicker though. You'll be reading the book as its written, chapter by chapter, each week recieving the next chapter. During the week I'll take comments, and perhaps set up polls...sorta like the old find your fate books. If enough people want the story to go a certain way, that's where it will go, so everyone who purchases teh blook will have a say in how things progress.

Finally, the first chapter will be free, so people can read it and see if they're interested in purchasing the whole thing. I'll post the first chapter soon, start ye olde advertising blitz, and we'll see how it goes. Good stuff. Look for the first chapter by the weekend (honest).

Well, 2009 is off with a bang.

So far my publisher is in dire straits, with many of the employees working second jobs and not taking pay for their publishing-related work, and now my primary job is going through a 7% layoff!! Ugh! Thankfully I should be okay from this due to paygrade and seniority, though there may be people who can 'bump' me, there are others lower down the ladder that I could then 'bump'. All kinda annoying, and a bummer for those who have no one left to bump when it's all said and done. Company lost $3 million in 2008.

Yay!

On that note, and due to the publisher's woes, I'm considering a few web-only alternatives to my writing work. Stay tuned for updates in the near future (yes, as in by the weekend if things go according to plan). May not pay the bills, but at least people will be able to have access to my work one way or another.

More soon!

Tis the season, again. Or still. Whatever. The day job is in that place where it’s almost all-consuming, and it’s been that way for quite a while now. Hence why I don’t want to bother with blogging by the time I get home, or much of anything else for that matter. I guess near non-stop overtime for over a year will do that to a person after a while.

It is, as one would expect, effecting my writing as well. I’m still writing, of course, but it’s much slower going now. Combine that with a publisher that seems to be doing a bit of foot-dragging, and no free time for myself to get out and self-advertise, and you get a bit of frustration all around.

Really it all comes down to exposure, and I don’t have nearly enough. Those who have read my work seem to earnestly enjoy it, and that’s a good thing. That doesn’t necessarily translate into large sales. Quality evidently means little in the wonderful world of novels. Ah well, it won’t keep me from doing what little I can do and generally continuing to make the effort, even if the publisher doesn’t necessarily want to. Grant that, in fact, they might be doing a whole lot of advertising. I don’t know. Which is the point…communication is lacking a bit at the moment, so I don’t actually know what if anything they are doing, only what they are not doing.

So, while waiting for my proofs for the next three novels that are several months after I was supposed to receive them, I will continue putting the word out about Elder Worlds and Continuum. As always, any ideas for new places to advertise/promote are always welcome. I’ll take all the help I can get. J

Okay, this will be brief since I'm cooking dinner at the moment. Book #10 is finally! complete! (Dad, I'll be sending it to you shortly). Yeah, it took a lot longer than planned, but with all the OT at work, lack of sleep, etc. etc. it's been hard to motivate much in terms of writing. Nonetheless, The Fringe is now complete, and will be casually brushed aside as I start in on book #11, Hand of the Stranger. Yay me!

In addition, as I've been an uber slacker of late, I'm going to try to toss out more regular updates, hopefully revive the mailing list/discussion list idea, among other things. I'll also be going through the Rev-Co.net site soon and polishing things, updating stuff, and so on. Questions, comments, hit me at theroguewriter@aol.com - more updates soon.

Yes yes, I've been extremely lax in the blogosphere of late.  Well deal. Here's an update.

I just got back from an interview on Whoopie FM (website above) - a great radio station down in Pittsfield. I wanted to thank Sherman Baldwin, the morning show host, for having me on and promoting my books The Elder Worlds and Continuum! All reports so far have been positive from the interview, and it was in fact the first in a series of interviews on local talent - coming up they're going to have the female lead from the new Indiana Jones movie on (a MA resident) so I'm in good company I guess.

As for the rest of the writing - it's still going. Book #10 has stalled a bit due to excessive overtime and/or lack of sleep, but I'm still plugging away at it, all the while promoting Books 1 and 2 and preparing for the upcoming proofs and likely fall release of The Crimson Staff, The Twilight Plain and The Argent Winter. I've also got a few things in the works that I'm keeping under wraps for now... updates when I have something a little more firm.

Well, the good news of the day, Mitt Romney drops out!

Ahem... WOOHOO!!!

That said...Romney spent most of his time as Governor of MA preparing his presidential run...he didn't do anything useful for this state, and I am soooooo thrilled that he will not be president in any way, shape, or form.

McCain, at least, gets some respect. I don't agree with everything on him, but he has shown a willingness to compromise with democrats, something our current tyrant...er...president can't claim.

Hillary and Obama...meh. Hillary did a lot for NY as Senator (we hear all about it on the local Albany news), so that gets her a few notches above Obama in my book (okay, neither of them made it into my books...it's a figure of speech).Obama...what has he done exactly? Being a good public speaker isn't enough to make you president.

So in the primaries I gave Hillary my vote, but McCain will get serious consideration when the real vote comes around...his choice forVP could make or break him in my thoughts.

What do you think?

In the event that anyone actually reads this...I'll speak in vagueries.

What do you do when you see beneath the facade and see the real face of someone? Do you walk away, knowing that said person has a darker side - lying - cheating - stealing? whatever their darker side might bring them to do? Or do you accept them for all their flaws, knowing that what they do might ultimately lead them to pain?

What do you do when you know things about people you ought not know?

You let them do as they will - friend or not, folk rarely like advice when you advise on things you should know be aware of. A good way to lose a friend, perhaps, or a warning to be more wary when trusting?

Lots of questions today, eh?

You should be in my mind all the time...it's cluttered up there. It is these questions and more that have kept me from blogging of late, and being overworked has put a damper on writing for the time being. That is the way of things, I suppose.

Let's kick it back to the 90's... X-Files.... Trust No One

Okay, mini political-rant time. Talk about a 'meh' kinda presidential race. Let's break down the candidates, if you can even call them such.

Republicans:

-Giuliani...where have you gone?

-Huckbee ....Huck-a-who? Who are you?

-McCain...omg, stop running already. you're worse than Ross Perot, with an equal chance of winning, but smaller ears. Seriously, it's getting old now.

-Mitt Romney...Mitt, Mitt, Mitt...I hope you aren't banking on Massachusetts' vote, cause you won't get it. You didn't do jack spit here, buddy, so why are you going to do anything more in the White House? I hope NH puts you in your place and you drop out of the race. I'd vote for Huck-a-who before you!

Democrats honestly, only a minor improvement here)

-Hillary...Yes, you did a lot of good as Senator for NY. We're close enough to NY to hear all about it on NPR. But you bought a house in NY ONLY so you could be a Senator there, and you became a Senator there ONLY so you could run for president. You know it, everyone else knows it, and frankly I think its a bit cheesey. Like that millionaire guy who moved to VT so he could run against Bernie...and lost. Bernie for President! Sure he's a socialist, but he'll tell it like it is....meh...not impressed with Hillary so far.

-Edwards...I like what he says, but I don't know if he can win. He's not popular like the othertwo dems, and I'd hate to nominate someonewho couldn't beat out the even more meh-republicans

-Obama...I'm all for ideology, and I'm all for change, and such, but dude...say something. Don't just talk. Tell us how you plan on making all these wonderful changes. I hate to make the comparison, but you're sounding to me a lot like Bush and his 'we have a plan for that' broken record phrase. Obama's a great public speaker, but I'd love to hear some specifics from him. Another minus is that Oprah likes him and acts like she'll be his VP. I'm sorry, but the United States of Oprah doesn't ring nice to me, and is a peg against Obama.

Bottom line...I still don't know who I'll vote for ultimately. But I'm not impressed.

How about Gore? Dude got an Oscar, a Nobel prize, and has shown that he has an agenda beyond politics. Can we get a write in campaign going???