Monday, April 1, 2013

Status Update

I'm alive, healthy enough, and actually getting a little work done.  I've managed to advance Rogue past some of the sticking points I was stymied on for almost two years (yeah, that's a long time) and I've had some nice ideas to fill in some of the gaps that I'd been struggling with during that time.

To give an idea of the situation, I'm almost done with the first draft of the first chapter.  I refuse to give even a ballpark guess of when I'll be done because life seems to get in the way whenever I do.

Guild Files: Reagent Protocol is on hold for the moment.  I wrote myself into a corner and I don't see a way out of it without losing about 20% of the story.  I'm currently weighing options.  The good news, as it were, is that the pause in GF:RP is what allowed me to return to Rogue, and I know that's what nearly all of you reading this are most interested in.  However, I haven't given up and will probably be back to it soon.  Probably.  I do have another short story to write after the novella I've been banging away on for months is done.

The followup to The Grand Granger has been started and I'll peck away at it as I feel the need, unless I feel the project is too ambitious in which case I'll trash it and start on something else.  The Confederation, Empire, and Church aren't done with each other yet, I assure you.

I started a story a couple years ago I tentatively called Hellhounds.  I've been feeling the need to get back to it, though perhaps with a slightly different take on it.  Originally I'd intended it to have some serious religious and spiritual overtones that were central to the story, but that would have made it too heavy a read, so I'm going to tone those down and go in a slightly different direction.  More on that as it develops, but I will say it's about the ghost of a dead guy, will involve supernatural artifacts, angels, demons, zombie taxi drivers, and some really nasty bad guys.

I was intending this blog post to be done a month ago, but I'd also intended it to involve me answering questions from you guys and gals.  Since I received none, I couldn't answer any, so I'll save that for next time (which will be sooner than 3 months) if I get any by then.

Just to prime the pump -- pick one character from the book and tell me who you think would be best to act the role in a movie and why.  Leave a comment to that effect or hit me up on Twitter.  All suggestions, no matter the source, will be posted here.  I have my own ideas, of course, but the one I'll share is this:

Hypnotico, as portrayed by David Hyde Pierce, would be fantastic.  He's a talented actor whose native intelligence would be a boon to the role.  His build fits my description of the character very well, and his experience playing a psychiatrist on Frasier would be very helpful.

Oh, and if any of you are wondering, no, I haven't heard any more from the agency that contacted me back in November, and yes, I have given up almost all hope that I ever will.  Maybe if I can get more in the Guild Files series written I can get more attention.  A guy can dream, can't he?

Thanks for reading!  Be sure to tell your friends and family to pick up a copy!

4 comments:

  1. I read Subject 12 years ago and remembered liking it though you had fell off my recommendation pages on Amazon lately. It seems you have to pop up a ebook every 6 months to stay in the spotlight. As an avid ebook reader all I can say is just write novels that excite you and we'll be sure to buy them.

    Also I always picture Damain Lewis from Homeland/Life playing Hammer. Probably because of the cover art on the Subject 12 ebook.

    P.S. I could not comment on this blog to save the life of me until I tried my old IE browser. I use Chrome normlly.

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  2. Read Michele Sagara on the last book she was working on it sounded like she had to throw away and start over from scratch nearly 2.5 times. Philip Jose Farmer sometimes had 7 years between books he would get so blocked up. If you have to toss away 20% than replacing that is just an opportunity to do better with the whole of the book. Good luck

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  3. Is there an inconsistency between Wildcard's apparrent permanent disfigurement and the healers being able to help both Hammer and the birdlike Sable (lost his lower jaw in a fight with Hammer)?

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    1. That is an excellent question. Thank you for asking it.

      As it turns out the answer is threefold, though one of them wasn't something I'd ever planned putting in a story. One is sort of a spoiler, but not enough to worry me about putting it out there.

      First, Wildcard (like many a "natural" super, actually) doesn't trust magic or magic-users. This prevents him from seeking further treatment. The prejudice against magic and magic-users among other types of supers is, per capita, as common as the norm's hatred of supers in general and just as pointless. I touch on this both in Rogue and the anthology I've been working on.

      Next, there's a double whammy from the healers. They won't force themselves/their services where it's not welcome (outside of an emergency situation when consent is impossible to give or get), and there's something of a time limit on when their ability to heal stops being effective. This is something I was planning on explaining at least in part in Rogue or the anthology, whichever one would be more appropriate (I hate infodumps without purpose).

      The third, and perhaps most pertinent, reason is also the simplest. This is the best the healer who worked on him when he was first rescued could manage to restore (which didn't help his opinion of healers, for some reason).

      I hope that answers your question satisfactorily.

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