Step aside, crickets. I’m back.
Hopefully, folks who try to frequent this space will understand that a lack of activity here usually corresponds to me writing a bunch of stuff elsewhere. Last month was active on the writing front, and the spring and early summer is shaping up to be more of the same, but hopefully at a pace that will allow me to expend at least a few brain cells here and there on the sort of riveting content you’ve come to expect from my little mundane corner of the intrawebz.
It was definitely a bit crazy last month, and now here we are less than a month from my kids being out of school for the year. Wow. That happened fast.
I don’t really much more in the way of an intro for this entry, so maybe it’s best if we just get on with the April rundown….
Unidentified Tie-in Project – Having received approval on our outline back around the middle of the month, Kevin and I have the green light to get going on this new project….which is what we’re doing. Our delivery date for the manuscript is August 7th, which as things stand now is totally doable from where we sit. Mum’s the word for the moment, but more details (hopefully) sometime sooner rather than later.
Another Unidentified Tie-in Project – After a very productive couple of conversations with my editor and other involved parties back in mid-March, I delivered an outline on April 10th. I promptly received some notes from my editor and made the appropriate revisions before returning an updated version April 18th, which has since been passed on to the licensor for approval. So, that means I’m just waiting for their approval or whatever revision requests they may have. It’s obviously way too soon to talk about this one, other than to say it currently has a manuscript delivery date of September 18th. More on this as I’m allowed to share.
Short story for Double Trouble: An Anthology of Two-Fisted Team-Ups – I couldn’t resist the lure of writing for this anthology, which assembles impressive roster of authors, all of whom have taken on the challenge of creating new stories featuring Public Domain comics and literature heroes of yesteryear as well as a few larger-than-life figures from actual history. The anthology is being produced by the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers and edited by redoubtable wielders of red pens Jonathan Maberry and Keith R.A. DeCandido. We had a successful crowdfunding effort on Kickstarter to support publishing the book and stories have been delivered to said editors, including mine, which I sent in on April 9th. I received preliminary feedback from Keith this past Monday that it passed muster with him and he’s sent it to Mr. Maberry. The current plan holds for this to be published this summer. Have you seen the cover?
Short Story for The Four ???? of the Apocalypse – Despite a couple of bumps in the road, Kevin and I were successful in teaming up to spin our own take on The End of the World for an anthology to be published by editors Keith R.A. DeCandido and Wrenn Sims and their small-press publishing company, Whysper Wude. We got our edited/marked up manuscript back from Keith on April 14th, but what I just said makes it sound like he had a lot for us to change. That absolutely wasn’t the case, and we returned an updated manuscript on April 17th. The latest updates from the aforementioned editors indicate copyedited versions of the stories will be making their way to the writers in due course, and Kevin and I have the additional responsibility of recording an audio version of our tale. Be afraid, folks. Be very afraid.
And Another Unidentified Tie-in Project – Another project that unexpectedly came calling back in February. As expected, it ended up being a huge ball of fun, and I delivered a manuscript to the project editors back on April 5th. I’m currently awaiting feedback. I am very, very jazzed about working with this particular property. No sly hints or clues on this one just yet. I’m hoping some sort of formal announcement will be coming soon.
Other stuff in the pipeline:
Star Trek: Discovery – Somewhere to Belong – It’s all over but the waiting for this one, y’all. Meanwhile, the book is available for pre-order from the usual haunts in trade paperback, eBook, and audiobook formats, and feel free to patronize your local independent bookseller if there’s one in your area. As things stand now, it’s slated for publication on Tuesday, May 30th. I guess you can go gaze upon the cover between now and then. Stay tuned for updates.
Iron Man: Tony Stark Declassified – The first in a series from BenBella Books with the full support and cooperation of Marvel Entertainment. After receiving the official blessing from Marvel earlier in the month, Kevin and I returned the copyedited manuscript back to BenBella on March 26th. The project is deep into the graphic design phase, and what we’ve seen of the in-process pages is pretty swank, if I do say so myself. As I write this, the book is currently slated for publication on November 30th and is already available for pre-order. You can check out all of that and more info by clicking here.
Short Story for Unioverse: Stories of the Reconvergence – Another thing I mentioned in that other blog post. After returned our revised manuscript to our editor on January 3rd, we received word that all was good to go. We’ve been paid our final portion of the advance, and even seen a bit of art that will accompany our story (and it looks extra sweet, y’all. Like instant diabetes sweet). Otherwise? Now we wait. The anthology is currently scheduled for publication this summer from Hex Publishers, but no firm date has yet been announced. Stay tuned!
Possible future projects:
More fun with Star Trek Adventures – After himming and hawing with STA project manager Jim Johnson off and on for several months leading into the fall, I’ve developed some notes for new material I hope to develop for the game. Unfortunately, this one’s going on the back burner, as All The New Things must take precedence, but hopefully I can throw some brain cells at this in and around the other work.
Science Fiction Novella Concept – Back in the summer of 2020, I was invited to participate in what has become a series of novellas all revolving around a Theme I Cannot Yet Publicly Identify. Though the editor already had a slate of entries through 2022, I’m still pondering something I might work for possible 2023 or (more likely) 2024 publication, but all of that is dependent on other items I’m juggling. At this point, I have a basic premise for a story that fits the theme, and after informing Madam Editor of my interest in playing within this particular sandbox, I quickly scribbled some notes and then set them aside, which is where they’ve been as I tend to other, more pressing matters. If schedules permit, I’ll see where I’m at with respect to The Other Things, and go from there.
More Tales from the Vogue Theater – One of the other things Kevin and I decided while writing “Helluoid” for It Came from the Multiplex was that the Vogue Theater, the setting for our 1980s horror tale, could also be the backdrop for other such stories set in different eras. We quickly came up with springboard ideas for stories set in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, including a prequel of sorts for the original tale. Well, we entertained ourselves, at any rate. At this point, we have no idea what we might do with such a project, but for now just the idea of collaborating on a regular basis has taken hold after last year’s efforts, and we’re both eager to keep the ball rolling. Let’s see what happens!
Original e-Book Concept – I’ve been pondering an idea for a new series – something akin to the “men’s adventure” style books I loved back in the 80s and 90s. It would be a setting for which I could write shorter tales – novellas, likely – for e-Book distribution. It would be something of an SF-ish/action bent, with (I hope) lots of humor. Not quite campy, but definitely lighter in tone. This is still very rough at the moment, but it’s something I’d really like to get into once I get some free time (HAH! HAH AGAIN!).
Original SF Novel Concept – No, this is not the thing mentioned earlier that I played with last month. Instead, this is something I’ve been thinking about — off and on — for a loooooooooooooong time, but it always kept getting back-burnered because of everything else. I haven’t given up on it, but at the moment other things are demanding attention so this one stays on the warmer for a while longer.
And just like that, we’re done with a third of 2023. Whoa. Time keeps on slippin slippin slippin……………..
The Fog of Ward. 