Another day, another 4,000 words. Wish I could get more done, but this darn "work" thing keeps getting in the way. That, and arthritis. Hopefully after Thursday, I'll be one step closer to dealing with the arthritis issue. Turns out I have something called "Dupuytren's contracture," something that makes your hand slowly and permanently close over time. I'm told I can get injections to dissolve the protein (?) building up on the tendons in my hand... let's hope that happens. After an hour or two of typing, my hand really starts to smart. I'll take a few minutes of extreme pain from a shot if it means I'll get a month or two of peace and fast typing again!

Still waiting for the Dreampire edits. Got a note from my editor last week, she said she's hard at it. I expect to get something from her by the end of the month. It'll be tight, but I believe I can still produce a finished product sometime in July. Oh, and as promised--the cover for Dreampire. Understated, a little spooky, and plenty of orange. I like it!

I now have three other projects in the works.

• One is the next in line for the Watchers (a followup to Dreampire). 
• Another is a story about a guy who makes a deal to change his life, never realizing that he's paying with his soul. It's a little cliche and kind of cheesy, but I like the main character and the layout of the whole thing... so I'm going with it, cheese or no cheese. I'm tentatively naming it The Devil's Due. 
• The last one I'm working on is going to be spectacular--absolutely epic. It's a story about a young man whose father disappears after perfecting the technology for teleportation. It has government intrigue, romance, a little bit of HP Lovecraft-esque scenery, and some vampire action. Yup--makes no sense, right? Right. But it will. It's very intricate, very "out there," and so far I'm having a really good time writing it. In fact, it's the one I'm working on the most while I wait for the Dreampire edits, mostly because I have such a good groove going: a full outline complete for 31 chapters and two days of actual writing (and very part time writing, I might add!) and I'm already over 10,000 words. You know it's going well at that kind of pace. It's tentatively titled Shimmer, after those little reflections you see on the pavement from far away when its really hot. 

It's late, I'm tired, and I'm going to go ... read? Blah. Probably! Time to wind down for the day. I'm reading the third in the Breakers series by Edward W. Robertson. I think I mentioned him in a previous post. GREAT writer, really love his books. Highly recommended.

Thanks for stopping by!

Just some general ramblings before I get in the car and head to work for the day...

Still waiting on the edits for Dreampire... uh-oh, hope that's not a bad sign! It's always tough not to badger my editor at this stage of the game. All I want to do is revise, revise, revise, and get the book out there to general public. Plus, my editor is always my first critique too. She's one of those "brutally honest" people, so if she says she likes, I'm usually in the clear.

I'm spending the week in Michigan at Grandmother's. My work takes me to this state at least once a month, and most of my family still lives here, so I try to visit Grandma at least three times a year. It's always nice to come back home. Her house is the one constant, as far as a place or landmark is concerned, that's been a part of my entire life.

Oh, and before I forget... I think I need to give a long-range wave (and maybe a big hug) to everyone in the United Kingdom. I don't know what's happening over there, but all of a sudden the Watchers series has starting selling more copies there than in the US. And believe me, I'm not complaining. I think it's amazing! It just blows my mind that there are thousands of people all the way on the other side of world reading my books. So to all my UK fans, a big thank you!

Last of all, I got the cover back for Dreampire. Still deciding if it needs any more tweaks. I'll share it in my next post after I get back the final rendition.

I've decided to go with the philosophy that variety is the spice of life. While I wait for the first round of Dreampire edits, I've begun filling in all the cracks for the outline of the second in the series. Also, just because it's stuck in my head and I'm a little bit emotionally attached to it, I've begun work on a side project too. I'm only about 4,000 words into it, but so far I've really enjoyed what I've written. It's a little weird, but it's also a little personal because I'm using a few of my own life experiences as backdrops and side-stories, and that makes it FUN. I wouldn't say it's as weird as Sway, but somewhat along the same lines. Books like those don't seem to have the mass-appeal that the Watchers Series has, but I like writing them so much... I don't care, I'm just going to do it.

Speaking of the Watchers Series, I really think fans of those books are going to love Dreampire. Without throwing it all on the table and ruining it before you even read the first page, I will say that a lot of your favorite characters show up again. It picks up right after the end of The Fall of Astralis, and although it mainly follows a new guy who is more or less just an innocent bystander, he quickly becomes entangled in the mess that Astralis always seems to find itself in and it ramps up in a big way. I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks of it.

The last words have been written for Dreampire. I now have a completed rough draft that I can say I'm moderately pleased with. I've begun the first round of edits and have sent on a few chapters to my editor already. Should have the entire set of first-rounds done by the end of this week. Good stuff.

This has been a really good week. We got news from my daughter's flute professor at the University of Kentucky that she's been awarded a full tuition scholarship based on her first-year performance both academically and within the music program. I couldn't be more proud. My son's new trombone arrived this week, too, and already we (and his instructors) can hear a vast improvement in his tone. Both of them performed today in a community band, "The Heartland Winds," and the concert was outstanding. It was especially cool for me, because most of the players in this symphony are music teachers, professors, or professionals who work in the field of music. My son is still just a sophomore in high school and my daughter just completed her freshman year of college. Pretty cool to see them performing shoulder-to-shoulder with seasoned artists. The music absolutely blew me away. It's safe to say that both kids have had a good week.

My nephew graduates next week on Saturday, and I'm looking forward to that. He's a good kid, and will be leaving for college in the fall. I know he's very excited, and I am too.

Oh, and I feel like I need to give a plug for the book I'm reading right now. It's by an Indie author, Edward W. Robertson. The name of the book is Breakers. It's a series (I really prefer to read series... if I like a book, it's always nice to continue on and see how the people in it grow) and I'm only on the first book, but he's an outstanding writer. Great descriptions and really in-depth characters. He has a voice that is very unique, a great flow. I love a lot of the metaphors he uses--they're a kind of deep tongue-in-cheek look at the world he's created. It's an end of the world scenario... bad flu, people all die except a few, etc etc. But this one is pretty unique. Not your run-of-the-mill run-for-your-life story. If you ever read this blog, Edward--kudos to you, sir. I'll be reading your entire series for sure.

To all my readers and fans, thank you for your continued support.