time, writing, and social media

A lot of you have been asking me when my next novel is coming out, and I am so grateful to all of you for your interest! You just blow me away, you really do. Unfortunately, I don't have much to report right now. Garden in Umber is still on submission, and I will let you know if it sells to a publisher the very minute that I am able.

I also want you to know that my online presence might be somewhat diminished for the next couple of months. Without disappearing entirely, I am going to be taking a less active role in social media. It's not that I don't love interacting with everyone, but working on three short stories and my novel really made me realize how much I'd missed writing during the months of March and April.

The year 2013 started out with sickness and upheaval in all aspects of my life: the day job and my writing were going through transformations, and my home life was disrupted by my own illnesses. It hasn't been a good year thus far.

The day job still hasn't stabilized; however, my own equilibrium has begun to return. That doesn't mean I am filled with peace and serenity while being tossed by the seas, but it does mean that I am no longer giving other people control of my free time. I want to spend that time reading and writing.

I'm really excited about being a part of two lovely anthologies: Manifesto: UF and The Neverland Library's Fantasy Anthology. Working with the editors and writing stories to specific guidelines has given me the opportunity to flex my writing skills in ways that I hadn't imagined that I could. I am indebted to both Tim Marquitz and to Roger Bellini for inviting me to participate in their respective adventures. I'll be around to promote both of these anthologies when they are available.

I want to tell you about my friend Helen Lowe's novel Heir of Night. I have a partial review written and would like to finish it soon. My friend Alex Bledsoe's newest novel Wisp of a Thing is pre-ordered on my Nook, and I intend to give you a review of that too. I also have an idea for southern gothic short story that I've started to kick around, in addition to working on my novel Cygnet Moon.

I'd like to get all of these projects rolling and finished by the end of the year, and in order to do that, I'm going to have to spend less time on social media and more time doing that writing-thing that I love. I will be popping in on the old blog with my updates, but if you don't see me on Twitter and Facebook as much, it's because I'm writing.

Ya'll carry on ...

Skyhorse/Start acquires Night Shade Books

I spent the month of April deciphering contracts, contract law, and intellectual property law, not because I was bored and wanted to snarl my brain. It was in April that authors received the news that Night Shade Books was being purchased by Skyhorse Publishing and Start Publishing. This led to one massive brain hemorrhage as we all tried to comprehend what this meant for our books and any future novels tied with those contracts.

Thanks to Kameron Hurley, a Google group was set up and information started to flow. Some of this information was good, some of it was bad, some, well, ugly in that it wasn't what we wanted to hear, but it was the truth.

One of the biggest benefits that I received from being an SFWA member is the ability to participate in the SFWA forum. If you are in utter and complete publisher meltdown, that is the place to go. I received clear-headed assessments of the situation from experienced members. Several kind people emailed me off the grid with details that tipped the balance of my decision.

On the surface, the issue with Night Shade Books appeared as if the SFWA was coddling the publisher. As April progressed, my anonymous email advocates armed me with facts that simply could not be made public for many reasons. Once I possessed all the facts, I realized that the SFWA did the right thing.

Kameron did an awesome job as moderator of the Google group and I thank her and Mary Robinette Kowal, who really spent hours and hours of her personal time going to bat for us. Mary couldn't have done her job without the weight of the SFWA behind her, and for that I am very grateful both to Mary and to the SFWA for taking a part in these negotiations.

For a long time, everyone was between a rock and a hard place, and some authors still are. I am hoping for the best for everyone.

I only the briefest of statements about The Bulletin and the SFWA:

I did finally receive my copy of the Bulletin and I want to say for the record that I found the article very offensive. I have neither the time nor inclination to write a ranty blog post about it; there are plenty of those out there if you want to read one.

The SFWA is taking strides to amend this situation, so I intend to give my membership more time. I want to see what the SFWA does, and I also want to be a part of the solution if I am able. A lot of changes are happening, some of which are too rapid to document. So I'm sticking around for a while longer.

I hope so anyway.

I'll be around and if you don't see me, I'll be writing.

Change in the SFWA

E. Catherine Tobler posted an open letter to the SFWA earlier today about why she doesn't intend to renew her membership in the SFWA. Kameron Hurley gave more insight into the issue (see Kameron's post right here) as did Jason Sanford.

I make no dispute with Tobler's summary of the events leading up to her decision. After reading Tobler's post, I saw another author, who I respect, make the same decision for herself--that she would not renew her membership in the SFWA.

I, the last person on planet earth ever to receive the Bulletin, am still awaiting my copy in the mail. Since I have not read the article in question, I don't intend to make comments based on other people's blog posts--that's another post for another day.

Instead, I'd like to ask that the members who are quitting to please reconsider your decision. Organizations grow and change because the membership grows and changes. A very wise man once told me that the only way to change an institution was from the inside.

I understand your frustration; however, I also understand that a majority of the SFWA membership does NOT endorse Resnick and Malzberg's views. These members are working hard to change attitudes within the organization, and they can't work without us working beside them.

And change, being painful and unfamiliar, is often a long, arduous process.

I'm no stranger to change, pain, or arduous processes, and I'm sure none of you are either. Hence, I would ask that you please reconsider your decision. Whatever you decide, I will back you one hundred percent, but I do ask that you please stay and help us change.

That's all.

My short story Love, Crystal and Stone has been sold

I'm really pleased to announce that my short story, "Love, Crystal and Stone" has been sold to Neverland's Library Anthology. Tad Williams is writing the introduction to this anthology and the collection includes stories by: Mark Lawrence, Marie Brennan, Tim Marquitz, Kenny Soward, William Meikle, Peter Rawlik, Miles Cameron, Betsy Dornbusch, R.S. Belcher, Marcy Rockwell and Jeffrey J. Mariotte, Jeff Salyards, and me.

This is a crowd-sourced project with a portion of the sales going to First Book, a non-profit organization working to provide educational resources and literature for children in impoverished areas across Canada and the US.

Today is the very last day that you can help contribute to this project. Read more about Neverland's Library Anthology and why they chose Indiegogo to crowd-source right here.

Please help us get the word out.

I am writing and reading and writing some more ...

... Or a very teeny update.

In the month of May, I completed two different short stories, "Naked the Night Sings," which will appear in the Manifesto: UF Anthology published by Angelic Knight Press (coming in September 2013), and a new story "Love, Crystal and Stone," which I intend to submit for consideration in the Neverland's Library Anthology.

Neverland's Library Anthology is winding into the final hours of its crowdfunding drive, so go right here to help fund this anthology. They have a super line-up of authors who are confirmed participants in the anthology, and none other than Tad Williams will be writing the introduction.

Just so that you know I'm not slacking off here: between these two stories, I wrote approximately 11,900 words, which is about one-quarter of a novel.

Also in May, I finished reading the very well-written Heir of Night by Helen Lowe. I am working on a review for you.

I will be posting at BookSworn later this week with a never-before-seen-authentic-hand-drawn map of Woerld, drawn by ... ahem ... none other than me.

I have several other things in the works, but if I fall silent again, then it's because I've returned to work on my new novel Cygnet Moon.

And that is all that I have for you right now. Stay tuned, I'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, watch for me ... I'll be around.

a long, dry spell, then the news rained down ...

Thanks to hard work, several top-notch beta readers, and some sheer good luck, I finished my urban fantasy short story "Naked the Night Sings" and submitted it for consideration. I received my email confirmation on Friday, and I'm thrilled to announce that "Naked the Night Sings" will be included in Manifesto: UF.

This is the first short story that I've ever sold and my first foray into urban fantasy. The story is edgy and dark, and I simply had a blast writing it.

I'm working on another, as yet, untitled short story for the Neverland Library anthology. Then I'm back into Cygnet Moon, the tentative title of my new work-in-progress.

I am hoping to have my friend Alex Bledsoe stop by for a guest post this month and on May 30, I'll be posting at BookSworn.

Naked the Night Sings, a guest post at OWW, and linkage

A few brief notes (and links) to bring you up-to-date:

I'm back on Tumblr and my feed runs through the sidebar here at my website.

I've also set up a feed for BookSworn, a great new collective blog where I join several of genre fiction's newest authors for blogposts and giveaways and lots of cool stuff. Check us out.

A Guest Post and Anthologies

I have a guest post on the May 2013 Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror monthly newsletter where I talk about world building. You do NOT have to be a member to read the newsletter. If you're looking for an excellent online writing community, give OWW a shot.

I'm excited (and really honored) to have been invited to participate in two different anthologies. Whether or not my stories will appear in these works is contingent on acceptance by the editors, but I'm thrilled to have an opportunity to submit to both of them.

The first anthology is Manifesto: UF. I'm about 500 words into the short story for this anthology, a dark tale that is tentatively entitled "Naked the Night Sings."

The second is for Neverland's Library Anthology, which is still in the starter phase. Neverland's Library Anthology hopes to raise funds for First Book, a charity that gives children in need access to new books. Neverland's Library Anthology is being funded through Indiegogo, so if you want to see this anthology happen, check out their site. Go over and give so we can see Roger dance on his car ... go on, you know you want that ...

I am approximately 6,000 words into a new novel, and the working title is Cygnet Moon. I'm enjoying the story immensely. I'm also in the zero draft, which means that writing is going very quickly. There is a teeny-teeny excerpt from Cygnet Moon on my Tumblr page and you can see that here.

In light of all the fiction projects that I have going on right now, I may be a little MIA here at the old blog. I am also taking a brief hiatus from blogging and guest posts.

I used to really, really envy people who wrote prolifically, and I never thought that I would reach this point. Two things happened: I finished writing Garden in Umber, which was an exceptionally hard novel to write, and I finished my first short story in over twenty years. Whether or not anyone else is pleased with those projects remains to be seen, but I am exceptionally pleased with both.

I think after about five years of writing, I have finally discovered my own process and what works for me. I write best when I create a brief synopsis for an idea, then simply begin to write. Once the first draft is finished, I turn it over to beta readers, who give me their input. I do not touch or look at the work while the beta readers have it. Then when the story comes back to me with their comments, I edit accordingly, set the story aside for a day or two, then edit once more.

Now that I understand how my mind processes my stories and how the characters reveal themselves to me, I can work a little faster. It's taken a long time and a lot of practice to reach this point.

So before I leave, a teaser for you ... the opening paragraph from "Naked the Night Sings":

If color were sound, this would be a song of blue, low and sultry, bittersweet—but not a requiem. Not yet. These are merely the opening notes, the long low growl of a guitar, a player in pain, and he sings his song in a harmony of indigo and black.

As my boys in Garden in Umber are known to say ... watch for me ...

Inside the Story at Booksworn--The Ierusal Fragment

Today I am posting at BookSworn in this month's series, Inside the Story, with an original post about the Ierusal Fragment, a portion of a document which was found near the eastern gate of Ierusal, nailed to a door with a thorn. The document chronicles the eve before the Sacra Rosa saved the remaining inhabitants of the city from destruction, and you can read the entire post here: The Ierusal Fragment.

the wheels keep turning and we have a winner ...

Congratulations to Gary White in the UK, he was the winner of a signed copy of the soon-to-be rare first edition of Miserere at the Bastard Books giveaway.

I really appreciate Bastard Books hosting the giveaway and I hope you'll pop over and keep up with his blog. It's one of my must-read book review blogs.

Meanwhile ... WHAT'S HAPPENING?

Lots of stuff. Can't talk about it. Would bore you stupid if I did.

I'm back at Tumblr for a bit to give it another go. If you follow me on Tumblr, I'll give you a follow-back, unless you're a spammer, then I'll report you, just sayin'.

Essentially, I will be posting the same rhetoric there, only in smaller doses--that, and there might be some pictures ... and stuff ... you never know ... moving on ...

Coming tomorrow on BookSworn, I will be taking you deeper inside Woerld with a special blog post about the Ierusal Scroll. Stay tuned or simply follow @BookSworn on Twitter for updates.

Congratulations again to Gary! I'll be back tomorrow with a cross-post to BookSworn ... stay tuned.

Reddit fantasy gift exchange-The Women's Bank

This was my first Reddit fantasy gift exchange, so I had no idea what to expect. I had no problem offering up a copy of Miserere, but I didn't know what to ask for in exchange. I have more books and fantasy related items than I can read or dust. In the end, I just requested that whoever drew my name contribute something to the charity of their choice.

Well, I got the nicest email when my Redditor found out what I wanted and a link to the charity. My Redditor gave a donation to The Women's Bank, because in my very special Redditor's words: everyone deserves to live their dream.

For those who don't know, The Women's Bank funds projects that promote women's economic livelihood, skills, and rights. In addition, they provide small loans, vocational training, and other activities to encourage entrepreneurship while working to create pilot projects aimed at promoting women's entrepreneurship.

I can't imagine anything that would please me more.

Thank you.