Category: Writing

Kittens, Life, and Love

I am terribly sorry that I haven’t blogged lately; between dealing with buying a house, getting married (!), losing two cats and gaining two more… it’s been intense! Tack on a brother who physically assaults you at the workplace and you can imagine the fun. Oh well. That’s Big Brother Fence for you (he’ll appreciate the shout out and has been waiting for this validation, so I give it thus). You know, I always wanted to be mocked and poked and threatened to be thrown in the dumpster.

I am pleased to say we’re nice and settled and I’m starting to focus on writing again! The third and final (or is it?) chapter of Lenna’s arc should be completed within the next few months, along with an Audible audiobook edition of Apprentice, narrated by the wonderful Anisha Dadia! Huzzah!

If you haven’t noticed, my short story, “The Eighth Bible of New Egypt,” was picked up by Spark: A Creative Anthology. It’s one of many entries I intend to explore with that character, so def check it out. Besides my work, there are great authors and poets in the anthology so it’s a gem.

Find it here:

Spark: A Creative Anthology, Vol. VIII
Spark: A Creative Anthology, Vol. VIII

Also, we’re doing a limited sale on my remaining signed hardcovers of Librarian and Apprentice… only 100 each from the first press, so take a look at our Facebook page for details!

2016 & …?

I have not blogged in ages.
I haven’t written in ages.

Poor Lenna!

As I mentioned in my last post, I did scribe the ending to Freewoman, the final book in Lenna Faircloth’s trilogy. Of course, all that did was garner a surfeit of queries as to when the book was coming out…

Well. My urge to kill Lenna is only mild at the moment, so 2016 is still looking ever so rosy. Mainly, though, I’ve been preoccupied with numerous Big To-Dos, like moving, the holidays, and getting the kittens to stop trying to maim each other. (See above: a rare moment of peace.)

I have set aside some “staycation” time so that (1) we can unpack the kitchen and pretend to bake like Mary Berry, and (2) I can stop fretting myself prematurely grey.

TL;DR version:

Freewoman is on its way; I am turning silver; I go to the gym a lot; I do not dance nearly as much as I should; three cats is a bit much for two people.

x

Tears…!? On Writing an Ending

I’m really rather pleased to be back on my game and exercising my writing muscles. ROAR!! Freewoman — I’ve probably mentioned this in past posts — is completely outlined and several chapters are done (my dad has the only copy of chapter one at the moment, shh!), but I still have a lot of work to do in cranking the rest out.

The ending is something that I’ve had in mind since book one, so what happens isn’t really anything new to me. I just felt like today was the day to write it. What I didn’t expect was for it to feel so personal or so final… after all, I still have a solid chunk of the book to write, so it’s not like I won’t be working on it. Still. Today, I wrote the ending.

To say Lenna doesn’t represent various aspects of my nature would be a lie. Writing anything without connecting on a personal level would, in my opinion, produce nothing but sterile content. But despite having known what was to come, what I was to write, I didn’t expect for me to feel so sad about penning the final paragraph of the arc that Lenna, that crochety librarian-cum-hero, took me journeying along as her companion.

I thought I was in charge the whole time, but looking back and forward, I guess Lenna was in command all along. My writing has developed for ill or naught, my imagination expanded twentyfold and, while there’s still much work to get done before Freewoman is even ready to be edited, it’s somehow rather tough to write goodbye. (Unless we see her again…)

Writing Getaway; Or: Writing, GET AWAY!

The boy had the sudden (whether it was opportune or not is debatable, since we had to wake up at 4:30 this morning) task of traveling for work up to Connecticut, and as I’ve been going a bit stir-crazy of late and may have been on vacation this week anyway, I said, “BAO GOES TOO.” This was very exciting, especially since it came off the back-end of pumpkin picking. Pumpkins are a particular… fascination of mine.

Punkin Time

Fortunately, despite the chilly weather, heated car seats and a Xanax meant I snored through most of the journey, and now I’m wandering about like a lost puppy in this giant resort. (I have had to ask for directions twice and already have been asked if Sunset Shimmer was my good luck charm.)

Good news is! While under normal vacation circumstances I would most likely be drunk or eating the entire time, I’ll be spending most of the week cranking out the first proof of Freewoman and working on two separate serials for my favorite magician, Jacob Orange. Productivity, here we come! (Mostly. Right now I’m having a Cosmopolitan and considering spa treatments.)

…oh, me.

A Rant; Or Rather, an Angry Diatribe about GoT

Okay, as a writer, I understand that there are scenes that move along plot and are sometimes hard to write and can be quite visceral to readers. Sometimes, that is the point of writing those scenes. Hell, I was asked if I’m just killing off gay characters because they’re gay (don’t worry; I’ve knocked off 3 straights in book three already!).

But the Game of Thrones HBO adaption is gratuitous in its violence against women, both adult and young. I’m not even on the finale yet and I’m appalled by this season (compounded with others). Yes, men meet horrible fates too, so you don’t need to berate me about Theon Theon Theon and his lack of a tallywhacker. There is just such an overt sexualization and abuse of women in this series that it leaves me gobsmacked that people aren’t made uncomfortable watching this.

We have a responsibility to recognize, learn, and stop the atrocities that have been afflicted on women historically, but this drama is *NOT* history (though Martin and others claim it’s all inspired by historic events such as the War of the Roses — and subsequently explain away how this level of violence is fine and dandy).

This is a fantasy show with horrific pacing and horrific acts of violence against women just for shock value, and it just gives me pause when I think, “…why are people entertained by this? Is this what we want to see?” Because I can guarantee one thing… it certainly isn’t teaching anyone about equality, history, or the horrors real women all over the world suffer daily. It’s glorifying these awful events as entertainment.

I haven’t watched the finale yet, but I’m already so uncomfortable I had to leave the room. And there is no come back that says, “The finale will make everything better.” Because no. The rape, the abuse, the misogynistic sex — hell’s bells, what on earth are people enjoying about this and what the hell kind of people write this?

Feel free to disagree — I don’t mind and don’t mind anyone who likes GoT. I just can only watch so much rape or murdering of young girls before I get angry. And for the die-hard fans, Arya Stark doing something AMAZING eventually is not going to make up for all of the treacherous treatment of women by this series. Yes, bad stuff happens to all sorts of people in Game of Thrones, but you’d have to be blind not to see that this mostly happens to women. This show sells abuse.

Okay, rant over. Sorry… but not so sorry for saying what every man and woman should be saying. *clicks post because, unlike Theon, I’ve still got and deserve my junk*

West Coast Inspiration

China BeachSo yes, I’m on one of my retreats to the West Coast! Humidity and nasty heat claimed my East Coast Pine Forest like a Texan noms on barbecue, so the immediate desire to flee to a place with better weather and a different sort of energy consumed me. I also had to see a man about a cat.

I’ve been slightly detached from the blog and even Apprentice itself as I experienced one of the rare joys a published author is afforded — nothingness. Sure, the thoughts were still bursting around in the head (I’m not sure that ever stops for a writer), but with the manuscript off to the copyeditor, I could very happily divorce myself from worrying about book two for a few weeks. It’s NICE.

But then you get the itch. I had planned to get some writing done while away, but it wasn’t the hugest of my priorities. Then, as I took a two hour stroll (me, strolling, two hours, I know) along China Beach and Land’s End, BAM! It happened. Book three (I already have a lot of it outlined, so it’s not like I’m starting from scratch) has its first proper words. Rather, its first proper scene! Chapter one, scene one, written. And I am pleased. 🙂 Lenna’s ending draws nigh, but at least we see the return of some fan favorites…

Book Three SpoilerDon’t worry… not all is what it seems! In any case, while I nurse my sunburn and cook my rabbit (really — I have a rabbit to cook), know that I’m writing/living/working/loving just so I become a better Brian for all of you supporting me back home, here, and abroad! I miss you all so much!

Book three, here we go.

Book Three - Beginning

The Status Update Weeks in the Making

I’ve been pretty much MIA as far as the blog is concerned, I know. All of a sudden I found myself insanely busy wrapping up the tweaks on Apprentice, but now I’m happy to say that, after I actually read the damn thing on my Kindle from start to finish, I found myself pleased enough to have turned it over to my copyeditor at 110k words! Yikes! 14000 more words than Librarian!

Kindle Mock-Up

There will be some fun reveals in the near future (cover art within the next week hopefully, website revamp, and perhaps some special treats for fans of Librarian…).

IN ANY CASE, to the some announcements/updates:

  • Beta-readers! That’s right; it’s that time again. We’re looking for beta-readers of the digital version of Apprentice. It’s free, but we’d love feedback in return. Contact Brian with your choice of format (.epub, .mobi, .pdf are all options).
  • Editorial Assistants! Woah, we’re getting fancy. Moon Rabbit Publishing, LLC, is looking to contract a few associate editors to preview the book and offer substantive critique — imagine writing a small book report, but getting paid for it! Details here.
  • ARCs (Advance Reader Copies)! Authors, reviewers, and bloggers — we will be reaching out to you in the next week or so, but if you don’t hear from us and are interested in a galley for review (or a review swap), please contact Brian. We want your words on that cover!
  • Release Date! The best news of all: the tentative release date for Apprentice is scheduled for the best day of all… Brian’s birthday! That’s right, we’re looking to go gold on Monday, 25th August 2014! In the upcoming weeks, look for special promotions for people who preorder signed copies. 🙂

Well, that was a mouthful! But yay! Progress! Now, time to go kill my D&D players…

Avoiding Divorce

Chapter 14 - In Love
A celebratory reconciliation indeed.

After a few days of some really heavy talks with lawyers, mediators, pastors, shady bartenders, and former lovers, chapter fourteen and I have decided to remain a couple. That’s right. While I was very tempted to leave the frigid waif by the wayside, in the end, love and crayons prevailed. Chapter fourteen will stay.

…and the editing continues.