I really want to make some sort of joke with the quote, "Winter is coming," by you-know-who. (Not Voldemort.) But I'm not clever enough to pull it off, as it is currently Spring. But you know what IS coming? "Gods of Rust and Rot." I waffled back and forth like the best kind of breakfast cake about whether to post a tentative release date for "Gods of Rust and Rot." Because somehow things always take longer than I imagine. And I want this book to be the absolute best it can be. And Good, Fast, and Cheap can be mutually exclusive. On the other hand, you guys all seem to be really eager for the next book, and curious about when it will finally arrive. Working as hard as I can while being realistic about my abilities, I think I have a good idea. I'm putting the finishing touches on the first draft and should be done in a few days. From there, it's on to revision, editing, and all that other stuff you may have read me going into way too much depth about in a previous post. If you're on my mailing list, you'll get to see some scene snippets ahead of time, probably get a chance to voice your opinions about things I'm considering slipping into the book during second draft, a chance for ARC copies, goody giveaways, and, of course, first notification when the book is live and available to buy. If you're not on my mailing list, why not?! (signup box is over there →) Anyway, I'm doing my best to hit an August deadline, but it is tentative, and by very definition subject to change. I'm excited about "Gods of Rust and Rot," and I hope you guys are, too! (8/22) Edited to Add:…

To any of you out there that may have been wanting a physical copy of a book and putting it off because it was too expensive...now's the time. Amazon is offering 30% off one physical copy (not an ebook) until November 30th, 2015. I bought this: It's a side-story novella from one of my absolute favorite authors. His books have a much-loved place of honor on my bookshelves, both physical and electronic. Additionally, he's an all-'round great person. Now, most of you have heard of him. If you haven't, I'll refrain from asking what you've been wasting your time on and recommend you check out his first book. Here's to that giddy feeling when you get a brown box in the mail and you know it's got books inside! Are any of you taking advantage of the sale? What have you bought, or want to buy?

I have one of these perpetual motion cat-toasts in the back room, and I hook myself up to a helmet powered by it when I sleep. It's where I get both the story ideas and the energy to write my books. I wish. Unfortunately, neither ideas, energy, or the time are quite that easy to produce. You have to make them all. And by that I mean I sit down with a notepad and a pen and I make ideas. I decide to wake up and write even when I really don't want to, or type away in my Scrivener document when all I really want to do is sit down with a back of hot-cheetos and binge the new season of House of Cards. That's how I "make" time and energy. Don't take no for an answer. That's why I love NaNoWriMo. I've always enjoyed telling stories to myself, but when I heard of NaNo as a teen, I immediately decided to jump in and start writing a bit more seriously. It took me a few years to finally finish a book, and that was facilitated by having the whole novel plotted out ahead of time, but that's a story for another post. Along with the forums, the Pep Talks really helped me. It's that believe-you-can attitude that I think a lot of people need more dearly than they know, along with the motivation of knowing that hundreds of thousands of people around the world are doing this crazy thing along with you. If there's something you want that you don't have, something about the way you're living your life that's not making you happy... STOP. Sit down and figure out WHAT you want, figure out HOW you're going to get it, and then go DO it. Otherwise nothing…

Gods of Rust and Rot is in production! Which means I'm writing it. It took me a while to get the plot for this book all worked out, and I'm still thinking about tweaking things here and there, but the writing has been started, and I'm already getting into some cool stuff. It's funny how even though I know what's going to happen, I still get excited and experience the swings of emotions as I write the story, following events in my imagination. The ability to experience other people's lives like that is a huge reason why I love to write, and I expect it is the same for many authors. I figured you guys might be interested in a quick glimpse into what I'm doing. So, I figured I'd give you an advance look at a small snippet I've written. Keep in mind, this is first draft, not even close to a final, publishable version. In fact, this might not even end up in the published book, but it's part of my process. I’d been waking up with nightmares, from nightmares, for a while. Some times it was the monsters of a Trial coming for me, ready to rip me apart and dance in my entrails. Some times, it was the last time I saw my team member China, as the light went out of her eyes and she died. And sometimes, the nightmare had no form. It was the creeping mass of decay and putrification devouring everything in its path. A shudder, a feeling, a smell. A sickness. I woke up from a nightmare about the sickness, choking in my own blood. I shot out of the little cot tucked into a hole in the side of the wall, spitting the iron-tasting liquid onto the floor in a…