He’s wandered off his normal Sci-Fi path and brought us some superb fantasy with his latest book, Ravenwood. If you liked any of his Solar Clipper books, definitely go grab Ravenwood and give it a listen. Worth every minute.

I shot through it in a few days and I may go back and relisten to it. Yeah, that good.

The original story had characters I liked. Some, I really liked. And those are back for the new story and this time, they have a real honest-to-goodness adventure to be had. Murder, mayhem, explosions, damsels in distress, and a dragon. If it sounds cliche, don’t worry, it’s part of the charm of the story. The characters are aware of just how predictable this seems and their complacence will get them in the end. Or will it?

Thanks to the gang over at community.podiobooks.com for the boost in enthusiasm. I wasn’t really down on myself or the story, just getting honest with the fact that I went in half-cocked and now I’m paying the price. I’m reminded of the many starts and restarts Patrick E. McClean had for his “How to Succeed in Evil” story. I loved every incarnation, but the final product was awesome.

So a lesson learned is a good thing, right? In the end, fear not dear readers, a story is coming and (knock on wood) 2010 sees the publication of my first novel.

So let it be written…

1. First person perspective – It’s just sloppy. I’m putting myself in place of the main character and he needs to be his own man…so to speak.
2. No outline. I had one in my head, but as the book moves along, I’m losing track of it and now the whole thing just stalled. I’d it stalled in Act II, but it just seems like it’s still in Act I and going nowhere. An outline would have helped. A lot.
3. Too many characters. I wanted to make it an ensemble thing (which is where mistake #1 is really biting me in the butt), but it’s just too much. I need to make this more personal, focus on the main character.
4. The world is epic and cool…but I leave it all behind for a sea adventure in the first two chapters. That was just stupid. This is a steampunk/spellpunk world and we don’t get to see any of it while the ship is on the run. Again, I’m dumping the ship and the crew and focusing on one character. That isn’t to say they won’t come back, but that’ll be where the outline comes in handy.

Well, that’s that. Back to the drawing board. Hope everyone had a great holiday and has a fantastic new year.

Phil Rossi, author of the fantastic sci-fi horror novel Crescent and novella Eden, has a new book out, Harvey. Check it out. I’m about four chapters in and am hooked.

I’ll warn you now, his stuff is scary and graphic, but well written with fantastic life-like characters.

Some days I wish I had a native accent like his. Gives his reads that dirty, down-home feel.

I’m very excited to be a part of PodCastle and the whole Escape Artists machine. They’ve provided hours, nay, DAYS of high-quality audio fiction for Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Horror. I’m just glad to contribute one more hour to that growing mass of goodness.

NaNoWriMo is upon us, but I seriously doubt I’m going get to participate. I am, however, going to crack open Crystal Tech and get some words added to that novel. I really want to get that finished this year and start recording next year. I you’re looking for a great community to help you get moving on writing, I highly recommend NaNoWriMo. Check them out.

To say the first “Golden Age of the Solar Clipper” books were inspiring would be a gross understatement. They are one of the main reasons I got my butt up and started writing again.

It’s been a long dry spell without a new book from him and I’m certainly glad that our beloved Ish is back in action in Captain’s Share.

If you’re not familiar with the series, jet on over to Podiobooks.com and check out Quarter Share, the first in the series.

Looks like fun!

Podcasters need some professional voices for your show, let me know.

If you haven’t checked out the podiobook, do it now. It’s great and appropriate for younger years. Better this, than Twilight :::shudder:::

I’ll add more demos soon, if there’s something you want to hear, let me know.