Back to the Acid Mines

The first week of the new semester is now officially over, and I have to say it went pretty great.  Lots of students eager to get into classes.  And of course, I get to talk about all my favorite things, like archaeology and TV.  It’s going to be a busy semester, but I’m determined to get a lot done.

I’m going to write every week.  I’ve started outlining a new mystery series based in Ireland that I’m really excited about.  I’m going to write 3,000 words each week and then see how the project looks come the end of the semester.  I’m also going to whip Grave Indulgence (book three of the Henry Grave series) into shape and into production ASAP.  And then I’m going to spend a great deal of time trying to figure out how the hell to sell books.  Book marketing is a challenge for most writers, and a huge challenge for me.  I have to get a lot better at marketing Mediterranean Grave.  And I have to get ready for American Caliphate, which is still in the final pre-production phases.  I’m hoping it will be under contract any day now.  More on that as the information dribbles in.

Until then, happy writing!  And remember, always cook with at least the second freshest ingredients!

Idea for Spring Break?

It’s hard to believe we’ve been in Italy for seven weeks now!  I have been so busy with teaching that I haven’t been doing a whole lot of writing, but I think I’m starting to turn a corner.  I’ve been carving out some time during the work week to finesse American Caliphate, my most significant current project.  I have to have it in ship shape to turn into my publisher by the end of May.  And that’s a little scary!  Not that it’s in bad shape, but because it’s epic and long, and at just over 100,000 words, it’s 15,000 words longer than the publisher wants.  So I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching as to what back stories can go, and what characters can become less vivid.  And I was nervous about doing this, but the strange thing is that every cut I make is a cut I want to make.  I feel like I’m honing this into something finer.  I have to admit that this is a bit scary, because where does it end?  If I keep going, I’ll either have a hell of a short story, or a truly wonderful sentence!

New Year News

Greetings to all my friends in blog world!  Actually, I don’t think anyone reads this, but on the off chance that someone is paying attention, 2011 is off to a fantastic start!  My novel Mediterranean Grave is already listed on Amazon.com (though they’re using the old version of the cover for some reason) and it should be printed and available in 2-3 weeks I’m told.  Now I have to work on getting some reviews and some publicity.  I also just sold a short story to a journal that shall remain nameless until the actual paperwork is complete, but it’s due out in April.  So now I have to get cracking on actually WRITING something instead of just talking about writing, not that I don’t like talking about writing.  We’re also getting ready to head for Florence, Italy, where I will be teaching for the Spring 2011 semester.  I’m hoping that results in some major inspiration.