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All posts for the month May, 2015

So today I put up the new cover for Firedrake Volume 3, finally replacing the last of my old covers that even I described as being horrible. After it had posted, and I had dropped the gorgeous new art onto my readers, I was notified that the original cover had been posted to “Lousy Book Covers” on Tumblr. Link Here if you want to see it.

At first I was angry (“Those bastards! I hope they get crabs, and then fall in a woodchipper!”). After that came sadness and all those other stupid emotions that one gets when any part of something they did is ridiculed. That’s natural.

But after a couple of minutes, I smiled. Why smiled? Because they were right. That cover was shit. A drunken aardvark missing two toes could have bettered that one. That was the work of someone who had no business designing a cover, who simply wanted to get his writing out there and was too industry-ignorant to think any better.

Times have changed. I’m not quite that stupid any more (Hey! I’m looking at you. Don’t say it…). I have turned my book cover services over to the fine folks at Arani Creative, and they’re knocking it out of the park every time. They did the covers for Golem, Tales of the Emergence, and now Firedrake 3. They’re damned affordable, too, so any of you reading this who are thinking of marketing a book but wondering where you’re going to get $200-$400 for a cover, hit their link. I made it out of their name so it would be easy for you to find. Do it now. I’ll wait. See? Get them on the case, and you’ll have a cover by the time you’ve finished formatting your book for market.

And if your book was featured on the LBC Tumblr, take a minute to reflect on why it was. I did. It wasn’t because my writing sucked, or even because whoever posted it to their site was an asshole. As I said before, it was because the cover was terrible. For whatever reason, someone has alerted you to the fact that your cover is not up to snuff. Yes, they did it in a manner guaranteed to be a little sharp and stabby, but hey, maybe one day they’ll fall in a woodchipper and you can have the last laugh. The easier way out of the situation, though? Get a new cover. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be better than what you have.

Mine is. Thanks, Arani.

drake3a1 Emergence cover 1a Golem cover1a

 

It’s been a week since I unleashed Jericho Sims on the world. Golem has remained in the top 30 on Amazon’s Western Science Fiction selection, and in fact held the #1 slot for a while. Proud author is proud.

So plans are now underway for more short stories in Jericho’s life, with additional work on the novel itself in hopes that it will be released soon.

The first Jericho Sims story is now available.

Back in November of ’14, I participated in the annual NaNoWriMo event, and dropped 60000 words on a Jericho Sims novel. I will be adding to it this November to make a true novel from the bones I have established.

“Golem”, however, is the first in a series of short stories. It chronicles the events following Jericho being shot with an arrow and stumbling across the home of a mad scientist who has created a new mechanical soldier.

The Jericho Sims stories will tie together various genres of writing, a little bit at a time: Western, Science Fiction, Supernatural, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Steampunk, and more than a few others. I hope that readers will be pleasantly surprised by the events they uncover as they follow this gunslinger on his quest to locate the demonic surgeon who murdered his fellow soldiers.

Golem cover1a

 

 

Snagged a new acceptance letter on a short I submitted a while back. Funeral is the story of what happens when heroes lay their own to rest, and the thoughts of one of the best at burying the only man he ever considered to be a better person than him. Links to come when it is published.

New Site

So if you have been here before, you can see that the site has changed. I upgraded from the basic format it was in to a (slightly) more advanced one. This one will allow for ease of updates and a more responsive blog. I am still in the process of figuring it out, which is an adventure in itself for me.

Technology and I have never been the best of friends. I can break down and rebuild your Kalashnikov, and I’m a fair hand at turning the screws on a rack or oiling the hinges of that old iron maiden in the corner, but computers? Whoa, there. Not my gig. Too easy to push the wrong button or click “yes” instead of “no” and turn a carefully crafted piece of work into something that resembles a drawing I did with my left hand.

Creating the first site was a comedy of errors, and while I have had a few small trials with this one, for a refresh it’s going fairly well. Hopefully it will allow me to use it with ease and not send me computerese messages that translate to, “Dude. Seriously? What were you even trying to do there? ‘Cause, ummm, it really really didn’t work.”

We shall see how this functions, and how soon it drives me to drink (a short trip, I assure you). Hope to see you all back frequently for further updates.

 

TMM