I’ve mentioned the novella I’d been working on a few times on this webpage. I’ve also mentioned that I was using it as the basis for a novel. At one point I even wrote that I thought it was the best thing that I’d ever written. However I knew there were problems with it. I could sense them with each rewrite I did, but having lived so close with the story for so long, couldn’t pin them down. So when the opportunity to send the manuscript to a professional editor came along, I jumped at it.  Continue reading →

The next time you are in a crowded place, whether it is your place of work, the mall, or your friend’s BBQ, try the following thought exercise. Turn to your left and take a look at the person directly next to you. Then look at the person directly to your right. Then think of this: during your lifetimes, one of the three of you will suffer from cancer. That’s not some crazy “what if?” idea. It’s a statistical fact. Actually, it’s worse for men.  For guys the ratio is closer to one in two.

My family, like so many others, has felt the touch of this deadly disease. Continue reading →

I’m on my way out the door to work, but before I left I wanted to say some quick words about a pair of kickstarter projects that should be on your radar.

1) What Fates Impose: Tales of Divination– this is a collection of short stories that will be published by  Alliteration Ink and edited by Nayad A. Monroe. It will feature tales from folks like Tim Waggoner, Lucy A. Snyder, Sarah Hans, and Maurice Broaddus. Steven Saus’s main goal with this Kickstarter is to raise enough money to pay these artists professional rates. If stretch goals are reached, more stories and artwork will be added to the collection.

2) Time Traveled Tales: A Speculative Fiction Anthology– this project’s goal is to reprint and enhance the original collection, which received a very short print run for last year’s Origins Game Fair. The collection contains stories from my friends, Sarah Hans and Steven Saus, along with Timothy Zahn, Michael A. Stackpole, and Jean Rabe. It is a great collection of stories that truly deserves more exposure. Also, a portion of the profits for each book sold will go towards charities devoted to improving literacy.

You may be thinking, “Why do you give a crap about these projects? You don’t have a story in either one of them.” The literary world is changing at a very rapid pace. You don’t need me to tell you that. Brick and mortar books shops are vanishing from the landscape. And with the advent of e-publishing, markets that pay professional rates and/or promote writers are drying up. Are you, like me, just starting out as a genre writer? Go peruse Duotrope for a bit, then come back and tell me how many publishers are paying an advance or any money at all.

Not bloody many, right? Publishers like Alliteration Ink and Silence in the Library are trying to bridge the gap between the old publishing models and the new e-paradigm. And they’re trying to do that by providing quality products without screwing the artist. If this anthology does well enough, then the next anthology may be able to pay professional rates, too. The more paying markets that are out there, especially ones that are open to new writers, the better off we are all going to be.

Also, have you read Sidekicks!? Did you look at the list of writers for What Fates Impose? The stories and writers are diverse, and I’m not just talking about the genres. Look at the current state of the SFWA. Perceptions need to change. There are a few publishing houses that are working towards that. Most of them are in the realm of small press, and unfortunately their projects don’t get much attention. Alliteration Ink is one of the good guys.

I really gotta go. But, pretty please, with sugar on top, look into each of these projects. Support them!

The URL for this website plainly states “beerandmonsters”. It’s in the title of the blog. Yet, content has been heavily slanted towards the beer side of the equation, hasn’t it? Also, if you’ve read Sidekicks!, the title of the site may seem somewhat off. After all, “Fangirl” is a post-apocalypse steampunk/western. There’s not a monster anywhere in it. So, what gives? Continue reading →

The event at Epic Loot Games and Comics was fantastic! We had a really good turnout. First up, Michael Haynes read his beautiful, epic fantasy-romance story, “Learning the Game”. And then *gulp*, it was my turn. I don’t mind telling you, I was terrified. Scared shitless. While once upon a time in college I acted, and although I’ve done multiple panels at Steampunk conventions, reading in front of a crowd was a whole new experience.  Continue reading →

Hiya! Going to MarCon? If so, on Friday night at 6PM I’ll be performing my first ever public reading of one of my stories. Myself, Michael Haynes, and Daniel O’Riordan will all be reading excerpts from Sidekicks! from 6PM to 7:30PM. I don’t know yet what room we will be in, but there should be flyers plastered all over the place. Please come by to meet us, listen to us speak, and enjoy some refreshments! There will be no finer opportunity to see me panic in public.

It’s alive and out in the world! Sidekicks!, which features my story, “Fangirl”,  is now officially released! (never mind that Amazon has been selling it for two weeks already)

It’s a fun anthology that’s got super-heroes and super-villains! We got cowboys and deputies! Trippy powers of prescience! Third-world problems! And post-apocalypse shenanigans!

You can find links to purchase it here.

I’m heading down to Millennicon tonight to celebrate! If you’re there, say “Hi!” to me.

Earlier this week, Alliteration Ink released the table of contents for Sidekicks!. Check it out here. As of right now, they are planning to release the book at Millennicon. There is talk of doing some readings at local conventions, along with other promotions. I’ll post news as I get it. Thanks for all the support!

January 29th was my last update? I fail. In case anyone checks this site on a regular basis, I apologize for not posting anything lately. The day job has sapped my will to live. Plus we’ve had the cold and norovirus rip through our household. If it wasn’t my turn to be sick, I was on Florence Nightingale duty. Still, you have to treat writing as a business, and two weeks is far too long.

I haven’t been completely idle, though. I’ve been writing, just not as much as I would like. I’ve mostly been editing older stuff that hasn’t found any publication love. Some of it is crap. Some of it is rough. And one of them, a novella, I think is the best thing I’ve written. Yet I always struggle with the editing process. Not because I’m afraid to murder my darlings. But because I can spend hours editing pieces and when I’m done, I feel like I don’t have anything new to show for it.

When writing a new piece, it’s easy to get a sense of achievement. You have a word count that you can post on Twitter with the hashtag “#amwriting”. When the story is done you have something you can share with the world. “Lookie what I created! An idea made whole!”

But editing? Ugh. Editing for me is a hard look in the mirror. It’s a reminder of my failures. A  run in with the girl who rejected me.

It never ceases to amaze me how something I think is so brilliant at the time of its creation can read like the spawn of Garth Marenghi’s typewriter a week later. But that’s why editing is necessary.

On the upside, I think one of my stories is ready for submission. And I just may shop that novella around, finally. Wish me luck.

Alliteration Ink released the cover for the upcoming Sidekicks! anthology. And they chose Kristi, the protagonist from my story, “Fangirl”, to be on the cover! Check it out! She’s the blonde wearing the duster and gas mask! *Happy Dance*

The cover was done by Len Peralta. The publisher is shooting for a mid-March release for the book. Part of me still can’t believe it, but I’m happy. I’ll post more news as I get it.