Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Post Mardi Gras Return to Earth



This month has been productive and busy.  Mardi Gras came and went, but now the New Orleans season is in full swing.  Weeknights have picked up, and college kids are filling the city up on the weekends.  Spring Break is beginning, and I suspect since Panama City Beach has taken a hostile stance to them, the Crescent City will catch some of that spill over.


Transmundane Press got the finishing touches to the UNDERWATER vol. 1 anthology together and should have no trouble with our 2/29 release date.  My proof copies are on their way so I can look at an actual physical copy of the book before we blow the dam and submerge the world.

#mermaidcock

We ended the call for submissions for our AFTER THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER anthology, and the response was incredible.  Way over 100 submissions, from all over the world.  Lots of talent has bellied up for this, including a few accomplished authors.



I printed and stacked the stories, placing a ruler so you cats can see the love we got.


First few printing sessions, taken before deadline.

Final stack.

Wow, right?
I began organizing them, making a roster of the stories and their authors so that Alisha and I can attack them systematically.  I've also created a spreadsheet so we can organize them by story type as well, similar to how the Aarne Classification System references folktales, but on a simpler scale to accommodate our needs.  




I'm impressed and looking forward to reading the entries.
Here is a list of the writing projects I'm currently working on, their current stage of development and my role in said projects:

*After the Happily Ever After {reading period} (anthology, contributor, co-editor, co-publisher)
*Brothers in Solitude {rewriting stage} (zombie novel, author, co-publisher)
*untitled collection of shorts {editing stage} (horror stories, author, co-publisher)
*The Piano Man's Handbook by Tim Buie {editing stage} (editor, co-publisher)
*Pariahs {planning stage} (novel, author, co-publisher)
*Café Elysium {back burner, think I have a plan stage} (novel, perhaps serialized, author, co-publisher)
*The Chartreuse Moth {have to figure out where all those wine-soaked napkins are} (vignette-smut, co-author, co-illustrator, co-publisher)

That's the main writing stuff brewing in my mind, but as you all know, writing is just one aspect of my life.

I've been creating a Dungeons and Dragons campaign and rolling up characters for my son and a few close friends who want to play whenever we find the time.  And by find the time, I mean after work with a few cocktails and occasional nights off.
I haven't DMd a game in many years, but it feels right.  It'll be a good way to keep creative juices flowing.  How they'll react to the mazes and monsters might provide interesting fodder for my storytelling.  




 Above all, it’s been fun creating a world and filling it with towns, traps, and terrors for my friends to explore.

Music!
I am so fortunate that my life is filled with music.  

 
Brian Lee and Clint Johnson tickling while Josh Breedlove drums.

 Every night I work with amazing musicians, and their nightly live show is always entertaining and fun.  They've inspired me to start learning how to play piano, and although I'm still a babbling infant with the instrument, I'm seeing little busts of achievement here and there.  I play my guitar often, and I mix records a few times a week.  My Ableton savvy is growing.  I've spent a lot of time learning the program so I can begin using their PUSH to make dance loops and soundscapes.  I'm gotten slick with the Korg Kaosillator Pro—two weeks ago RJ and I were mixing records into the Korg and finding some interesting sounds.  Soon the 5812 Project will be in full-swing, but that's another story for another post.

Got some awesome concerts coming up.  M83, Duran Duran, and then Adelle and I are following the Cure—5 shows in 2 states.  Can't wait, ready for a vacation.

Hold true, lovers. 
Till the next…

Monday, February 1, 2016

UNDERWATER Cover Reveal

Here is the cover to UNDERWATER, the newest anthology from Transmundane Press. Edited by Alisha Costanzo and myself, this books features horror, erotica, and fantasy stories by many great authors from around the world. 
As the title suggests, the stories focus on water.  From mermaids and sea beasts to a sunken New Orleans and horney grottos, this book shifts like the tides.
We've worked with some amazing talent.  Putting this anthology together has been an honor.
To celebrate our cover reveal, Transmundane Press is offering our previous anthology, DISTORTED, for free over the next few days.  Get the promotional e-book here.


giveaway

My last novel, Synchrony, is a part of this giveaway.  Go ahead, give lovely Fortuna a kiss:

Do you love reading fantasy books? Then this giveaway is just for you! 50 authors have teamed up to bring you the ULTIMATE giveaway -- a Kindle Fire loaded with 50 fantasy e-books! Even better, this contest doesn't just have one winner, but SIX! One person wins the kindle, and an additional five people will be given one of the 50 ebooks listed in this giveaway -- their choice. PLUS you can earn unlimited extra entries! Scroll down to learn more about the prizes, or click here to enter.



The Prizes: One Kindle Fire...
kindle_fire_feature_three
Plus these FIFTY Fantasy eBooks!
Synchrony Wardbreaker WildeOmens_HR-2 WrongSideOfHell Flames of Awakening
The Viper and the Urchin The Sunken The Silvering of Loran The Full Moon by David Neth The-Raven
Shade tales of skylge Thea's Tale Demon Princess Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000447_00005]
box of secrets bound in blue Ghost Storm Haunting echoes Blood Phoenix Rebirth
Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00068] billthevampire Academy of Secrets Ascendancy Stormwielder
THE CAVE MAZE Jules A coronation of kings Journeys of Kallisor Wintermore
The Superiors Sparks PowerPoint Presentation Scrapplings 30SecondFantasy_Cover_border-2
The Mark of Noba The Wanted Child cover large Dawn of the Awakening Arcadis Prophecy Stone's Kiss
BEGGARMAGIC city The Anais Collection The Keeper and the Rulership Witch Ways copy
Well? What are you waiting for? Click here to enter the giveaway.