Lots of words
Dec 01, 2024 11:58 pm
Welcome, new folks!
Hi, there. If you've joined the mailing list recently, I want to make sure you get your free Frosthelm book, Traitors Unseen. If you haven't gotten it, you can get it free here (the site will ask you to sign up for this newsletter, which you're already getting) or here from Smashwords. It's also on Apple Books, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. Please, enjoy with my compliments.
Writing update
As in past years, I did a writing push for November, writing every day. I was a little slower this year than some of them, reaching a little over 40,000 words last night on the final day. The book is a new mystery/thriller akin to Got Trouble and What Grows From the Dead, but with a new main character and mystery. This one is set in the same fictitious North Carolina town as Got Trouble, and there's a brief reference to Riggson College (which figures in both Got Trouble and What Grows From the Dead) but it's a completely separate story, with no other overlap. Here's my output for the month:
The book is a complex murder mystery about a librarian, Amy, who comes home one day to find a dead body in her house and her housemate/tenant/deadbeat friend missing. I am enjoying the book a lot as I go. I think some of my slowness this year is in working out the details of the story. Rather than rip up Amy's life completely, as I did early on for Morris in WGFTD and eventually Glynnis in Got Trouble, I've got her working her normal job, talking to people, and investigating things on her own. Unlike my other books, I've written some of this one out of order, writing scenes with major plot developments and then realizing they're happening too fast without enough background and filling in some other scenes in between.
I'm going to keep writing daily in December, and hopefully that should give me a full draft (or close) by the end of the year. I'm excited to share the book with you, which will probably be in spring 2025 after I go through edits and rewrites.
After that, I'd love to get back to my sci fi novel that I was working on in the middle of the year. Set in the same far-future universe as my other two sci fi books, Daros and Kenai, that one follows a mid-level ship's engineer on a long-range exploration mission where things start to go very, very wrong.
My dad strikes again
My dad released another one of his novels this past month. He's been writing novels his whole life (and he invented some amazing stories for my brother and me in the car on long trips when we were kids), but he's only recently, in his 80's, publishign them for others to read. This one, The Will, is one of his funniest. It's a humorous mystery about a complicated and colorful family who meet for the reading of the will of a wealthy elder.
Some other stories to try
I'm part of several author collectives, and we share each other's work to try to help all of us reach more readers. In many cases, the books we share are are free or discounted. Sometimes, they ask that you sign up for a newsletter like this one. Here are some new books I have to share this month:
First, I have a set of 55 indie mysteries and thrillers for you to check out. Lots of variety here, and you're sure to find something fun.
Next, I have The Fera, a sci-fi story about space pirates. And what is cooler than space pirates? Space pirates with checkered pasts and lots of secrets. Give it a look!
Next, I have Oblivion's Galaxy, a trilogy by Dylan McFadyen. This award-winning sci-fi series is on sale for $1.99 now, which is a comically low $0.66 per book.
Next, I have Temple General by Paul J. Bennett. This is a brand-new military fantasy (released November 28) with knights and invasions and intrigue and all that. It's the 7th book in Bennett's popular Power Ascending series.
Next, I have Retrograde by E.J. Randolph, a sci-fi story about an assassin and a bunch of political intrigue.
Next, I have The Last Prince of Onepus by Natasja Eby. This is the fourth book in Eby's Onepian Chronicles series of sci-fi mysteries. Have a look!
Finally, I have Protectors by Mark Jenkins. This is a free book about a mountain climber who finds a puzzling artifact at the site of a decades-old plane crash in the wilderness, a discovery that will change a lot of lives.
Thanks
Thanks so much for signing up for my newsletter. I'm excited to share two new books with you in the coming year. I just have to get some work done before then to get them ready. If there's anything else you'd like to see from me - a sequel, a genre, an idea - let me know, and I'll add it to the queue!
I hope you and your friends and family are having a safe and rewarding end to the year.
May the Bloodmother watch over you -
Dave