Monday, December 17, 2012

Book Deal. Yeah, That's Right.

Over a year ago the woman who was editing my Dark InSpectre series asked me to write a hard boiled detective novel for her indy publishing company. I was, of course, immensely flattered. And then I went and did it, mostly over the course of a single summer during which I worked my ass off, taking advantage of my older boy being away at camp and my wife being incredibly understanding and supportive. But then, just before I finished, my presumptive publisher's company closed. Shut down, out of biz, kaput.

She assured me that she would be back, some time, but for the foreseeable future, I was on my own. Good luck ta ya! So then I had this thing, this manuscript, that I had labored over with the expectation of being published. So now what? Well, I did what anybody with a finished manuscript in their hot little hands would do. I started subbing it around. And I mean around. To agents, publishing houses, everywhere and anywhere I thought appropriate. I got more rejections than I could shake a stick at, and we're talking a mondo big stick! The worst were the non-replies. Yeah, some people just never get back to you at all.

But that's okay, I can take a hint. I just kept plugging away, fighting off the bouts of frustration and depression, kept myself busy writing the Dark InSpectre and other stuff. Until I finally found a few indy pulp publishers that seemed right up my alley. One of them had even published a couple of my stories. So I just asked if they were taking submissions. The one I'm most familiar with said, "well, probably not, but send me a query." I still haven't heard back from him.

And this other one said "we're about to close our submissions, but since we haven't quite yet, sure, go ahead and send it to us and we'll put it through our review process." You know what? That's the place that replied to me yesterday saying that my novel, and I quote: "is a title we would like to tentatively accept and assign to an editor to make ready for publication."

Boom! Manuscript accepted! The publisher said it will come out sometime in 2013. My novel. Fucking A Right! The publishing house is a place called Pro Se Press They do a lot of really cool pulp adventure stuff, and it seems like a perfect fit. Cannot tell you the relief and joy I feel. I'm totally looking forward to working with the editor, helping choose cover art, etc. The publisher said that once an editor is on boad, he'll send me the contract, which you can bet I'll sign since this is a reputable place.

And believe me, there were times when I considered going with a not-reputable place, cuz there are several out there that will publish pretty much anything. But something in me just wouldn't give up. So props to whatever the hell that was. Self respect? Desire? Conviction? Plain old stubbornness? E, all of the above?

So I'm gonna have a novel published. No more conversations with my parents in which they mention every single person alive or dead that they know who wrote a book, read a book, or heard of books. "Maybe you can talk to him....?" Cuz, you know, clearly that guy knows something you don't.

Yeah, no more of that! Shortly after I got the message from the publisher, my wife, wheels ever turning in her attorney's brain, asked me the inevitable question. "So do you have the sequel planned?"

God dammit. I'll take a day or two to bask. Then I know that uncomfortable itch in the back of my brain will start nagging me once more. Here we go again...:)

Monday, December 10, 2012

Dark InSpectre Episode 63!

Episode 63 of The Dark InSpectre is now online, in which our hero does a ride-along in a junkie’s brain and learns that evil is afoot in his home town.

Here’s an excerpt:

Then the warm rush was going up Ricky’s arm as his head lolled and his eyes rolled. I felt myself getting caught up in the euphoria, the blissful cotton candy high. Scared of triggering a relapse, I walled myself off from it, fighting to keep separate as I focused instead on the impressions I was getting from Tines and his cronies.

They were all watching, expecting something. Tines was a little sad. He almost pitied Ricky. Reynolds was more curious, and Flacco didn’t give a crap.

I kept far away from the familiar serene joy while Ricky soared, a part of me desperate to go along for the ride. But then everything started going dark, Ricky’s brain coming down to earth as the tendrils of permanent sleep grabbed him and pulled him under. It was time to get out before I got caught, too.

Check the episode here.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Double Wicked

One of my rare pleasures is receiving a hard copy of an anthology containing one of my stories. Holding it in my hands, reading through it, placing it in its special place on my shelf, these are the things I treasure. That is why I was growing concerned when, after like two and a half months, I still had not receieved my contributor's copy of the recent Something Wicked anthology. Granted, it had been sent from South Africa by mail, so I was prepared to wait, but the editor gave me a time frame, and it still hadn't arrived. So he created a special print on demand account and paid for another copy for those authors that never received the first one (there were four or five of us). The second copy I received in a few days, to my absolute delight. It looks great and is now one of my most valued literary posessions.

Then the first "lost" copy just arrived this evening. It was unexpected, and I shall immediately send a note to Joe Vaz, the editor of Something Wicked Magazine, that I got it, and sorry for all the trouble. But I'm also rubbing my hands together with glee, cuz now I've got two of them! hee hee!