Monday, June 28, 2010

So Far, So Good

Began the rewrite on Caden Brave, my new (2009 NaNo) middle grade novel. To quote the great Mel Brooks, I'm finding it to be "surprisingly not bad". I'm only a few chapters in, so hopefully that trend will continue.

Back at the end of the first draft, I'd had just about enough of Caden, and pretty much hated it. But I also know how these things go for me -- I get really sick of the manuscript, set it aside for a month or so, and then breathe a sigh of relief upon discovering that (amazingly) there's something I can work with. It's my novelling circle of life -- and yes, I know "novelling" is not a real word but I like it so there! (sticks out tongue)

In other news, thanks to some help from a graphic designer friend of mine, I've got an "almost final" book cover for Leonard the Great. While not ready to go public yet (I'll share it when I get closer to publishing it on Createspace), I will say that I'm extremely pleased with how it's turned out. I'm waiting for one more set of notes from an author friend of mine and then, it's go time!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

FINALLY!!!

How I currently feel
If any of you were wondering where I've been for the last month or so, I've been writing and writing and writing (and writing) -- slogging my way through the last few chapters of my 2009 NaNo effort, "Caden Brave". Well, today, I did it. I typed the closing words of my first draft. FINALLY!

Mind you, this is only the first draft, but now the hard part is over. I'm going to file it away for a month or so and get caught up on the skillions of other things I'm working on to get work. Then I'll pick it back up and start with the fixes, the part of writing that I truly enjoy.

The first draft closing stats: Caden Brave, A middle grade space opera, 66553 words/307 pages.

One more time...FINALLY!!!

Friday, March 26, 2010

"Odd and the Frost Giants" by Neil Gaiman - Mini Review

This chapter book is much more sparse in style than the usual fare from Neil Gaiman. Absent is the expected meticulous development and overall cleverness that make his other works such a delight to read. It is for younger kids so maybe he didn't feel the need to work out the story and character the way he usually does.

"Odd and the Frost Giants" is a simple tale about an unlucky boy back in the days of the Vikings who comes to the aid of Odin, Thor, and Loki as they try to take back Asgard from a crafty Frost Giant.

Considering Gaiman's superb writing skill, I think he should have taken what is really a sketchy short story and developed it into a full middle grade novel with a satisfying plot and main character arc. As the narrative raced past plot points at breakneck speed I found myself wishing he had taken the time to do just that.


In short, while "Odd" is better than many titles in this niche, I just didn't get my Neil Gaiman fix off this one.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Awesome Screenplay Now Available for Bidding War!

Uh, yeah. Sure. We'll get back to you on that.

Anyway... just completed an exhaustive rewrite of last April's Script Frenzy project "Nick of Time" and sent it off to the agent. I put a lot of work into getting it as close to "just right" as I could and in general, I'm very pleased with how it turned out. As I've mentioned before, I think it would make a fun flick -- either as effects-laden live action or as an animated flick in the style of "Howl's Moving Castle". It's kid-centric sci fi. Anybody know anyone at Studio Ghibli?

I should probably participate in next month's Frenzy, but the act of just having "finished" a screenplay and the desire to concentrate on completing the first draft of my 2009 NaNo manuscript are making me hesitate. You can also do TV scripts, comic books, and stage plays as part of the challenge so maybe I'll try one of those. We'll see.

In other news, Popcornopolis' Zebra Chocolate is the new crack.

Onward!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Novel News

Got a nice bit of good news the other day. My novel "Leonard the Great" has moved to the second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award thanks to this pitch:

"If you think it was all good deeds and fancy ideals back in the days of Camelot, think again. Most people don’t know this, but for a time things went seriously bad; Arthur was imprisoned, Merlin had vanished, and a vile demon had taken over the throne.
Young Leonard Albacore would have been shocked to learn any of this but right now all that concerned him was where his next meal was coming from. As page to Sir Ronald, a poor but kind knight, events at the castle took a back seat to a rumbling stomach.

Oh sure, he held a secret dream that one day Sir Ronald would take a seat at the Round Table, but seriously, that was about as likely as Maid Glennys seeing him as anyone other than the dirty page of a low-ranking nobleman. Not gonna happen.

Everything changes when Leonard meets Mantooth, a seriously depressed dragon who’s looking for a knight to end his misery with a swing of a broadsword.

Wait a minute. If the dragon will allow Sir Ronald to slay him, his misery would be over, Sir Ronald would surely get a Round Table invite for such a brave deed, and Leonard might even climb a notch or two in the eyes of Glennys! Everybody wins, right?

Wrong. Leonard’s plan backfires horribly when, on the day of the battle, Sir Ronald is arrested for “bravery without a license” and he and Mantooth are dragged off to Camelot’s dungeons. Now Leonard must do whatever it takes to free his master even if that means doing battle with dangerous monsters, trying to outwit Camelot’s dark overlord, or even taking a bath!"
Next, the judges will read manuscript excerpts from all those who made the cut and choose some to move on to the Quarterfinals. It's a huge long shot, but hopefully they'll like mine.

Prayers, positive vibes, and finger crossings on Leonard's behalf are more than welcome. Thanks!

Update: Leonard didn't make it to the third round of ABNA, but he did get farther than he did last year so I can't complain.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Oh, So This is What He Looks Like!

I asked my very talented resident artist Molly to come up with a visualization for the title character of "Leonard the Great". Happily, she agreed. Pretty cool, huh?

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

"Stardust" by Neil Gaiman - Mini Review

Textbook example of the book being MUCH better than the movie -- not for the usual reason of "imagination versus visual reality" but because of superior storytelling ability.

"Stardust", the book, is a great tale told in Gaiman's signature style. Full of wry, sometimes dark humor, fun characters (drawn much deeper than their cartoonish film counterparts), and a more subtle and satisfying plot. All of this adds up to unquestioned literary supremacy over the weaker silverscreen adaptation.

Tristran Thorn lives in the English village of Wall -- a place noted for a large impassable barrier that separates our world from the vast magical land known as Faerie. Tristran witnesses a falling star one night and brashly vows to bring it to the most beautiful girl in the village, in hopes of winning her heart. Entering Faerie through a gap in the Wall, Tristran undertakes his star quest, encountering all manner of magical creatures along the way and ultimately discovering that both he and his "heart's desire" are not what or who they appear to be.

If you haven't read the book and were put off by the silliness of the film (anyone who knows the Captain's "secret" knows what I'm talking about), I suggest you take the plunge anyway and pick up a copy of this fun read. Recommended.
"

Monday, February 15, 2010

"Without Warning" by John Birmingham - Mini Review

Described as a work of "alternate fiction", John Birmingham's "Without Warning" falls just inside the realm of science fiction, barely meeting that category description because of a deadly and unknown phenomenon that has scientists baffled.

A techno/political/military thriller in the best tradition of authors like Michael Crichton and John Clancy, it's a grand "what if" mash up that asks, "What would happen if the United States and much of North America was essentially wiped clean by some sort of mysterious energy wave?"

Naturally, the obvious haters are elated by this new development, but soon even they begin to rethink the benefits of living in a world without Pax Americana.

The story itself is a series of vignettes following the reactions of a group of drug smugglers, our surviving overseas military, a lethal assassin, and a lowly Seattle city engineer to the reality that America, with all her warts and beauty, no longer exists. Birmingham masterfully weaves the seemingly unconnected story lines together in a way that makes the book hard to put down. The first installment of a proposed trilogy, "Without Warning" is highly recommended.

Friday, February 12, 2010

"The Hostile Takeover Trilogy" by S. Andrew Swann - Mini Review

This whopper of a trilogy ("Profiteer", "Partisan", "Revolutionary") follows two brothers as they battle over Bakunin - an outlaw planet of congenital individualists located in the heart of the vast Confederacy. As the title hints, Bakunin is crawling with various corporations, each of which is a power unto itself, right down to having their own security forces which more closely resemble national armies.

Dominic Magnus, a Bakunin CEO, and his brother Klaus, an agent of the Confederacy's covert operations branch, have had a lethal beef with each other going back to the death of their mother years ago. At first Dominic thinks Klaus' showing up with an invading force and taking over his corporation is just a continuation of their whole Cain and Abel dance, but we soon learn that the brothers are merely proxies for forces far greater then themselves. There is intrigue galore in these stories which, to me, give a hint of the Machiavellian politics that flavored the Italian renaissance.

I'll admit that it takes a while to get into the dense narrative of these books, but I recommend sticking with them as once you tag who's who and what's what, you're in for an enjoyable ride. Recommended.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Neil Gaiman Profile

The New Yorker is running a fascinating profile of Neil Gaiman, easily one of my very favorite living authors. Here's an interesting pull quote that touches on an aspect of children's publishing that's been bugging me for some time:
"...when he showed an early draft to an editor in 1991, he was told it was unpublishable: far too frightening for kids. (Gaiman maintains that adults are more afraid of “Coraline” than children are.)"

Eater of the Dead: A Dragon Friend Excerpt

Just in time for Halloween! Check out a featured Dragon Friend excerpt on the BestSelling Reads blog: "The spooky season is upon us! H...