Happy Friday, folks!
Well, we've nearly reached the end of the first month of 2016. Don't know about you, but January has seemed to last longer than the whole of last year. Maybe it's the extreme levels of weather we've been having - nothing compared to the east coast of the US though, and I hope all my friends over there are OK. We dodged a bullet, as my wife and stepdaughters flew home from a trip to New York just a week before the blizzard hit. If the timing had been different, they might well have still been there now, holed up in a hotel room and running out of money... However, Scotland has been battered by extreme wind, rain and flooding. Here's hoping things improve next month.
So, onto my first goal wrap-up of the month. I'll be posting these on the last weekday of each month - the idea is to keep myself accountable while also having a record of my progress. Most of these are rolling goals for each month, but a few will be individual tasks - if I don't tick them off in a certain month, they'll roll over to the next.
* Finish a first draft of Book 3 of my trilogy.
Well, I've started. Currently, I've got 6000 words - not as much as I would have liked, but I've been doing more freelance work than usual. The important thing is that I've written almost every day, even if just 200 words. The plan for next month is to keep that regularity going while upping the wordcount.
* Perform final edits on Book 1, Black and White, engage a cover artist and prepare for release before the end of the year.
Not done any of these yet.
* Get Book 2 and the series' prequel novella out to CPs during the early part of the year.
I contacted my brilliant CPs just before writing this post, so I'm just waiting to hear back in terms of schedules and so on.
* Aim to participate in Write1Sub1 by writing and submitting one short story per month.
I accomplished half of this goal - I didn't write a new story, but I submitted the story that didn't make the cut for the IWSG anthology to a handful of markets.
* Continue promotion for my short story collection, aiming to make more use of avenues such as Twitter, Facebook/Goodreads groups, and promo spots.
Yes. This month I focused on trying Facebook, as it's something I've not really used much. I joined a couple of promo groups and posted about my book.
* Eat healthily and keep up regular exercise via daily dog walks.
For the first part, I did OK, although I ate quite a bit of chocolate. Definitely did the second part, although the weather has been too wild the last few days.
* Post monthly goal round-ups at the end of each month.
Well, yes. Here I am!
For next month, I plan to do more of all of the above.
How did you do for progress this month? Do you set weekly, monthly, or yearly goals?
Friday, 29 January 2016
Tuesday, 26 January 2016
The Undead Road blog tour
Hello, friends! I'm here today with a post from our good friend and Lord of the Cosmic Laire, David Powers King. David recently released his zombie-tastic novel The Undead Road and he's here to tell us about just how he fell in love with all things zombie...
For the Love of Zombies: Why I’m Writing about the Undead
Thanks for having me, Nick! I’d like to introduce you and your blog followers to my first stab at self-publishing. It’s called The Undead Road: My Zombie Summer Part One. It’s about a 15-year-old boy named Jeremy whose family is caught up in a zombie apocalypse just when he’s coming of age and decides that girls are cute. This makes a dating life pretty much impossible, more so when the family goes on a road trip for a safe house halfway across the country.
Why am I writing zombies now? Truth is, I’ve always wanted to craft a story about the undead, but never really knew how to go about it. What was available in my youth didn’t really speak to me, mostly since the focus was on horror. It was considered horror, and I wasn’t exactly a fan of that. Resident Evil changed the way I viewed zombies, since those monsters entered the scene in a more science fiction capacity. And then, after watching the first episode of The Walking Dead, the idea finally clicked. I decided to write a humorous zombie novel with all the feels and all the chills. I went to work, found the voice I wanted in Jeremy, and enjoyed every moment of writing his story. Now I’m busily working on Part Two, which will only get more exciting from here on.
The Undead Road is also available on Amazon.uk!
Title: The Undead Road: My Zombie Summer: Part One
Publisher: Dashboard Books / CreateSpace
Ebook Release: January 2st, 2016
Paperback: January 26th, 2016
Cover by Steven Novak
Edited by Reece Hanzon
Blurb:
Nothing brings the family together like a zombie apocalypse …
Fifteen-year-old Jeremy Barnes would rather watch a zombie movie than shoot a real one, but he has no choice if his family wants to survive the end of the world. Their plan? Drive across the infected United States to a cabin in the Colorado Rockies without a scratch, but their trip takes a complicated detour in the middle of Nebraska when they find Kaylynn, a girl who can handle a baseball bat better than Jeremy can hold a .45 Berretta. And when they stumble into a sanctuary, Jeremy soon learns that Kaylynn is stronger than she looks—a deadly secret lies inside her.
After the radio picks up a distress call from Kansas City about a possible cure, Jeremy’s parents go with a team to investigate. They never return. The only way to find their parents is for Jeremy and his sister Jewel to rely on a dangerous girl who might just turn on them at any moment.
Kindle Store
For the week of the tour (January 25th-29th), The Undead Road is only 0.99 cents in the Kindle store - woo! Also, the paperback releases today and will be a great addition to any shelf.
For the week of the tour (January 25th-29th), The Undead Road is only 0.99 cents in the Kindle store - woo! Also, the paperback releases today and will be a great addition to any shelf.
Praise for The Undead Road:
"For me, zombie stories are never about the killing. They're about the survivors and how people deal with the apocalypse. To this undead end, David Powers King has come up with the most original spin on zombies I've ever read." - Michael Offutt, author of Slipstream and Oculus
Contest Details:
Visit davidpowersking.com and leave and comment and/or tweet about The Undead Road (at least once) for a chance to win a free ebook. One out of every 10 comments and tweets is a winner! Use the Twitter Button below to ensure the author will see your tweet. Thank you!
Tweet
About
the Author:
David Powers King was born in beautiful
downtown Burbank, California where his love for film inspired him to be a
writer. He is the co-author of the YA fantasy novel WOVEN,
published by Scholastic. An avid fan of science fiction and fantasy, David also
has a soft spot for zombies and the paranormal. He currently lives deep in the
mountain West with his wife and three children.
Wednesday, 13 January 2016
White Light blog tour
Today I'm helping out Anna Simpson, also known as Emaginette, with the blog tour for her newly released cozy mystery, White Light. She has some thoughts for us on short stories. Take it away, Anna...
Nick, thanks for letting me stop by.
We both have a love of short stories. I’m sure your readers are familiar with yours. I’ve only done a few. Shorts are when I let my imagination sky rocket and I write without an outline. I’ve written about dragons, castles, space, video games, and murder.
Not all in the same story, but some plotlines overlap.
I’m not sure how Aunt Alice, Mrs. Perkins, and Emma would do facing a dragon. They drive each other crazy enough without imaginary creatures walking across their front lawns. Mrs. Perkins would have a bird if someone or something messed with her perfect half acre of green.
So it’s fortunate they only have to solve a murder.
The heroes in mysteries can be anyone—young, not so young, even dead. All they need is the drive to stand strong. Stay determined. Strive for justice. And in one case slip into a living body. I feel pretty lucky with my group of heroes.
When you read a story, is it all about the characters that keep you turning the pages or is there something else on your mind? Tell me. I’d love to know. :-)
Purchase Links:
Author Links:
Wednesday, 6 January 2016
IWSG - The start of a new year
Welcome to 2016 and the year's first group posting of the incredible Insecure Writer's Support Group, founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a safe place for writers of all stripes to vent their fears and insecurities. Posts are the first Wednesday of each month and the co-hosts for January are L.G. Keltner, Denise Covey, Sheri Larsen, J.Q. Rose, Chemist Ken and Michelle Wallace.
At this time of year, many of us are, of course, looking ahead and setting plans and goals for the coming year. I've never been a huge goal-setter - I have general plans rather than finely detailed goals - but I guess that could change this year. If I've got an insecurity at the moment, it's that I didn't achieve nearly as much last year as I would have liked. I dread to use the term writer's block, but I really was stuck on the last book of the trilogy I've been working on for over three years now - I couldn't come up with a good angle. However, having had something of a breakthrough in the closing days of the year (and written 1500 words - not much but it's a start), I feel ready to start 2016 with a fresh focus. So, here are my goals:
* Finish a first draft of Book 3 of my trilogy. (The big one. I'm setting a rough deadline of the end of June for this one, but hopefully I will be done before then.)
* Perform final edits on Book 1, Black and White, engage a cover artist and prepare for release before the end of the year.
* Get Book 2 and the series' prequel novella out to CPs during the early part of the year.
* Aim to participate in Write1Sub1 by writing and submitting one short story per month.
* Continue promotion for my short story collection, aiming to make more use of avenues such as Twitter, Facebook/Goodreads groups, and promo spots. This is challenging for me, but I need to push myself more in this department.
* Eat healthily and keep up regular exercise via daily dog walks. I can definitely do the second part. They don't exactly give me a choice!
* Post monthly goal round-ups at the end of each month. This is a new one for me, but I'm hoping it'll be another way of staying focused and on track.
Well, all that should keep me busy. Here's to a productive 2016! How about you? Do you set goals? What would you like to achieve this year?
Check out other IWSG postings here.
At this time of year, many of us are, of course, looking ahead and setting plans and goals for the coming year. I've never been a huge goal-setter - I have general plans rather than finely detailed goals - but I guess that could change this year. If I've got an insecurity at the moment, it's that I didn't achieve nearly as much last year as I would have liked. I dread to use the term writer's block, but I really was stuck on the last book of the trilogy I've been working on for over three years now - I couldn't come up with a good angle. However, having had something of a breakthrough in the closing days of the year (and written 1500 words - not much but it's a start), I feel ready to start 2016 with a fresh focus. So, here are my goals:
* Finish a first draft of Book 3 of my trilogy. (The big one. I'm setting a rough deadline of the end of June for this one, but hopefully I will be done before then.)
* Perform final edits on Book 1, Black and White, engage a cover artist and prepare for release before the end of the year.
* Get Book 2 and the series' prequel novella out to CPs during the early part of the year.
* Aim to participate in Write1Sub1 by writing and submitting one short story per month.
* Continue promotion for my short story collection, aiming to make more use of avenues such as Twitter, Facebook/Goodreads groups, and promo spots. This is challenging for me, but I need to push myself more in this department.
* Eat healthily and keep up regular exercise via daily dog walks. I can definitely do the second part. They don't exactly give me a choice!
* Post monthly goal round-ups at the end of each month. This is a new one for me, but I'm hoping it'll be another way of staying focused and on track.
Well, all that should keep me busy. Here's to a productive 2016! How about you? Do you set goals? What would you like to achieve this year?
Check out other IWSG postings here.
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