Vampire Uprising released!!!

Here we go again. Another SKINNERS hits the shelves. I'm not falling for it this time. Every time there's a new release, I go out and try to find my book on store shelves and every time I have to ask someone to dig into their back room to find me a copy. That's just around here, though. I've had plenty of reports from other areas that they find it displayed prominently at their local store. Plus, this being the 21st century, plenty of people get their copies online anyway. It's a joyous occasion, but I'm NOT going out looking tomorrow.

I will be out, though. It's Tuesday which means new DVDs and games are released so I always hit Best Buy to take a peek. I've also got to run some errands before driving to Columbus, OH for the World Fantasy Convention over the weekend. Who am I kidding? I'll probably hit a bookstore just like I do every other release day. It's fun...right until my hometown Barnes & Noble doesn't include me on the Local Authors table. DOH!!!

It's all right. I'm still on the shelves eventually and plenty of you good folks will be reading my words. That's undeniably awesome. Book 6 is coming along fine and I've got lots of ideas brewing beyond that. Day 1 or not, Vampire Uprising is an awesome book and I'm very proud of it. Hope everyone likes it, so be sure to let me know what you think.

These boots are made for...writing? I guess that's what they'll do.

I go through footwear phases throughout the years. Sometimes I prefer sneakers. Sometimes I prefer boots. Sometimes I don't give a crap just so long as my flat, flipper-like feet are comfortable. The other day marked a shift into boot phase and I realized I didn't have any that weren't scuffed to hell or too small. Have my feet expanded? Ugh. So I decided to go to an Army surplus store for some combat boots. You know, just the plain, smooth black combat boots. Not the ones that have canvas and designs and all that other stuff. I don't know what sort of boots are standard issue now, but I couldn't find any plain combat boots in this place. The other ones (as authentic as they may or may not be) just looked too sporty. Flummoxed as to where else to find classic combat boots, I thought of where else to go for some cool footwear.

Off to the Harley store. I lucked out here because not only were their boots around the same price as what was in the surplus store, but they had kick-ass versions with skulls on them. Hey, I've got skulls on everything else I own, not to mention tattooed into my flesh, so why not? If I can't have plain combats, I'll have skull-tastic bikers. For a moment, I thought I didn't want to look like some kind of Harley poser because I don't ride a bike. Then I realized I'm not a Marine either, but would have been fine in my combat boots. Boots is boots and mine have cool skulls on 'em. Yeah!!!

Yo, World Fantasy....I made it!!!

Heard back from the World Fantasy Convention and I'm gonna be on a panel!!! Woo hoo!! The theme of the con is "whimsical fantasy" so Skinners should fit in just fine!! Heh. Seriously, I'm happy to be included at all in such a big con. My panel will be at 1PM on Friday the 29th and is about "Humor and Horror". I think I'm a pretty good fit for this one, so I just hope I don't freeze up and sit there like a smiling lump with what are surely going to be much more notable speakers on either side of me. There's also a signing on that same night at 8 or 8:30 so if you're in Columbus, OH the last weekend of this month and feel like getting a world class fantasy fix, come on down and see me. There's bound to be some other pretty good authors and stuff there too.

This will be the first time I've ever been to Columbus, OH so if anyone has any good dining suggestions I'd like to hear them. Thank God I've got my GPS because otherwise I'd have to drive out there with a notebook full of Google maps. This will be an exciting con. Also, it should be the one that puts me over the top for a while in the "outside with other people" department. Most folks don't get just how rough it can be going from sitting in front of my computer all day every day to being surrounded by LOTS of people. At least at cons, lots of those people are in costumes so it makes it easier for me to handle.

I'm plugging away at Skinners #6. I like to think of the series as being told in arcs and Book 6 will be the end of this particular arc. Not the end of the road, but ties up some loose ends. I will tell you that not everything will be wrapped up all perfect and happy by the last page. I mean, what fun is that? I've also been getting tons of ideas for other stuff. A few that I'm really excited about are in the Steampunk genre. More than anything, that genre seems to embody raw creativity at its fun-loving best. All too often, I hear people griping about the more practical aspects of stuff that's just supposed to be entertaining. My favorite will always be the conservation of mass in shapeshifters. Ok, I realize a physical object can't create more bulk than it already has but people really can't change into were-leopards either. Lighten up!! As long as the story is good, the characters are likable and the world is consistent, I'm always willing to go along for the ride. Since Steampunk subscribes to stuff like alien tech, clockwork robots and supernatural science fiction wrapped in a historical setting, that's a ride I want to take! I'm sure they get their gripers too. "But...but....that technology didn't EXIST in the 1800's!!" SHUT IT, ass clown!!!

Anticipation

There are lots of reasons for me to chew my nails lately. Skinners 4 will be hitting store shelves in a few weeks, Skinners 5 is with my editor getting its first once-over, and I'm hard at work on Skinners 6. That's a whole lot of Skinners! Also, I'm putting together a few other projects that I've been excited about for a while now. All this AND the Jonah Hex movie hits DVD this week! Ok, so maybe that last one isn't really a nail-biter, but it looks like a fun flick and I do want to see it.

It's a slow, trudging weekend here. Remember my great mood during the last post when I got a little taste of autumn? Well that lasted for about a day before the temps hit the upper 80's again. According to the weather gadget on my phone, it should be in the 70's this week and those weather predictions are never wrong, right? Yeah. Sure. Oh well. Keeping my fingers crossed anyway.

The new Medal of Honor comes out this week. They're taking the Modern Warfare route and doing...well...modern warfare. Looks really good. There's been a bit of a commotion since multiplayer battles are to be between US and Taliban forces. That means players get to play as the Taliban and shoot US guys. First of all, it's just a game. Secondly, hasn't this already been done in other games? Pretty much any modern military shooter with multiplayer has SOME side shooting at the US. This just seems like one of those little bouts of ruffled feathers that comes along with plenty of games regarding violence, language or any other sort of non-issue that's clearly marked on the package of said game beneath the big "M for Mature" rating on the cover. My view on this topic? See the first point. Just a game. No actual soldiers were harmed in the single or multi-player arenas. Plus it was already mostly solved by calling the Taliban "opposing forces" in multiplayer. Does having those guys shooting US troops make it all better? Who cares. Next.

Gearing up for World Fantasy at the end of the month. My first big con, so I'm excited. The deal is that any guest (apart from the Guests of Honor) get to do one panel or reading and one only. Makes sense, since it's such a big convention. A few months ago, I got an email asking which of the panels I'd like to be on. I responded and waited to get the schedule. Last week, I get another email asking which panel I'd like to be on and did I get the first email? I respond again, saying I'm sure my first email was accidentally spammed or overlooked. No biggie. I'm fully expecting to show up at the convention without being on any panels because they never got my responses. All too often, I get to experience the crappy parts of being invisible without any of the perks. In other words, nobody knows I'm there unless I try to walk into the women's locker room at the gym. Should be a fun convention whether I get to be on a panel or not. Hope to see some of you there!

Ahhhhctober

I love autumn. I know it's not exactly an original sentiment, but being able to open the windows and have a cool breeze come in just brings a smile to my face. My build / complexion makes me a natural for wearing flannel shirts over standard issue t-shirts. Plus, how could you NOT love flannel sheets? I guess those are more of a winter thing. Anyway, October brings to mind such scents as burning leaves, pumpkin pie, apples and fun-sized candy. Those are a welcome replacement for summer scents like hot tar, body odor, bug spray and misery. Ok, that's a little harsh but you get my drift.

October is also a busy convention month. Just got back from Archon in St. Louis, which was great. Even had some folks show up to my signing which was amazing! Thanks for stopping by! Gave away a bunch of stuff, talked to some readers, plus I had some Jack in the Box tacos afterward. JOY! At the end of the month is World Fantasy. I won't lie to you, I'm a bit nervous for that one. It'll be the first time I've ever been to a con THAT huge. On top of that, I'll be a guest at a signing and a panel. Whew. Vampire Uprising will be hot off the presses by then. By the way, I just got my first advance copy of the book and it looks GREAT! Everything in this paragraph represents what we professional writers call "the fun part" of our job. We must savor these moments while we can because it's a tough business.

Just got back from picking up the new Nightmare on Elm Street DVD. Didn't see it in theaters, so I'm buying it on faith. The first one's a classic and this looks like a good, scary installment of the series instead of the many goofy Freddy movies that came out over the years. Gotta get back to work. There's stuff to write, new TV shows to watch, new games to play. I LOVE this time of year!!!!