Writing/Editing Update, July Edition

Even with all the craziness in the world, I'm trying to make this year a return to publishing for myself, working on three pieces for anthologies and on three more things for self-publishing. Part of the original inspiration for the PODs was to have new print books for convention appearances . . . of course, …

From the Vault: My Battle Against Plagiarizer Frank X. Harris

Jim Kjelgaard (author of the famous Big Red and Irish Red) published the novel Fire-Hunter, the stone-age story of Hawk after he is expelled from his tribe, in 1951. It went through several paperback reprintings throughout the 1960s before going out of print. In 1991 it was republished, with the blessing of the Kjelgaard estate, in an expanded edition …

Boldly Going Into Star Trek Adventures

I've been working on the Star Trek Adventures role-playing game with the fine folks at Modiphius for some four years now, after being "drafted" by Jim Johnson. My role has primarily been as the canon editor, meaning I review the narrative text to ensure the details are consistent with the filmed canon across the multiple …

Writing/Editing Update, June Edition

When I posted last month the Twin Cities were on fire. Things have calmed down on the burning front, but BLM protests are ongoing, as they should be, and people seem to be wearing their masks. Corona cases are steady here in Minnesota, not declining, which would be great, but not rising as in states …

Writing/Editing Update, May Edition

Already under a pandemic lockdown, now we have a curfew as well; I'm typing this month's update after a weekend of protests following the killing of George Floyd in police custody, with an officer's knee on his neck as he pleaded that he couldn't breathe. A pharmacy just a mile and a half from our …

Writing/Editing Update: April Edition

Oof. Another month of shelter in place. But now I can take the laptop onto our patio and work while getting some fresh air and watching the rabbits in our backyard. To keep from going too stir crazy, I've been doing a lot of video calls with friends across the country and even across the …

Writing/Editing Update: March Edition

Well, 2020 continues to be a kick in gut, and let's leave it at that. There's nothing to do but keep pushing forward. Steampunk Novel. Yet another month of no typing. Didn't even muse on the poor old thing that much. Shared-World Novella. Nothing new. I will start getting back to this as I wrap a …

Writing/Editing Update: February Edition

As mentioned in my October post, my stepfather passed away that month; now an uncle of mine passed away the last week of February. As you might imagine, my family hasn't really adjusted to the first loss, and now we've been hit by this second death. So once again, I'm traveling back and forth—it's a …

Writing/Editing Update: January Edition

Steampunk Novel. No typing on this while I was buried under deadlines, but it's been kept on a nice simmer on a back burner. Thinking so much about character arcs and how as I started the manuscript the lead characters were a bit too nice; they need some rough edges that will get polished by …

Writing/Editing Update: December Edition

Happy New Year and all that. Steampunk Novel. I did a little typing on this while staying at my mom's house, just a few hundred words or so, but it felt good to spend even a little time on it. I plan on digging back in this year to finally complete a draft.  Shared-World Novella and The Satellite Dish. …