Stories from the Hut is now available on Smashwords. Since all the stories in it have been posted at one time or another on the internet, the book is free. More information on it is available in the Book section here or on Smashwords’ site. Hope you enjoy.
I wish I had something smart and funny to say, but if you have been reading this blog, you will by now be used to minimal posts. On to the news:
Two of the four betas give the anthology a thumbs up and one of the others had questions about only two of the short stories. At this rate, the anthology should be ready mid September. It will be a freebie on Smashwords and I will post a link when it is approved and published.
The next novel (an action-adventure fantasy) finally broke the 64k mark and is rapidly heading toward completion. I hope to finish it by November and get it in the hands of the betas by January 2015. With luck it will be published this time next year.
And after that? Well, I can either continue with the sequel for Maker or move on to something completely different. Who knows? Let’s see where the characters lead…
Ladies and gentlemen, keep your hands and feet inside at all times and enjoy the ride.
Yes, the anthology is done and should be published soon, unless the beta readers have major issues. What is a beta reader? To me it is someone who has volunteered to read a story (or anthology) of mine and let me know how they liked it or didn’t like it. They are not editors, but the people who can let me know if I have left a stone unturned by not explaining a story properly, etc.
So I feel like celebrating! But I actually have work to do. There is a novel that I would dearly love to finish this year and it is begging me to work on it.
What do you guys do in celebration when you finish something? Find more work to do? Or go out and celebrate?
So by now you guys have figured out I don’t usually have much to say. I did manage to meander around the web the other day and came across some links you might like:
The Top Ten Books People Lie About Reading
Should You Enter a Writing Contest
The top two are funny. As for the third, I include it for anyone wanting to try their hand at some writing competition. I actually have entered a couple of contests before but there was a snafu with the first entry (they never got it) and the second contest had fine print I did not read that said I had to promote my work by emailing or tweeting everyone I knew to garner votes from all my friends (which means I lost as I obviously am lacking when it comes to self promotion). So if you do enter contests, remember to read all the instructions!
I have been finishing up the anthology of short stories and should be publishing it through SmashWords soon. By soon I mean July (depending on what my test readers say and my final edits). It will be a freebie book – my gift to anyone out there who likes short stories and needs some entertainment.
Here is a list of my current reads:
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (yes, still reading this – put it on my bedside table and keep forgetting to pick it up for a few pages before nodding off)
Getting Things Done by David Allen (about halfway done and so far the advice is pretty good – maybe this will help me get novels and blogs finished and updated in a timely manner…)
The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe (technically brilliant writing, but could not get a handle on the characters so I probably won’t pick up the next one)
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke (enjoyed this one thoroughly: well written, humorous, sympathetic characters, great recipes)
Spirit of Steamboat by Craig Johnson (haven’t cracked it open yet, but I am so going to enjoy it – his work is always beautiful/deadly)
So what have you guys been reading? Any recommendations?