Word.

No, today is not flashback Wednesday, in which we explore the very strange vernacular of the late 80's/early 90's.

Today is Written Word Wednesday, in which we explore the phantasmagorical world that is my writing and its various offspring.

First up, book reviews.

In spite of my trials and tribulations of dealing with B&N (see my post of 8/20 for excruciating details), I did manage to read a couple of books (YA, thank you very much and no comments from the peanut gallery) in the past few weeks. One was a paperback sci-fi called "Year of The Human", which I wrote a pretty decent review for. The other is called "Linked Through Time" by Jessica Tornese, which I haven't had the opportunity to write a review for. It's funny, but the only way I can write a review is if I'm in a relatively good frame of mind. Any outside stress and aggravation, and I can't do diddly. So that is my goal for this upcoming weekend, to write a decent review for this e-book.

On the current writing front.

If you remember my post from last week about indecisiveness, you'll be happy to know that I'd battled through that issue and wrote what needed to be written for that particular scene. I think from here on in, the rest of the story shouldn't be as graphic as the back story was. Because I'm writing this bad boy by hand, it's allowing my the luxury of really outlining how I want the rest of the story to unfold. At the moment, I'm outlining a potential dream sequence that should give me a good direction to go in once I get it written.

On the upcoming novel front.

Lots to talk about here, so let's start with a new promo/plug (which is something that I rarely do) that is featured in the upper left corner of the front page. Kelly Abell, who is one of my fellow writers at Solstice, owns a graphics company called Select-O-Grafix. She is the one who designed the cover to my upcoming novel, and through her company, is also creating a custom book trailer for my book. I can't even begin to describe how excited I really am about this book trailer, and from what she's told me about it so far, it sounds like its gonna be a winner. Please check out her website as they can do the whole gamut for you when it comes to marketing, and you can find them on Facebook as well.

On the publishing front, the book is still at the proofreaders, so I'm not worried about that aspect. I believe it's better to take your time and do it right the first time, instead of rushing through and having to redo it multiple times. I have complete faith in my publisher, and I have no doubt that this book will become another excellent addition to their stable of titles.

On the miscellaneous writing front.

I added about a dozen more book covers to my Solstice slideshow. Please check out the new releases, all reasonably priced between .99 and $5.99 per e-book copy (available at Amazon and B&N as well). Also, from what I understand, Solstice is producing audio versions of some of their current releases, so that might be something to check out in the near future.

Beyond that, I haven't done much in the way of submissions. The last wave of submissions, such as it was, was done back in mid-July. Haven't been able to find the time to do any real market research for my stories, so submissions are pretty much in a holding pattern for the time being.

I still have copies of my self-pubbed chapbook "Betrayed!" for low sale price of $6.50 (I'll pick up the S&H and the sales tax), and available from ASI as a e-book for $3.99. So if you want not only a good sample on how I write, but what you might see in Line 21, please give some thought about purchasing a copy. Remember, writing is not just a hobby for me, but it's something I really enjoy doing.

On the blogging front.

Not much to report. Still chugging away and moving ever closer to the 900 post mark for this blog, which I should hit before the year is out. Still purging and adding new blog feeds for my ever expanding pile of subscriptions. Still trying to find my groove again so I can get a few more blog posts pre-written for future consumption, although not overly worried about it. Sometimes, you just can't force it. It comes when it comes and not before then.

Finally, since I love things that are downright strange, I leave you with this: