Progress report – where have I been?

So, blog’s been silent for a bit. This has always been a problem for me (and I think anyone who writes and also works full time in another field).  I have a finite amount of mental energy and have to pick and choose what I put my time into. 

And it’s been a bit of a whirlwind during the last few months. 

I went to Can-Con in October – that was really fun.  I pitched to three Canadian publishers and each one expressed interest in my sci-fi manuscript (Lancet).  Currently I’m waiting to hear back on whether or not anyone wants to buy it.  Also, my short story A Traded Secret is releasing in Julie Czerneda’s Tales from Plexis on December 4^th, and will be available in major bookstores and online.  Julie was going to do a launch in Ottawa, but that’s been rescheduled to Ad-Astra next year.  Which I’m looking forward to and will also be a lot of fun.

A bunch of my friends from work have made a plan to take me out for lunch on launch day and have me sign a bunch of copies for them (or maybe just one – even that’s pretty awesome).  Extremely nice of everyone involved – makes me a bit emotional thinking about it.

Also, I’m starting to work on a sequel to Lancet now, and I think the ideas I’ve come up with have some pretty good depth.  And drama.  And action.  And growth.  All the ingredients to a rip-roaring story.  More on that will come in time.

I probably should be further along.  After finishing Lancet, I took a bit of a mental vacation.  Between editing and conventions/work/video games (so many video games) I haven’t had the gumption to do much.  That changed yesterday, when the light came back on and a bunch of disparate plots and thoughts and dreams all fit together.  Suddenly I have this coagulating blob of material that needs to be worked into shape.  This is the most exciting part for me – the creation phase when everything is new and fresh and I don’t know what’s going to happen next.

Otherwise, I really want to give credit to my wife, who’s has been kind enough to read my book – something she was a little worried about because I was a lot touchier about editing when I was younger.  Liked to argue – now I’m just happy whenever anyone is willing to read it.  And her opinion is the most important to me, so having her sense of the story is really important. I think I’ve grown up a lot in the intervening years.

Other than that, it’s almost time for the holidays, so if I don’t see you or say so – Happy Holidays!  And that’s for everyone, everywhere, no matter what you celebrate or if you celebrate.