Author: Brian

I studied and lived in Japan, got a Master's Degree in Sociology from the University of Oxford and an MFA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Now I write SFF novels about cerebral people suffering post-modern angst who cope by drinking lots of wine. And misusing magic.

100k, Hoo-RAY!

Crossing 100k Words
I broke 100k! WAHOO!

WHY WON’T IT END!?

Because I thought the book needed a lighter moment somewhere in the middle (I hinted at this in another post), I decided to add a new chapter in which Lenna and [insert-spoiler-name-here] get up to exploring a bit of the city of Eran Point, home of the University which Lenna had always dreamed of attending.

Now, we all know it’s just going to end up with me having her get drunk in a pub as, apparently, I am channeling my time at Oxford at the moment.

In any case, THREE SCENES LEFT and the first draft of the manuscript is done and the Red Pen of Doom will be unleashed. If anyone is interested in beta-reading, please let me know! Also, there may be some PAID editing jobs popping up in the near future from Moon Rabbit Publishing, so stay tuned. 🙂

PS — Having crossed 100k words! It’s officially the longest manuscript I’ve written so far. HUZZAH!

Alternate Paths!

An Alternate Option

Chapter 9… a!? I feel like I’m writing an episode of Doctor Who. I officially crossed my target word goal (90,000 words), which I suppose is exciting, but I that doesn’t mean the first draft is quite done yet. I had anticipated the manuscript would exceed 90k from the get-go and at this rate, I’m hoping to the book will stop itself at 105k.

I say stop itself because the damn thing keeps growing, to the point where chapters are creating ‘alternate paths’ — sort of, what if this happened instead? scenarios. Somewhere between chapters nine and ten Lenna (and maybe others…) MIGHT have an additional adventure. A side-quest. MAYBE.

An excursion to where? That, my friends, I cannot tell you. We’ll see tomorrow when I take to the quill (aka MacBook) again.

Dear Christina

This is not a love letter. It is not a manifestation of a new personality. In fact, Christina happens to be the lovely receptionist at Fred Astaire Manasquan, where I learn dance moves with fancy names like “twinkle to grapevine” (I’m dead serious; that’s a move).

Entrant 302
Look! It’s me!

Dear Christina: the other day you told me you weren’t sure what to write in a blog, asked me what I write about, and how often I update my blog. I’m not sure I answered very well. Then I told myself I simply had to post something today, as I haven’t in some time, and I found that I, too, have no idea what to write.

I could babble about my experience at the Snowflake Showdown, which was both terrifying and exhilarating (wink wink, Christina: there’s a blog topic for you); perhaps readers might want to hear how I leveled up Agnès in Bravely Default to a level ten White Mage (highly, highly doubtful). I might also divulge that the increasing muscle mass on my calves has caused me to split a pair of trousers (pictures forthcoming).

On a more grounded note — this is where I use the blog for its intended purpose of progress updates (Christina!) — I am mentally prepared to finish up Apprentice so it looks we’re still cruising along the track toward a summer release, though not May, as was the case with the first novel. I just really have to buckle down and write the heck out of a few scenes. I think a trip to the pub is in order.

Ultimately, though, Christina, my muse of the day, when you feel like you have to blog but don’t have much to say, just post a picture of a cat like the rest of the internet.

Our Time Has Come

Love Smells of Bacon and Overdue Blogging

Happy Valentine’s Day!

A lot of people hate the commercialization of the holiday — or the fact that it’s a holiday at all — but I still like the idea that there’s a day where we’re forced to stop and think about the people we love, even if those people aren’t necessarily romantic interests, but friends, family, and woofers too (though romantic interests are wonderful for obvious reasons).

Lurve is Like a Red, Red Rose
Somekitteh lurves me!

My scent du jour is BACON, as in BACON BROWNIES, which I’ll be happily distributing to the super friendly staff at my dance studio, Fred Astaire Manasquan. Sorry for anyone who isn’t in close physical proximity to taste these curious nibbles, but I do have another treat in store!

FIVE CODES THAT ARE REDEEMABLE AT AUDIBLE.COM FOR A DIGITAL EDITION OF THE AUDIOBOOK OF LIBRARIAN!

First-come, first-serve basis, so snatch ’em up and please leave a review/share with a friend!

1. Visit http://www.audible.com/at/redeem
2. Enter the download code into the “Redeem Your Promotional Code” field and click “Redeem”.
3. If you’re not an Audible customer you’ll need to create a new Audible.com account. Don’t worry, you can use your Amazon account to do this.
4. Follow the instructions. You’ll have 1 credit applied to your account.
5. Go to Librarian‘s Audible page.
6. Add it to your cart. When you check out you’ll see an option to apply the free credit.

And, without further ado, here are the five codes. If one of them doesn’t work, it means someone beat you to it (so read my blog earlier). 😉

T9BKPAL2LCWCH
5EHDF37CZ6WN5
5CFQ84MRKZDZJ
YCFDFR4YB35EZ
USKCMNDUEGKQK

Happy Valentine’s Day!

xoxo

Bao’s Book of Medicine

Those who are lucky enough to bask in the gloriousness that is my company know that seldom am I taken ill. Colds, cough, flu, even TB (much to my dismay: I planned on going out, hacking and sputtering, with the consumption for some time now) bounce off, though this past weekend left me in bed sneezing my brains out. I even rescheduled a dance lesson. Gasp.

Perhaps I wasn’t prescribing to my own advice: drink a cold away. Yes, rule number one, if you feel sick, take a suitable amount of vodka to sterilize and kill all those bacteria/germs. This has the wonderful side effect of making you feel good as well. And for those of you worried about reactions like the so-called “hangover” — worry not; just start from step one and soon you’ll be feeling fine again. Forever.

Shining Armor and Bao's Magical Mystery Cure
Shining Armor doesn’t just prescribe… he DIVES into Bao Medicine!

In any case, I spent most of the weekend feeling like something Elvira would watch (and, probably, looking not far removed from it, too). I think I got zero work done, which means this week — the week where I seem to have something to do every night — I really have to pick up the pace and sort out Apprentice. That book needs finishin’!

Fingers crossed, we’ll have something rough-and-tumble by the end of February. Hopefully.

Bondage and Self-Worth

…were two of the wonderful things I got to babble about in my library talk at the Ocean County Library last night (I referenced 50 Shades of Grey and Twilight). It was nerve-wracking, as I haven’t spoken publicly since my Oxford days, but the people who came out — despite the cold — were warm and receptive, and asked some really great questions. And hey, I sold a few books, which means Lenna’s story is making the rounds again! Yahoo!

Now that Librarian‘s audiobook and its promotions are more or less done, I can focus on the big task at hand: FINISHING APPRENTICE. I’m hoping to knock out the last few chapters during February, then send it out for copy editing in March or April. Get excited: I will be looking for people to read the galley/ARC (look, I use publishing terms now)!

Snowed… Out?

I’m the first one to say, “YES, SNOW! YES! SNOW MORE! SNOW HARDER!” (much to the dismay of those around me), but now that my flight is canceled I’ll be forced to enjoy the nice SF weather for another two days! *gasp*

Up yours, winter; while you’ll be harassing my loved ones back home, I’ll be enjoying this:

In the meantime, I’m off to eat curry, visit museums, and then (maybe) tomorrow get some work done.

Remember to register for my upcoming library talk at the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Library on Tuesday, 28 January at 7:00 pm, and if you haven’t entered the Audible audiobook giveaway for Librarian yet, you should totally join the contest!

Audible Giveaway!

To celebrate the launch of the audiobook version of Librarian, we’re pleased to announce that we’re giving away 20 copies of the Audible.com digital edition of the beautifully narrated book!

Librarian | Audiobook

Tweet #lennaspeaks or submit your info on this page to enter the giveaway. Winners will be notified by email or direct message on Twitter! GOOD LUCK! The contest ends Friday, 24 January at 12:00 PM EST. Make sure to tell your friends, too!!

*UPDATE* The contest has officially ended! Congratulations to the winners!

Crashpow Through January

Jeepers, I never thought 2014 would kick off with such a bang. Where is my free time? Where is my relaxation? (If anyone mentions the new Zelda for Nintendo 3DS, they will get kicked in the shin. IT WAS ONE DAY.)

First-read commentary on chapters seven and eight for Apprentice have arrived from our lovely James, so after incorporating some annotations into the first draft, I can get to red-penning again. Huzzah.

The audiobook version of Librarian should be up on Amazon/Audible/iTunes next week, assuming the quality check at ACX goes smoothly. Fingers crossed! #amirite

I’m also currently reviewing a book, Welcome to New Brooklyn, for fellow author, Tom Hobbs; it’s exciting to be more active in the writing community. You can find more info on Tom over at kindlemojo.

This has been a pretty tame update from me, eh? Zero swearing! Zero mentions of ponies! Forgive me my lack of entertaining news to share; puppy-sitting left me quite exhausted!

Puppy Intervention
It’s hard to work when a German Shepherd puppy gets between you and the laptop.