Encore Worth the Wait: book extras

My main book blog is on WordPress, where I've posted some book extras for Encore Worth the Wait:

• Poor Forbes discography
• Poor Forbes concert review
• Excerpts from a Poor Forbes fan club newsletter
• A partial e-mail correspondence

Encore Worth the Wait: behind the scenes

Pages from the notebook I used while writing Encore Worth the Wait. These are the timelines I used as a guide and I constantly referred to them. I don’t outline per se, but I keep notes about scenes that need to happen. For this book timelines were important to chart how Rob and Jamie grew up together and how their relationship changed over the years, and also to chart the trajectory of their group, Poor Forbes.

The notes were written using Frixion erasable pens – and I did a lot of erasing!

⬆︎ Calendar of the key days between Jamie’s birthday and Rob’s birthday in the book’s present day.

⬆︎ List of Poor Forbes albums with singles indicated, arranged by Rob’s age, with notes about when life events happened. I initially titled “The Best Lean Years” as “The Best Least Years” but changed it in the final draft. In the upper left corner is a list of Jamie’s sisters and the difference in age between them and Jamie.

⬆︎ Key events leading up to and after Jamie’s departure, listed by Rob’s age from 48 to Jamie’s 53rd birthday.

Now available! New book: Encore Worth the Wait

It took a long time — and I’m very sorry for not keeping the blog updated in the interim — but at long last the new book is finished!

The title is Encore Worth the Wait.

Description:
Thirty years ago the band Poor Forbes topped the pop charts and graced the covers of fan magazines as part of a heralded “Scottish wave.” Founding members Rob and Jamie never stopped creating music despite the ups and downs of fleeting success and rocky personal relationships. Never stopped — until now. When Jamie suddenly leaves, Rob reluctantly finds a replacement to keep the band going and discovers it’s not the band he misses, it’s Jamie. To get Jamie back Rob confronts their turbulent past and the true nature of his feelings. Ultimately Rob and Jamie must face the question: can they save their music or save their relationship?

Available now as an e-book from Amazon and Smashwords. The print-on-demand paperback version is also available from Amazon. Available worldwide (for the most part).

ISBN (Kindle): 978-0-9916383-4-5
ISBN (EPUB): 978-0-9916383-5-2
ISBN (Paperback): 978-0-9916383-6-9
Amazon ASIN: B07NCPZDR3

New book now available!

The Provinces of Touch is available now as an e-book from:

Amazon.com (Kindle)
ISBN: 978-0-9916383-2-1
ASIN: B01JY0FG8M

Smashwords (EPUB and other formats)
ISBN: 978-0-9916383-3-8

A print-on-demand version is in the pipeline... details soon.

Jun, a healer with an unpredictable gift, yearns to overcome his troubled past. His solitude is shattered by the arrival of Tlar, a wounded young man from a distant land. Helping this stranger opens up new worlds filled with adventure -- but also brings shocking danger and tragedy. Can Jun finally find true friendship and love? Or will his actions cause a catastrophic invasion and the extinction of his people?

More coming soon!

Here is another beautiful promo image from x_art.

Coming soon!

Jun, a healer with an unpredictable gift, yearns to overcome his troubled past. His solitude is shattered by the arrival of Tlar, a wounded young man from a distant land. Helping this stranger opens up new worlds filled with adventure -- but also brings shocking danger and tragedy. Can Jun finally find true friendship and love? Or will his actions cause a catastrophic invasion and the extinction of his people?

Rewrites

Got a lot of useful comments on the first draft, now in rewriting mode. Lots of things to think about, because my view of the settings, characters, and story evolved over time. Do I try to recapture my initial impressions and stick to that vision? Or do I reset everything to adhere to a new vision? My gut tells me to go with the path of least resistance, the one that will go faster. Unfortunately, my gut doesn't know which path that is! We shall see...

In the meantime, reading recs:
Lynn Flewelling
Ricardo Pinto
Beth Shannon
Martha Wells

Progress, if slowly

First draft finally finished. Now to begin refinements.

Credit for keeping me focused during the long process: iced chai tea, rosemary aromatherapy oil, and music.

Time flies

(“I would but I don’t have a watch,” is what we would always reply when I was a kid. No idea where that old gag came from.)

Work on the new book progresses, but not as quickly as I wanted.

Wanted to share this link from the New York Public Library blog: Not Just Coming Out Stories. To the list of fantasy authors recommended in a comment, I would add Lynn Flewelling, whose Nightrunner series of books remains a favorite that I reread (and I’m not a big rereader).

Announcement for readers in the EU

I have just been notified by Amazon.com that prices for my e-books will be going up for customers in the EU countries on January 1, 2015. The new prices will include VAT. VAT varies by country, so the prices will also vary by country. Additionally, Amazon will be setting a new minimum price based on size (in megabytes) of the book. If you're in the EU and were considering buying the books, buy before December 31, 2014, to get the best price!

Safety Net in the Amazon.de store: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00B8U421O

Extra Points in the Amazon.de store: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00IOE8YAC

In January, I'll do a reality check on the prices that Amazon sets. Because of minimum price based on size, I may not have a lot of flexibility.

The next book (when I can get the darn thing finished!) will be priced with this in mind.

On writing habits

I'm fascinated to hear my friends discuss their writing habits because no two people have the same ones. I will try new methods I hear about but ultimately fall back to my old, ingrained ways.

I don't outline much. I'll have sketchy road maps in my mind and occasionally jotted down, but between the landmarks is a lot of open space. I usually don't know how the story will end when I begin writing it, and this is undoubtedly a weakness and not a method I would recommend. Writing definitely gets easier once I can see what the ending will be.

That being said, I love being surprised when I write. In the last 6000 words I wrote for my next project, my protagonist met several characters I didn't know existed and did things I never saw coming. Even if these 6000 words change or disappear in the final version, the surprise gave me an energy that will drive the story forward. That's exciting.

I envy writers who can design a strict writing schedule and timetable and stick with it. For me, it tends to be feast or famine:  a lot of writing all at once or a lot of procrastination and no discernible progress.

One tip I got from a friend has helped a lot: spend at least one hour a week on the story. Even if I only open the file and read it or do minor tweaks, it's spending time with it. It's easy to underestimate the importance of just spending time with what you're writing and to beat yourself up for not getting more words written down. But the more time you spend with what you're writing, the more familiar and comfortable you are with it. It establishes a place in your mind and claims some territory your imagination will keep wandering into until you're thinking about it then writing it.

I make lots of short, cryptic notes. Many of them are on paper because if something comes to mind while I'm away from home, I need to write it down. I learned the hard way that if I didn't, the next time I opened the file, I wouldn't remember that great idea I had.

Lots of times I open the file, look at the notes, and the ideas aren't great anymore. That's fine. The note serves its purpose, though: it reminds me of what I was thinking about. I have to review it. Was it a problem I thought I had solved? Was it a solution to a problem I didn't have? Was it an upcoming scene I've changed my mind about? Was it a revision to an existing scene that I should consider?

A lot of the notes are ideas for character names. Names are difficult, no matter the genre. I need to like a character's name if I'm going to be writing about that character a lot.

What I said earlier about procrastination? As in, updating the blog...

Book rec

Breaking the Line: The Season in Black College Football That Transformed the Sport and Changed the Course of Civil Rights
by Samuel G. Freedman

Compelling look at the football programs at Grambling and Florida A&M from prewar origins to the late 1960s. Straightforward about the effects of segregation on college academics, sports, facilities, and on the post-college prospects of the players. It really wasn't that long ago. A fascinating, sobering read.

Manuscript watch: inspirations

Newly published: Extra Points

Extra Points is now available from Amazon.com (Kindle format) and from Smashwords (a variety of formats including ePub). Extra Points contains two short stories about the characters from Safety Net. If you enjoyed Safety Net and wondered what the future held for Lowell and Erick or were curious about Erick's past, Extra Points tells all! (Okay, maybe not all.)

And I'm writing (slowly) something new, unrelated to football (gasp!). Can't promise any ETA, but I feel good about this one.

Links: young men who will make a difference

Even if the difference isn't immediate. Attitudes can change. Tolerance can happen.

College football player Conner Mertens comes out publicly.

NFL draft prospect Michael Sam of Missouri Tigers comes out.

Links: NFL and difference

Some interesting links to articles on difference and (in)tolerance in the NFL:

Nicholas Dawidoff: Miami's Offensive Line: What a Year Inside the N.F.L. Taught me about Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin (The New Yorker)

Chris Kluwe: I Was an NFL Player Until I Was Fired by Two Bigots and a Coward (Deadspin)

Ian Crouch: Did the Vikings Cut Chris Kluwe for his Gay-Rights Activism? (The New Yorker)

Postseason musings

The regular NFL and college seasons are already over. It's still frustrating not to see my favorite teams' games because I don't live in a particular area, and the highlights on NFL Network recaps aren't good enough. I can't predict who will make it to the Super Bowl, although there are definitely some frontrunners in the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks. But anything can happen during the playoffs!

An interesting link: Gay players on the 1993 Houston Oilers.

A current read: Death Below Zero by Richard Anderson. I love mystery novels, and the unusual setting intrigued me.

An upcoming read: Fair Catch by Del Darcy.

Manuscript watch: I hope to have a little something released in the winter/spring of 2014. The first draft is in revision, and I've reached out to the same wonderful artist who designed the cover of Safety Net and hope to get another beautiful cover.

I have another story in mind, entirely new. It's in the "gel" stage: the elements need to come together and I can start writing. Once I get at least one scene clearly mapped out, I can start -- even if that scene ultimately never makes it into the story.

Happy New Year! Best wishes for 2014.

Preseason musings

If I were in charge of NFL football on television:

• on-demand available for any regular season or playoffs game.
• on-demand season subscriptions available for any team. So if, say, you are a Buffalo Bills fan living in New Mexico, you could watch all their games and not simply hope they play an occasional game well enough for NFL Network to rerun it (edited) later in the week.
• the on-demand versions could include enhanced content to make them tempting upgrades from the ordinary Monday Night Football or Thursday Night Football broadcasts.
• regular season announcers would be replaced by the preseason announcers, who actually talk about the game they are there to announce. It is amazing to me how awful the regular season announcers are. They talk about their own careers, about players who haven’t played in the NFL for years, about whatever gossipy scandal is in the headlines, about the other games being played… In short, they talk about anything other than the game they’re at.

The NFL does offer seasonal subscriptions, of a sort, through streaming video. But even in 2013 streaming video still sucks, and I’m not certain these are entire games or just “every touchdown.” If one enjoys watching defensive plays, “every touchdown” is not the same thing as seeing a game.

Currently reading: Sports Illustrated Blood, Sweat and Chalk: The Ultimate Football Playbook: How the Great Coaches Built Today’s Game by Tim Layden.
A nice summary history of the major plays and schemes used in modern football, starting with the old “single wing” formation and moving forward. It is really interesting, although I wish there were a bit more about the various rules changes and how that affected certain plays.

I was meant to finish up some classwork today, but instead wrote 2500 words of fun stuff. I’m not sorry. I’ll attack the classwork tonight.

Quiet but not inactive

I can't believe it's been over two months since my last post! Oh, dear! But I have been quietly busy with writing, traveling, and reading. Stay tuned for the outcome(s) of writing...

Travel: Los Angeles and Pasadena, to make a pilgrimage to the Rose Bowl and the Coliseum. (Okay, not really. But we did drive by both and were suitably impressed.)

Reading:
I finished reading the Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
Bone Rattler and Eye of the Raven by Eliot Pattison

Site news:
I bought my own domain and have copied this blog over as a WordPress site. For now, I'm updating both blogs and comparing ease-of-use and how well I like them. Like WordPress better? Check out this blog on: http://sakana17.com/blog.
Future non-blog content will be on sakana17.com.

NFL training camps are later this month. That means football season is just around the corner!

On typos

I hate finding typos in Safety Net! I do correct them -- in batches -- as I find them.

That being said, in the portions of the book that are meant to be the characters texting each other or meant to be online comments, there are deliberate typos, abbreviations, and lack of punctuation and capitalization. I did this to convey a more realistic portrayal of written communication in today's world. If you find this type of intentional mistake too distracting, Safety Net may not be your cup of tea.

Ambient reading:
The Life of Symbols. Edited by Mary LeCron Foster and Lucy Jayne Botscharow.
Very interesting. So far, my favorite chapter is about the origins of counting.

Coming soon?
A short "missing scene" story from Safety Net.