Teeth of Beasts RELEASED!!

Every time one of my books is released, going all the way back to the very first of my westerns under the Marcus Galloway pseudonym, I tell myself I won't go out to bookstores looking for it on the shelves. I realize I'm not a huge name and the booksellers don't get around to stocking my wares right away. Even with these expectations, I still feel the little twinge in my gut when my big day comes and goes without the very important retail portion of the equation seeming to notice. No big drama. Just an uncomfortable twinge.

Or maybe it's just the stores in my home town. When I went to the major chains for BLOOD BLADE and HOWLING LEGION, I had to ask for them since they weren't anywhere to be found. The clerk had to go in back, put on a miner's cap with one of those little lights on it, venture into the bottom of the stacks, disappear for 10 minutes, take a coffee break, venture back, place their miner's hat somewhere to recharge the light's battery and then finally hand a new book over to someone who wanted to see it on the shelves FRONT AND CENTER!! Well, this time was a little different.

When I went to a local Borders, TEETH OF BEASTS wasn't on the New Release shelf. It was on the top of a stack on a cart, ready to be stocked. At Barnes & Noble, it was on the New Release shelf at the front of the science fiction / fantasy section. Not quite the super-cool New Release tower at the front of the store, but still pretty good! Progress!! And, they had copies of the first two! The whole idea is for the series to expand and take up more space on the shelf so more readers are drawn to my awesomeness. I'd even accept them being drawn to the awesomeness of the covers.

For now, things seem to be plugging away nicely. I still won't obsess about reviews or the sales numbers on Amazon simply because I can't do a lot about that stuff right now. I'll be making some rounds to spread the word either way and will always do my best to promote no matter what the numbers are. The rest is a lot of "wait and see".

So let me know what you think of the new book. Comment here whenever you like. Hopefully I can see some of you at one of these upcoming conventions. I'm also trying to arrange some more con appearances, but a lot of the good ones are in October and there are only so many weekends to work with. Fortunately, going to a bunch of horror / fantasy cons in a row doesn't sound like a terrible thing. I'll work something out. In the meantime, it's back to work for me!!

Almost Forgot

With all the work I've been doing on Book 5, the release date for Book 3 almost slipped right by me. That's right! Skinners 3: Teeth of Beasts will be released on the 27th!! This is where a lot of stuff in the Skinners-verse is shaken up. New battles. New beasts. New....lots of new stuff. It is a new book, after all. Hey, I'm a writer not an advertising exec. Just go buy it, OK? Thanks.

I'm still trying to line up convention appearances and signings so check in here for details. Also, I'll keep the offer open a little while longer for sending out those free signed covers. I've been getting requests and will send them out the next time I get to the post office.

As I'm writing this, there's some gross internet stuff showing on TV. Isn't it bad enough I have to see this stuff online? Yowza. Need to turn this stuff off and get back to work. I've got enough sick garbage in my head without more being shown to me.

Times is hard

I always feel a little bad when I trade in a bunch of my old games and get used games with the credit. I know the designers don't see any profits from that, so I try to buy new whenever I can. After all, they did the work and made a great product, so they should see a return. Then again, there are times when I just can't buy new because the purse strings are tight enough to choke the life out of me. Case in point: I wanted Splinter Cell Conviction and had NO money to purchase it. I traded in a bunch of stuff and could only get it for free by getting the used copy. I swallowed my own conviction and took the deal.



Sorry about that, Ubisoft. I know you're a huge company that won't fold without my sale, but I know what it's like to not get your percentage from every purchase. After all, used book stores have been around a lot longer than used video game stores. I don't see profit from those, but it spreads the word about the series, newer books may be bought when they come out and life goes on. I'm not anti-used games, either. It's everyone's choice, but I just feel like I should buy new when I can. When I can't, that's tough. Come to think of it, between all the other Tom Clancy games out there, Ubisoft's already gotten plenty of my cash and will get plenty more.


So I'll stop whining and enjoy the new Splinter Cell. YAY for co-op!!!!

Road Bumps N' Revelations

I hate to use the phrase Writer's Block, but sometimes it's mildly appropriate. To me, Writer's Block seems more like an excuse. Kind of like saying my addiction to buying DVDs instead of renting them is "an illness". Every now and then, no matter how much I like writing, it's less a labor a love and more like pulling my toenails off with a pair of needle nose pliers. The last few days have been rough, simply because I don't have every last thing worked out as far as the details for Skinners. I know my general direction, but sometimes the characters wind up in sticky situations. That's good for the story, but bad when I don't know how they're gonna get out of those situations. Maybe they DON'T get out. Great. More choices.

Anyway, I was driving to the bank when it occurred to me. Maybe hitting all these freaking potholes shook something loose. I thought of what's going to happen next, how it can work into the larger plot, where to go from there and I earn my Basic Writing badge for the day. All right, so it's not exactly a revelation, but that was a good term to use that started with R. Seemed like a cool title for the blog. Hmm. Maybe that's why I never get to use my own ideas for titles on the books.

In other news, Wil Wheaton made his return to The Big Bang Theory last night. I love that show and sometimes I'm convinced that I AM Sheldon. WHEATON!!!!!!!!!

Laptop Days pt. 2

The misery continues. I got my computer back from the shop, paid for its release and virus removal, plugged it in and found all of the same snafus as before. ALL of them!! This is why I like console gaming. If the game don't work, somethin's broke. With a computer, it could be any one of a thousand different things. Part of the problem is that I'm not a computer expert. I do know to be careful, though, but that doesn't matter. None of my protection programs did anything and now I've got to fight with the people who were supposed to fix it. Sigh.

My laptop is hanging in there, but not everything is on it. Take, for example, all the music I've downloaded. Pictures, documents, my carefully tended collection of porn, all of it's on what is very likely a busted piece of machinery. I could transfer stuff to my laptop, but there's not enough memory. I need a new computer, plain and simple. Doesn't mean I have to like it.

Ok. Griping over. Better log off before my laptop melts.

Laptop days

Well, it looks like my computer was definitely hit by a virus. Don't know where I picked it up or how. I don't do a ton of web surfing other than some ol' standby sites and I've got no fewer than 3 anti-virus programs running at any given time. Ugh. The computer's in the shop getting cleaned out and I'm working from my laptop. The good news is that my laptop is working out pretty well. It's not the best piece of machinery, but it does its job nicely. And since my main computer can't even keep up with my phone in the Internet department these days, the laptop just became a superstar.

I'm hitting my stride with Skinners 5. Things are moving nicely and a plot is taking shape. I've never been the sort of writer who outlines every twist and turn. Mine is a more fluid process where I'm constantly trying to surprise myself and asking "What if THIS happened?" That's the cool thing about writing. Unlike watching movies or reading, I can actually make that stuff happen! Good times.

Things are also shaping up for the conventions. I've got three lined up with more to come. Keep your eyes on the top of the blog for details and don't forget to email me if you want a signed cover from Book 3. Hope to hear from you soon.

REAL announcements

I already caught flak for the last April Fool's post. Heh. Can't say as I blame you for that. Prank or not, the thought of softening up Skinners just don't sit right. Fear not. I'm still on the horror track where I belong and have no thoughts of straying.

As for some real announcements, I've been lining up some conventions. This summer, I'll be appearing at OSFest here in Omaha. There's Archon at the beginning of October and I'll also be going to this year's World Fantasy Con at the end of October. I need to contact the WFC folks to see about doing any panels and such, but I know I'll be attending one way or the other. The specifics will be at the top of my blog page. Hopefully I'll see some of you at one of these events. I'll also be lining up some more when I get the chance. And for those of you who can't attend, you can always hit me up for a signed cover for Book 3. Get 'em while they're hot. Well, they'll always be hot, but I may run out. Gotta stay confident, right?

UPDATE - Just heard back from the World Fantasy Con. Looks like they've got a slot open for me! See you in Columbus.

Announcement

This is really tough, but I've decided to stop writing Skinners and start a new series with a more romantic twist. The idea is for me to shift Cole and Paige into a story where they can truly explore the longing they feel for each other and I can delve into their aching, tortured relationship. I'm thinking the Nymar will become less bloodthirsty and more "brooding". Also, the Full Bloods will sparkle in the moonlight.

APRIL FOOL!

You probably saw that one coming, huh? Oh well. Tradition!