I love these productive days

Days like today are what make me happy that I left my "real" job.  I just about finished up an editing project for a publisher that I'm working with for the first time.  In addition, I reworked the short story I finished a few days ago.  I think it still needs a little more work, but I hope to have it done very soon.  As if that wasn't enough, I added many pages of research to the first volume of the Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica, and I'm now ready to sit down and actually start writing the thing.
Yes, it was a very productive day.  I'm hoping to have many more like this in the days to come,

The Nomadic Delirium Press 12 Days of Christmas

Nomadic Delirium Press is running specials on their titles during the 12 days of Christmas.  Each day, a different tile will be on sale.  Some of these will be books I've written, magazines I've edited, or RPGs I've designed.  Others will be from other authors and editors.
For updates, you just need to go to their Facebook page.
Check back every day for that day's sale.

A new story

I just finished the rough draft of a new story.  This is the first unsolicited short story that I've written in quite a while, so it's a very good feeling.  My skills are still a bit rusty, so it will take several re-writes, but I'm fairly happy with the way this one turned out, even if it went a completely different direction than I'd expected.  A lot of times, however, some of my best stories actually are the ones that seem to have a mind of their own.
I hope to have it ready to go, and actually start submitting it before Christmas.
Now for the next story...

The words are starting to flow

Three weeks after escaping the "real" work world, the words are really starting to flow for me.  I'm not quite back to the point where I could sit down and crank out 5,000 words in one session, but they are flowing the best that they have in many years.
Right now, I'm focusing on cranking out some short stories to kind of get my chops tuned back up, but then I hope to get back into the novels, while still keeping the short stories going.
No matter what, it's a good feeling, and I think once the holiday season is over, things will start to flow even more.

November recap

It seems like I've started posting more now that I'm no longer trapped in a dismal "real" job.  Look for even more posts in the month to come...
I have some big news
The big news
Happy third birthday!
I'm free!
Keeping myself busy
Submitting reprints
Holiday deals featuring my stuff

Holiday deals featuring my stuff

There are two e-book deals from Nomadic Delirium that feature some of my work.  First of all, there's the fiction bundle, which has one of my novels, two short story collections, and three titles that I edited.  In total, you get 10 titles for $10.  Simply go to http://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/65958/2013-NDP-Holiday-fiction-special-%5BBUNDLE%5D?manufacturers_id=2805.
Secondly, you can get e-book versions of both of the RPGS that I created for just $6.50.  That's Ephemeris and The Battle for Turtle Island.  Just go to http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/122758/2013-NDP-Holiday-gaming-special-%5BBUNDLE%5D.
Both of these deals last through Cyber Monday.

Submitting reprints

As I'm slowly getting back into the swing of working at home, I've started researching markets that accept reprints.  I've found a few that are actually open to submissions, so I sent off some stories yesterday.  It felt good.  I haven't submitted an un-solicted story in quite some time, so it was nice to get back to it.
Hopefully once Thanksgiving is over, I'll be throwing myself into writing some short stories I've been thinking about, and also get to work on one of the novels I've started.
Overall, working at home is MUCH better than working in the "real" world.

Keeping myself busy

Now that I'm free of the "real" world work, and working at home, I'm keeping myself quite busy.  I've started on a series of supplements for the Ephemeris game that will focus on the sectors of space used by each of the species.  I'm tentatively calling it the Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica.  I've also been doing a lot of editing, and formatting of zines and books.  I'm working on some new ideas that I might use for books or magazines for Nomadic Delirium Press, and I'm even doing some writing.
I'm also loving having time with the kids and Rebecca.  The little one has been so thrilled to have me home with her every day.
Now, I need to get back to work.

I'm free!

Today was my last day at the "real" job, and it couldn't have come soon enough.  I was really tired of people not doing their share of the work, and then catching crap from so called "superiors" when I busted my ass day in and day out.
Hopefully this will work out for us, but I suppose I'd better get to writing...

Happy third birthday

Today is Alexis' third birthday.  It's hard to believe that she's turning three.  In some ways it seems like she's been with us for so long, but in other ways, it seems like she was just born yesterday.
It's amazing what a little person she's become.  She's already trying to read (although with no success), and she often seems desperate to learn everything.  There are so many things about her that remind me of myself, and there are also so many things that remind me of my wonderful wife.
We're so happy to have her in our life, and we're looking forward to seeing how much she grows over the year to come.

The big news

Given the wild speculation going on on Facebook, perhaps this news isn't as big as I'd originally thought.  No, we are not expecting.  The no-longer-not-so-big-news is that I gave my two weeks notice at my "real" job.  I was pretty much tired of having to do extra work because others were either lazy or incompetent, and I was also tired of catching hell for things not being done, when I was busting my butt.  So, we talked it over, and I decided to leave.
I will be working as a stay at home dad now, while I'm also working on writing, editing, and publishing.  Money is going to be much tighter for us, but we're going to do everything we can to save every penny and try to make this work.
Other than the loss of money, everything else about this arrangement will work out better for us.  So, hopefully I will be writing some stories and books that will bring in a lot of money, and hopefully Nomadic Delirium Press will be publishing stories and books that will do the same...

I have some big news...

...but I'm not going to share it until next week...

October recap

My MileHiCon schedule
Tantrums
A new novel
My final MileHiCon schedule
MileHiCon recap
Having a blast
Lunatic Fringe

Lunatic Fringe

As you may remember, I did a panel at MileHiCon about science in science fiction called Lunatic Fringe.  There was a review article posted about it at Sciencefiction.com.  You can read it at http://sciencefiction.com/2013/10/29/much-science-science-fiction/.

Having a blast

Towards the beginning of the year, I left my position with Sam's Dot (as taken over by White Cat), and started focusing on editorial duties for Nomadic Delirium Press, and I'd have to say that I'm having a blast.  I like this whole working for myself.  I've created a couple of anthologies that I'm now reading for, and I'm even thinking about starting a new webzine.  We're beginning to see an increase in readership and the zines are filling up faster than they have in a while.  It would seem that people like the direction I'm taking NDP...or at least I hope they do.
No matter what, it really is a lot of fun to be an editor and a publisher, and I'd love to make it a full time thing...we'll have to see...

MileHiCon recap

We've been back for a few days from the Con, but this is the first time I've had enough down time to really sit down and write this blog.  As always, we ran around like crazy, trying to do as much promotion of my stuff as we could, while still making sure that the kids got to do a lot of fun stuff.
Friday we had a panel about Mars, which started off a bit slow because most of the panelists didn't know the answers to the first couple of questions, but once we got past that, we had a really great panel with a lot of good conversation about the future of Mars exploration.  That night we did autograph alley, which didn't seem to have as much traffic as usual, but still managed to sell one book, while talking with some old friends.
Saturday started out with a signing.  During that time, there must have been some great things going on because traffic was very slow, and I've never seen so few people roaming around.  That afternoon, I did the Lunatic Fringe panel about science in science fiction.  This was one of the best panels I've ever done.  We managed to get a lot of information out, while we had a blast.  I don't think I've ever been on a panel with such "colorful" guests.  A really great time seemed to be had by all.
Sunday started with a reading, which was pretty well attended.  I just read a portion of the first chapter of A Problem in Translation as anything I'm working on is still too rough to share.  That afternoon I did a panel about the new era of publishing.  This was another great panel.  There were four self-published authors, and me as a publisher.  Again, we shared a lot of great information, and had a great time.
These were some of the best attended panels and reading that I've done.  I had to admit that when I saw the panels I was scheduled for, I didn't think they'd be that great, but they were really were.
As an author I didn't feel this was that successful of a con, but for Nomadic Delirium Press, I think this was a very successful con.

My final MileHiCon schedule

Here's my final schedule, with rooms and panel descriptions:

Friday:
3:00 p.m. Grand Mesa A Dreams of Red

The Dutch organization Mars One says its wants to put humans on the surface in 2023. The Inspiration Mars Foundation plans to fly astronauts to Mars and back on a 500-day mission in 2018. And of course, science fiction writers have been dreaming of a visit to the Red Planet for centuries. But how does fantasy stack up to reality? 

8:00 p.m. Atrium Autograph Alley

Saturday:
1:00 p.m. 2nd Floor near Art Show Signing

2:00 p.m. Grand Mesa B&C Lunatic Fringe

How fuzzy can the science be and still be believable?  

Sunday:
11:00 a.m. Mesa Verde C Reading

3:00 p.m. Wind River A New Era of Publishing: Good, Bad, & Ugly

What does it mean for both readers and writers? Good as in new professional markets like 47North and more choices for authors as well as the fact that books stay available as e-books, so readers don't have to worry about book one in a series being out of print when they discover book three, as well as more books coming back into print because authors have the rights and are publishing their back lists. Bad as in mountains of garbage that gets dumped on Amazon and Smashwords, and what that means for readers—how do you find the good stuff and avoid the garbage? The Ugly: the widening rift between indie and traditional publishing and those who try to bridge that gap with a foot in both camps (hybrid) and why it shouldn't matter because readers just want good books. And the online distribution stampede, with prices set by the distributors.   

A new novel

Although I'm still toying with the YA novel I started, I broke ground on a new novel today, and this one certainly won't be YA.  Yes, I'm back to writing dystopic fiction.  The new novel is once again about an oppressive government and the struggles of the individual to not only survive amidst the oppression, but to actually attempt to overcome it.
I've had the idea for a while, and I even knew a little about the main character, but I wasn't entirely sure who he was until I wrote the first 1000 words of the novel today.  Now I have a much better idea of who he is, what he wants, and what he might be capable of, so now I can sit down and at least put a loose outline together, so that I don't get lost in the rest of the novel.
Life is still very hectic, and the "real" job is still wearing me out, so I have no idea how long it might take me to write this book, but I'm pretty excited about it, so I'm hoping it will flow quickly.

Tantrums

Imagine someone sitting in a corner, fingers in their ears, crying because they can't have their way.  Imagine someone throwing themselves to the floor and kicking their legs and flailing their arms wildly because they can't have their way.
Am I talking about my almost three year old?  No.  I'm talking about these so-called leaders that we elected to Congress.  Get over yourselves ladies and gentlemen, and get down to what we are paying you to do...work.  Govern as we tell you you should.  It's not government by the few, it's government by the people.  You, you selfish jerks, work for us.  You have no right to hold us hostage, so get over yourselves and do your jobs.
As long as I'm still paying taxes for my government to work for ME, you damn well better work for me.
Rant over.  I have work to do...

My MileHiCon 45 schedule

It isn't set in stone yet, as I'm hoping to add a singing, but here's my schedule for MileHiCon 45 as of now:

Friday 3:00 p.m.: Dreams of Red
Friday 8:00 p.m.: Autograph Alley
Saturday 2:00 p.m.: Lunatic Fringe
Sunday 11:00 a.m.: Reading
Sunday 3:00 p.m.: New Era of Publishing: Good, Bad, & Ugly

I'll post more details about each of the panels in a few days.  Hope to see some of you there...