Monthly Archives: February 2015

Lord Dunsany Re-Read: Time and the Gods, Part 9

time and the godsBill Ward and I finished our Lord Dunsany re-read with the last four stories published in the original Time and the Gods (not the omnibus). You can find a free copy of the book here and join in the discussion. Our rating system is pretty simple. One star is a standout, and two stars is truly notable. Most of Lord Dunsany’s fantasy work is already fairly remarkable, so even a “no star” story on this scale may be worth a look. This week we read “The Relenting of Sarnidac,” “The Jest of the Gods,” The Dreams of a Prophet,” and “The Journey of the King.”

Winter Madness

Howard ZebrasIt’s been a crazy few days. I slid into my wife’s car with my truck, darn it, and then drove about five hours through a snow storm, white knuckle all the way, to get my first born to a college audition of sorts. Fortunately it went well and the roads on the way back were a lot better. (Tomorrow I take the car in for repair — I wasn’t going very fast, and the truck wasn’t hurt, but the car bumper is shot. I miss steel bumpers. Really, what’s the point of a fiberglass bumper?)

I wasn’t able to post Monday because a tree branch took out our internet, cable, and phone. Next Monday, though, Chris Hocking and I are bringing back Hardboiled Monday, and Friday Bill and I will try to wrap up our Lord Dunsany read.

In other news, I’ve become a TOR author. Paizo Pathfinder novels are now going to be distributed through TOR, and the publishing schedule means that my upcoming book will be the third one released under the joint banner.

My novel revisions are going very well and I’ve got a few other projects on the front burner now that are starting to simmer. I hope to be able to talk about all of it in just a little bit, and talk a little more about some writing strategies I’ve been using on my newest work.

Lord Dunsany Re-Read: Time and the Gods, Part 8

time and the godsBill Ward and I are continuing our Lord Dunsany re-read with the next two stories published in the original Time and the Gods (not the omnibus). You can find a free copy of the book here and join in the discussion. Our rating system is pretty simple. One star is a standout, and two stars is truly notable. Most of Lord Dunsany’s fantasy work is already fairly remarkable, so even a “no star” story on this scale may be worth a look. This week we read “The South Wind” and “The Land of Time.”

Back Soon

Kirk_KelindaBill and I will return next week to start on the final leg of Lord Dunsany’s Time and The Gods anthology. There are only six left, and then we’ll be turning to the first fantasy book I ever read, Swords Against Death.

This weekend my lady and I (pictured on the left) will be spending some quality time together. May you all be so fortunate.

In other news, I just learned I got the most votes in Black Gate‘s “who should write in the Cthulhu mythos today” contest. That was pretty cool, and totally unexpected. I suppose that Dabir and Asim DO face off against lots of weird menaces. I approach horror more like REH did most of the time, though, like an ingredient to season a story rather than the entire focus of one.

This surprising win does have me thinking about whether I should try to tackle writing some horror straight on, although it will have to take a back seat to the various projects I’ve already got cooking.

Link Man Returns

Why it's Link Man, defender of safe, interesting, and quick loading internet content! And he's here to stop the menace of The Spinner!

Why it’s Link Man, defender of safe, interesting, and quick loading internet content! And he’s here to stop the menace of The Spinner!

Regular visitors to the site know by now that long periods of quiet indicate lots of activity behind the scenes. I wish YOU could see what I’ve been writing, but it’s still going to be quite a while before any of the books I’ve worked on will appear in print. Still, they’re coming. I’m deep in editing/revision mode on the cleanup pass of For the Killing of Kings, giving more time to the character my handful of readers have named their favorite.

Today I’ll just ask Linkman to provide us with interesting and safe places to visit..

Lord Dunsany Re-Read: Time and the Gods, Part 7

time and the godsBill Ward and I are continuing our Lord Dunsany re-read with the next two stories published in the original Time and the Gods (not the omnibus). You can find a free copy of the book here and join in the discussion. Our rating system is pretty simple. One star is a standout, and two stars is truly notable. Most of Lord Dunsany’s fantasy work is already fairly remarkable, so even a “no star” story on this scale may be worth a look. This week we read “Mlideen” and “Secret of the Gods.”