Gryphon Manor

I’ll be down in Baltimore next weekend, for Farpoint. If you’re attending, or just curious, here’s my schedule:

Friday, February 15:
6pm: Writing YA Fiction (Dulaney 2)
10pm: Book Fair (Con Suite)

Saturday, February 16:
12pm: Self-Publishing and Self-Promotion (Dulaney 2)
1pm: Crazy 8 Press (Dulaney 2)
4pm: Writing Media Tie-Ins (Chesapeake 2)

Sunday, February 17:
10am: Plotters vs. Pantsers (Dulaney 2)
11am: Business of Being a Writer (Dulaney 2)
12pm: Autograph Session (Crazy 8 table)
1pm: World Building (Parlor)

I’ll have copies of all my latest books with me: No Small Bills and Too Small for Tall, OCLT: Incursion, The Birth of the Dread Remora, ReDeus: Divine Tales, and the newest release, Latchkeys: Splinters. Stop by and say hi!

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I actually got tagged for this one twice—first by my buddy, Transatlantic Twin and sometime writing partner Steven Savile, and then by my long-time pal and former editor Matt Forbeck. Anyway, if you haven’t seen this yet the Next Big Thing is a blog tour/chain-letter thing for authors, where one author answers the questions then tags a bunch of friends to do the same. So, since I’ve got a few days off from work, I figure I can finally get this done!

1. What is the working title of your next book?
The Honor of the Dread Remora.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
Well, this is the second full novel (and third story) in the Dread Remora series. The first book, The Birth of the Dread Remora, is all about what the crew of the aethership HMES Remora encounters beyond their planet, and what they are forced to do in order to survive. I wanted to explore that a bit more, especially the moral implications of their chosen course. Of course, it’s an action-oriented space opera like the rest of the series, so I had to do that in a way that was still fun and fast-paced.

3. What genre does your book fall under?
The Honor of the Dread Remora is solidly space-opera, which means of course it’s science fiction.

4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Heh, well, the Dread Remora has a big crew, but the main character, Captain Nathaniel “Nate” Demming? I’d have to say Taylor Lautner. For his romantic interest, ship’s engineer Amelia Scutt, I’d go with Kaya Scodelario from Skins. Gist Jacobsen, Nate’s former superior and now rival, would have to be Daniel Kaluuya, also from Skins.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Now that the crew of the HMES Remora has turned space pirate, they are forced to re-evaluate both their morals and their loyalty while trying to evade a sector’s military patrols and stay true to their original mission.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Technically neither—it is not represented by an agent, and it will be published by Crossroad Press, who published The Birth of the Dread Remora. Crossroad Press also has the rest of the Scattered Earth Saga, of which the Dread Remora series is just one part.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
A little over two months.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
The old Flash Gordon books, the Star Wars novels, the Stargate and Stargate: Atlantis novels, and of course the Star Trek novels, especially the older ones for the Original Series. Also maybe the Miles Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold, just because I think they’re awesome.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
David Niall Wilson and I came up with the idea of the Scattered Earth, along with Steven Savile, who later had to drop out due to other commitments. We developed the overarching concept together, then each came up with our own stories inside that. I really wanted to do a classic space-opera, something fun and very action-oriented, and since part of the idea behind Scattered Earth is all these different groups coming together I decided this was the perfect setup, to have a ship that was its world’s first attempt to go out to the stars. And then things go horribly, horribly wrong. I also loved the idea of a noble crew forced to resort to an underhanded means of survival—I always felt the concept for Star Trek: Voyager was great, but never fully realized. This was my chance to do it the way I wanted to see it done in the first place. That led me to thoughts of space pirates, which seemed perfect.

10. What else about the book might pique the readers’ interest?
The crews’ homeworld, and their unique physiology, plus the question of their origin—that’s part of the backstory to the Scattered Earth, which is revealed bit by bit over time and across the various connected series. Plus you’ve got all that mystery, and a lot of soul-searching, all wrapped up in a light, quick, enjoyable yarn about space pirates!

Now, you’re supposed to tag five other writers to do this, but at this point I think most of my author friends have already participated. If you’re a writer, and you know me, and you haven’t done this yet but would like to, go ahead and comment here and I’ll officially tag you. Cheers!

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I know, I know. I’ve been busy, and it shows–not only have I failed to update regularly of late, but I’ve had four more books come out since No Small Bills! Here they are:

Incursion: This is my first novel in the O.C.L.T. series, which I created with my buddy David Niall Wilson and kicked off with my novella “Brought to Light.” Think X-Files, Fringe, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Men in Black, etc.–it’s an occult action-thriller about an FBI agent (the same character from “Brought to Light”) who goes to a reservation to investigate a strange death and discovers some decidedly unnatural elements.

Knight of the Starborne: This is a middle-grade book from Actionopolis, about a man and his daughter who discover a bizarre meteorite while on a camping trip–and it gives them unearthly powers! But others are after the meteorite, and now Edgar and Marie have to deal with them before it’s too late!

Tales of the Far West: This is an anthology of stories set in the Far West world, as detailed by the Far West roleplaying game. My story, “In Silence, Music,” shares space with work from buddies like Matt Forbeck and Jason Blair and Eddy Webb and of course Far West creator Gareth-Michael Skarka, plus a lot of other cool writers like Chuck Wendig and Scott Lynch.

For This Is Hëll: My latest, co-written with my friend and cohort Steven Savile, this is a spooky little tale of intrigue, seduction, madness, myth, magic, theater . . . and Marlowe. Yes, that Marlowe. Read it, and discover there’s more to the famed playwright than anyone ever realized. Right now this is only available for the NOOK, but in another month it will be out on the Kindle as well.

Note that none of these are humorous, but if you’re eager for more in the same vein as No Small Bills, don’t worry! I’m actually hard at work on the sequel, Too Small for Tall, so DuckBob and his pals will return to amuse you once more!

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No Small Bills is now out in print! WAHOO!!!

Yes, I’m excited.

It’s already been doing great as an e-book—it actually hit No. 33 on the NOOK Bestseller list its first week out!—and I’m thrilled that people can now delight in DuckBob’s zany adventures in print as well.

What are you waiting for? Go buy a copy or three today!

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I’ve got a new novel out! And it’s a hoot!

At least I hope so, otherwise I did something wrong.

This new book’s a bit of a departure for me. Why? Because it’s funny. I think. I’ve written dryly humorous before, of course, particularly when doing Eureka, but this book is out-and-out silly. It’s crafted in the same vein as Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, esp. since it’s also a science fiction novel involving wacky aliens and trippy space travel.

It’s called No Small Bills, and its main character, DuckBob—has the head of a duck.

I told you it was silly.

It’s available through Barnes & Noble and Amazon. You can also read two sample chapters FOR FREE over at Crazy 8 Press, and an interview about the book at ComicMix.

Check it out!

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Yes, it’s that time of year again—this weekend I’ll be heading down to Hunt Valley, Maryland (just outside Baltimore) for the ShoreLeave convention! If you’re in the area, stop by and say hi! Here’s what my schedule looks like:

Friday, July 8:
10pm-midnight, Hunt/Valley Corridor: Meet the Pros
I’ll be here with all the other authors, just hanging out so people can say hi, get autographs, buy books, etc. I’ll have copies of Birth of the Dread Remora with me, so if you haven’t bought one yet now’s your chance!

Saturday, July 9:
11am-noon, Concierge: How to Take Your Writing to the Next Level
David R. George III and I will be talking about how to make that leap forward, professionally speaking.

noon-1pm, Salon E: Crazy 8s!
Michael Jan Friedman, Bob Greenburger, Howie Weinstein, Glenn Haumann, Peter David, and I talk about our new business venture, bringing books directly to the readers who want them. Get the scoop on Peter’s book The Camelot Papers, my next novel No Small Bills, and more!

1pm-2pm, Salon E: Time Management for Professional Writers
Keith R.A. DeCandido, Richard White, David Mack, and I talk about how to balance your time, write, and maybe even still have space for a life.

3pm-4pm: Crazy 8 Writing Marathon!
We’re writing a story, round-robin style! And we’re doing it live at the con, where you can watch! Afterward we’ll offer the book for sale, and all proceeds will go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Come and cheer us on!

4pm-5pm, Salon F: Game of Thrones
David Mack, Alan Kistler, and I talk about the books and the new hit HBO series

5pm-6pm, Concierge: Commercial vs. Self-Publishing
Kelly Meding, Rigel Ailur, Lorraine Anderson, Richard White, and I talk about the new avenues and options available to authors, including e-publishing and self-publishing.

Sunday, July 10:
11am-noon: Crazy 8 Writing Marathon!
More Crazy writing!

2pm-3pm, Salon F: From Tie-In to Original
Keith R.A. DeCandido, Christopher L. Bennett, David Mack, Dayton Ward, and I talk about making the jump from doing tie-ins to writing original fiction.

3pm-4pm, Salon F: The Scattered Earth
I’ll be talking about the Scattered Earth saga, including the Dread Remora books an other upcoming components, with special guest star Keith R.A. DeCandido!

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My first original novel is now out and available! It’s a swashbuckling space-opera called The Birth of The Dread Remora, and it was released by Crossroad Press. You can buy it on Amazon, B&N.com, Smashwords, and other sites, as well as from Crossroad directly. The book is only available as an e-pub at the moment, but an uncut audiobook version is on the way, and print will follow. Go check it out!

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. . . I have been terrible about updating my site.

Bad author. No biscuit.

I’ve been busy, of course, but that’s no excuse–especially since I’ve been busy writing, and so should be posting about that here.

So what have I been doing?

Let’s see:

• I finished my second Eureka novel, Road Less Traveled, which will be out next March;

• The first Eureka novel, Substitution Method, came out, as did my Stargate: Atlantis novel, Hunt & Run;

• I’ve written the first two books in a new middle-grade educational series, Profiles, for Scholastic;

• I finished the first two books in my new middle-grade fiction series, Pete and Penny’s Pizza Puzzles, for Grosset & Dunlap;

• I’m still writing and playtesting the roleplaying game;

• I wrote a second iCarly novel, iSaved Your Life, for Scholastic;

• I wrote a space-opera novel, The Dread Remora, for Crossroads Press. You can read it FREE, chapter by chapter, at dreadremora.crossroadpress.com;

• I participated in—and WON!—NaNoWriMo for the second time ;

• I also won a Scribe Award for my first junior novel, Bandslam;

• I’ve been traveling—to the Midwest during the summer and to New Orleans for Thanksgiving.

There were a few other things I can’t post about yet. But those are the highlights for now.

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. . . have been hectic, but that’s no excuse for not updating! My apologies.

So what have I been dong since August? I’ve written the first two books for my original middle-grade series, for one thing. More about those once they’re announced.

I finished the tie-in novel I was working on. It’s the first-ever novel for the SyFy Channel TV series Eureka. The title is Substitution Method. It’s written under a house name, Cris Ramsay, but don’t be fooled!

My junior novel was approved by the licensor. The book is called The Khilaian Sphere, and it’s the first book in the M’arrillian Chronicles trilogy for the TV series and card game Chaotic. I’ve had the outline for the second one approved already as well.

The roleplaying game is coming along nicely. We’re still playtesting it, and having a lot of fun with it.

I wrote a piece for the upcoming Supernatural RPG supplement, Guide to the Hunted. That should be out this Spring.

I wrote a middle-grade book for a Cartoon Network series. More about that once it’s announced.

I’ve also been working with a few friends on various collaborative projects, and trying to sell several solo original projects as well.

Next month (March), I’ll be at two conventions. First it’s LunaCon, from March 19-21. Then it’s I-Con, from March 26-28. I’ll post my schedules once I know them.

That’s about it for now!

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It’s been a busy month. I finished the junior novel, lost the two middle-grade projects (due to licensor issues) but picked up a new middle-grade series, and got halfway through the tie-in novel. I’ve also been working on a new roleplaying game–the first wholly original setting I’ve designed since Chosen, I think–and started playtesting it, plus I picked up a small assignment for an RPG supplement.

The other big thing this past month is that I signed with a literary agent. I’m now being represented by Robert L. Fleck of Professional Media Services. Bob can be reached at info@professionalmedia.biz.

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