The story is done

I finished the YA SF story I've been working on and sent it off to a potential market. This is the first story I've finished in a couple of years, since most of my focus has been on finishing two novels, and writing material for the Ephemeris RPG, and I think it shows a little of the rust...but what do I know? I've always been my harshest critic. I guess we'll know what the publisher thinks in a couple of months.

Wedding Pictures

I've posted quite a few pictures from our wedding on my Facebook page. If you're interested, you can check them out at http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=188377&id=684032160

A question for writers

I know there are quite a few writers that read this blog, so I wanted to ask you what your opinion on e-book publishers are. I'm not asking for recommendations, but rather I want to know what people think about having their books released solely as e-books.

I know that I like the idea of having an actual print book, but then I'm a little old fashioned. I still do all of my revisions on paper. As a writer, how many of you would be willing to sell your work to a publisher that only does e-books?

Another Dr.'s appointment

We had another Dr.'s appointment today. Everything is progressing well with the baby so far. Rebecca grew more than expected, but actually lost a couple of pounds, so they're going to give her something stronger to fight the heartburn she's been having. Overall, things still look really good, and we're heading for that Nov. 6th due date.

Speaking of due dates, don't forget about our baby game that we're hosting...

http://jalanerwine.blogspot.com/2010/06/baby-game.html

Got nook?

If you're fortunate enough to have one of Barnes & Noble's Nooks, you can now purchase two of my titles for it...and the third, Seedlings on the Solar Winds should be available soon.

For now, you can order:

The Opium of the People: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/e/2940011061851

Marionettes on the Moon, and other stories: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/e/2940011056727

Christmas in July

A couple of sales involving some of my stuff that you might be interested in checking out, but these sales only last through Monday...

You can get 25% off any of the Ephemeris products by going to http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/dt_xmas_in_july.php?manufacturers_id=2805#selectpub

Or, you can get the top 20 selling Seedlings on the Solar Winds for 25% off by going to http://scifi.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=65440

Writing short fiction again

Over the last couple of years I haven't written any short fiction. My focus instead has been on the two novels that I recently finished and writing material for the Ephemeris RPG. As all of that is very time consuming, I haven't had the time to write short fiction.

Tonight, however, I finished the rough draft of a new short story, and surprisingly, it's a YA science fiction piece (kind of a departure for me). I still have a lot of revisions to do on the story, as my short story skills are a bit rusty, but it feels good to be writing in the short form again, and hopefully I'll have something ready to submit in the next week or two.

Exhaustion creeps in

I haven't been sleeping much of late. There's just so much going on, and I seem to be having trouble keeping up with it. Rebecca is still not feeling good, so I basically don't let her help around the house anymore...and since she feels so bad, she let's me get my way (this time). That leaves just about everything to me, although the kids do help some, but unfortunately it can be more work getting them to do what needs to be done than it would be if I just did it myself.

In addition, the oldest starts 4th grade in two and a half weeks, and the youngest (soon to be middle) starts kindergarten in three and a half weeks, so we've had to get them new clothes and get all of their school supplies. Add to all of this the fact that I'm STILL trying to find a "real" job, while still trying to write, edit, and work on new products for Ephemeris, and it all starts to wear on me.

I'm not complaining, not in the least. I wouldn't trade my family for anything, but I wouldn't mind a day where all I had to do was lay around and read...that would be SO nice...and I can't remember the last time it happened.

With all of this stress, plus the severe financial stress we find ourselves in, things are just weighing on me, and it's cutting into my sleep...plus it's been pretty damn hot, and I don't like the heat!

Just so you don't think I'm doing nothing but bitching, a lot of good things have been happening. All of our baby check-ups have gone really well, which is the best news in the world. I've also started writing short fiction again, which I'm very excited about.

E-book versions of my works have also been doing pretty well. Seedlings on the Solar Winds is still in the top 20 at DriveThruSciFi, and several of my titles are now available at Smashwords...with a couple of them on sale for the rest of July.

So, think of this not as a vent, but an update...yeah, that's what it was...

Do you have a Sony e-reader?

If you do, two of my titles are now available through the Sony store. You can pick up Marionettes on the Moon or Seedlings on the Solar Winds at http://ebookstore.sony.com/search?keyword=Erwine. At some point in the future, The Opium of the People should also be available from Sony.

An e-book sale

Smashwords currently has my novel, The Opium of the People, and my short story collection, Seedlings on the Solar Winds on sale for 25% off. Simply go to http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/nomadicdelirium and click on the title for ordering information.

Jim Baker's novel The Poet is also available at 25% off.

Our plans for the day

I spent the morning watching the Tour de France, and now I'm trying to get some work done, but the kids are pretty wound up because they get to see fireworks tonight, so it's a bit difficult at this point.

Rebecca is going to get off early tonight. She hasn't seen fireworks with the kids because she always seems to be working on the night of the 4th, and the last two years the kids were in Texas visiting Grandma, so I haven't gotten to watch them with the kids either. When she gets home from work I'm going to fix the traditional American dish of hamburgers and french fries. After dinner, we'll pop up some popcorn and then head out to our balcony. We have a great view of the Aurora fireworks, so we don't have to leave the house and deal with the crowds.

So, Happy Independence Day everyone. Please be safe!

Independence Day

I've spent part of the morning trying to explain Independence Day to the kids. I want them to understand that it means a lot more than just blowing shit up. The nine year old seems to be getting it a little, but the five year old is just kind of shrugging her shoulders...which is what five year olds do when you tell them just about anything.

I really want them to understand that this holiday really means more than getting drunk and lighting off fireworks (which is what most Americans seem to think it means.) I've never been what you would consider a hardcore patriot. Even though I think the US is great, and I'm happy to be living here, I also think that we have a lot of problems that needed to be fixed a while ago. I also think that the longer we go with politics as usual, the worse those problems are going to get. I do not, however, think that the exploits of the Tea Party are a way of solving our problems. Even though I do think the US is a great place, I think that in the last decade we've seen a definite rise in racism and classism, and I think these could be the ultimate downfall of our country. We've also seen a huge turn back towards fundamental religions, which is the opposite direction of where we need to be headed.

So, while you're enjoying your fireworks tonight, please take a few moments to remember what it was that made this country great...and hopefully we can rediscover that in our country and in ourselves very soon...

It's about time

The Law Enforcer's Sourcebook for the Ephemeris RPG was finally released today. This supplement took me a long time to write. It wasn't that it was long, or that the subject matter was difficult to write about, but rather, life has just been so damn crazy. With the wedding, the approaching baby, the kids being out of school, looking for a real job, finishing a novel, and all of the other things that have been going on, this one just kind of got pushed to the back burner, but it's out now.

The Law Enforcer's Sourcebook

Next on the agenda for Ephemeris will be The Diplomat and Explorer's Sourcebook. It hasn't been decided for sure, but it looks like we'll put the two character classes into one supplement...but we'll have to see how things develop.

We'd still like feedback on what materials people would like us to release once the character sourcebooks are done, so please feel free to let me know.

Seedlings makes a bestsellers list

My short story collection, Seedlings on the Solar Winds has reached the top 25 at DriveThruSciFi. This is an e-book market, and I'm very excited to see this book reach such heights...although I wouldn't mind seeing it rise even higher (hint, hint).

To see the complete Top 100, go to http://scifi.drivethrustuff.com/top_100.php. You'll also find Marionettes on the Moon on this list as well.

A busy month of blogging

I tend to not be a very active blogger. I usually post 5-10 entries a month, but June was different. In June, I posted 16 entries. Apparently there was a lot I had to talk about. In case you missed anything, here are links to all of my June entries...

I'm no longer an Amazon Associate

Working, working, working

Seedlings on the Solar Winds is an e-book

Opium of the People as an e-book

A menagerie of links

Red Moon Rising has been delivered

A reminder about The Martian Wave

Marionettes on the Moon is now an e-book

A discount on the e-book version of The Opium of the People

An Ephemeris update

Catching up on life

Revamping the blog

An end of June wrap-up

Second Ultrasound

The Baby Game

Wondrous Web Worlds Vol. 9