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...:)

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.

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!

Thanksgiving DIS!

Happy Thanksgiving ! I hope everyone had a lovely holiday. Personally, mine was pretty good. A whole lot of relatives came together in Brooklyn where I live and we all had a great dinner at a local restaurant. This was absolutely fab, since it enabled many of us to not eat turkey as a main dish (I am not a big fan of turkey).

Anyway, I am back and ready for action, starting with the next episode of The Dark InSpectre! in which our hero gets clean, the hard way.

Here’s an excerpt:

The hallucinations weren’t much fun either, things crawling all over me, faces leering at me, Phil, Mary, Claire. And Sam, which drove me into a fit of suicidal depression, but Hank in his wisdom had removed all sharp objects from the basement. There were others crowding in my head, Marcus Ames, Clark Haskell, some hood named Slats who I wasn’t sure I even knew. And a voice, someone I recognized but couldn’t quite place. It made no sense and just added to my general confusion.

In my more lucid moments I caught the news on the vid screen. Turns out I’d been declared missing after disappearing from New Arden General and both of my investigations had been suspended. I ground my teeth in frustration.

Check the episode here!

Episode 61!

Episode 61 of The Dark InSpectre is now online, in which our hero finds a safe place to dry out.
Here’s an excerpt:

Just a few more steps. I roused myself, concentrating on placing one foot in front of the other until I reached the back door, looking over my shoulder with every heartbeat.

I knocked, the door opened. Hank stood before me but he was just a dim blur as everything started fading. I collapsed and he caught me in his arms, his voice coming from a long dark tunnel before I blacked out. “The bastards got to ya, didn’t they?”

Check the episode here.

Not Cool

I submitted a story to an anthology about 4 years ago. It wasn't picked, but it was good enough that the editor said it would be held for consideration pending the second volume of the anthology. So that was cool, the second volume was going to happen, and I had a shot at it. Then I didn't hear from her. For a Looooooooong time. I asked if the second volume was still happening, she sent out an email saying she was a busy author/editor, maybe it would, maybe it wouldn't, we were all free to sub our stories elsewhere. But if we didn't, we had a good shot at making it into the second volume. Okay, no problem. I'm a patient guy, a good shot sounded pretty good to me. So I waited some more, and some more. Followed her blog, saw the second volume mentioned every once in a while. Then nothing for a long time.

Yesterday, I saw the second volume was actually published. I never got a rejection, a polite kiss off, nothing. That is not cool. At least have the decency to communicate with the people who submit their stories to you, especially after such a long wait. Seeing that anthology was like a slap in the face after hearing nothing literally for years. I can take rejection, I get them all the time. The editor should have had the courtesy to send me one. Am I a little steamed my story didn't make the cut? You bet, but that's natural, normal. I've already submitted it elsewhere. But the way this went down cuts a little deeper. Maybe a lack of regard? Something. It's just not cool.

Episode 60!

After a grueling week on the road for work, I'm back, and so's the Dark InSpectre!

Episode 60 is now online, in which our hero wakes up on the decidedly wrong side of the bed and needs to make a quick exit.

Here's an excerpt:

I didn’t know how I ended up in the hospital, somebody had saved my worthless hide. But I couldn’t sit around and wait for the next attempt on my life. Because it would come, I was sure of it. I felt my heart rate increase as I looked around, noticing a few orderlies and a nurse or two making rounds. Any one of them could be a plant ready to finish me off. My breathing came fast and shallow and I felt myself beginning to panic. I recognized my reaction as paranoia brought on by cotton candy withdrawal but I didn’t care because the instinct was right on. I had to get out of here.

Check out the episode here. Enjoy!