Progress, Or Pothole?

My trouble with picking a suitable novel project would seem to be over. I've started work on something I call I, Suicide, a spin-off from The Cupid War. It's about a girl who becomes a supernatural entity responsible for creating dark feelings in the living. It will be a first-person POV, and in spite of the dark content I'm hoping to make it as funny as Epoch or Evil.

All that sounds well and good, but it doesn't mean I'm out of the post-project woods yet. I still have to see if this project will take off, so to speak. I've already taken one crack at it, an effort I then proceeded to crumple up and throw out. It wasn't working. I've started again, and like the new version a bit more, so I'll probably go a couple of chapters to see how excited I get.

It would be a great story to write, and I could say even more about mood disorders than I did in Cupid War. Lots of good reasons to write this book. The real question, however, is how much to I want to see this story finished? I wish I knew right away, the way I did with Epoch and Evil. My own mood disorder has been getting in the way far too often in the last couple of years. I'm way behind on my editing, and all my projects take twice as long.

I need to get better, and soon. This is, after all, my career.

Still Searching...

Still no breakthrough on the new project front. I have a few ideas, but I'm not ready to commit. Whatever I choose, however, will likely be a sequel.

I have lots of good ideas for a follow-up to Epoch. I even have a title: After. I also have some plans for an Evil? sequel (tentative title: More Evil), and I have two chapters written. The trouble is, I don't know if my publisher will want a second volume for either book. Nobody at the company has asked for one. I don't want to go to the trouble of writing either book only to have them turn it down. I've already been there and been burned with the sequel to Attack of the Intergalactic Soul Hunters.

I have a good idea for a sequel to The Cupid War, but that book isn't even out yet. I don't know if readers will respond to that one as well as they did to my previous books. I am, however, seriously considering a spin-off, with new characters in the same universe. This idea is currently at the top of my list.

I have a few non-sequel ideas, too. So far, though, none of them have emerged as a winner. There has to be some pull, some excitement about it that gets me to the page. I need a story I can't wait to tell, one I can feel slightly naughty about for writing it at work.

I hope I find that idea sooner rather than later. I get so bored without something to work on.

Book Done, Now What?

It's been a few days now since I finished the first draft of my latest novel, Rytis Maxwell and the Wer-Pigeons of Ottawa. I'm glad to have it done, but I also feel kind of adrift. I'm into that dreaded period between novels, when I don't quite know what to do with myself. Longtime readers of this blog will remember me saying similar things at the conclusion of other projects.

What should my next project be? Something light and funny, or dark and serious? Or dark and funny?

Should I go for a first person POV, like I did with Evil?, or third person, as I did with the upcoming Cupid War?

What do I want to write? What topic is drawing me in? What kind of characters, plots, settings do I want in my next book? I've still got plenty to say about religion, metaphysics, bullies, abuse of power, and the supernatural. Just to name a few.

I hope I come up with something soon. I need something fun to do at work. Doing surveys over and over loses its appeal very quickly, but having a project to work on really helps pass the time in-between calls.

Until I find a great story idea, I'm going to be booored.

Sick of Being Sick

In today's lesson, fans of the written word, we learn that illness and creativity do not mix. I've had the flu (or a really bad cold, it's hard to tell) for the last four days, and my creative output has bottomed out with it.

I've written before about the impossibility for me to write while upset. The same is equally true for the flu, it would seem. All you can think about is how crappy you feel, and how you wish you could just get better. You'd think that my stories would be a good distraction, but I have not found this to be so. This post is the first thing I've been able to write since becoming ill, in fact.

So, try to stay healthy at all costs. The flu is no fun at all. Maybe I can write about it when I'm well. Let's hope that happens soon!

How Was 2010 For Me?

Not bad, but not great. I guess I'd rate the last 365 days as good.

I didn't write nearly as much this year (or last year, for that matter) than I did before. Nevertheless, I finished the first draft of A Walk-In To Remember, got to Chapter 19 of my new middle-grade novel, Rytis Maxwell and the Wer-Pigeons of Ottawa, and wrote a number of short stories. One of those stories my Doctor Who fanfic, which should see online publication soon. Another story was my contribution to the anti-homophobia collection Speaking Out. I finished and submitted that story yesterday, and I hope to hear yay or nay on it soon.

In other good news, the French and German rights for Evil? sold. Plus, I got a contract for my next novel, The Cupid War. Unfortunately, Evil? hasn't been selling well in the United States. Less than five hundred copies sold in the first half of 2010, and more than twice that many copies were returned to the publisher for a refund. Career-wise, that is very bad news for me. Given the enormous amount of attention Evil? has received from so many blog reviewers and other sources, I honestly don't know what I could have done better. I can only hope that The Cupid War somehow finds a larger audience.

Sorry to end the year on a sour note, but the poor numbers for Evil? really threw me. Most of the reviews were positive, after all. Here's hoping 2011 brings more success.

I'd like to take a moment to say thank you to all the people who reviewed Evil? and/or interviewed me over the last year. I am truly grateful, and wouldn't have sold half as many copies if all of you hadn't given me your help. I wish you all the best for the coming year.

Today Is My Birthday!

Today I turned 38, so three cheers for me!

I love birthdays. They're like Christmas, except they're all just for you.

Short Stories Coming!

My writing has really picked up in the last few weeks. I'm back on track with my Rytis Maxwell novel, and I've even managed to write a couple of short stories.

The first story is my attempt to enter the world of fanfiction. It's a Doctor Who story, set between two recent episodes of the show. Lots of fan fiction focuses on the things you don't see in the episodes (or movies, or books, comics, etc...). Sometimes these stories are written by fans to fix continuity problems, but mostly they are written for the sheer fun of it.

Of course, stories like these can't be published anywhere except on fanfiction sites, because of ownership and copyright issues. Fanfic gives writers and fans like myself the chance to use characters we would otherwise not have access to, and tell our own stories with them. As soon as I post my story, I'll put up a link.

The other short story I've written recently is one I've been asked to write for an "inspirational fiction anthology" called Speaking Out. The anthology will "feature stories involving a queer teens and their heterosexual allies confronting and overcoming homo/bi/transphobia." Personally, I was extremely honoured to be asked to contribute a story to this anthology, and I hope they like what I came up with.

My story is a sequel to Evil?, with reappearances made by Stuart Bradley and Fon Pyre. It was a lot of fun revisiting those characters, and it opened my mind up to all kinds of possibilities. I may have to use them again...

Speaking of Evil?, I've found yet another positive review! This one was written by Lisa Gibson, the winner of one of the contests I've provided signed copies for. Her blog is called YA Literature Lover, and the review can be found here.