So, really, how ARE things going?

Last year I decided that making monthly newsletters is incredibly stressful. Besides, who reads the things anyway? I know my inbox is where countless newsletters come to die. So, if you're reading this, the algorithm gods have been kind to me, and thank you for your eyeballs.

I would make personal blog posts more often, but truthfully, I've been running around like a chickenless head chasing after those deadlines that so love whooshing by if given half a chance. And my other resolution: do these self-promo posts only when I have the spoons. Not that I ever have enough spoons, but today I've rinsed off a few and I'm stirring.

What's been happening, you say? Well, lots.

In terms of graphic design, my one big client is keeping me on my toes, and while I do occasionally take on smaller layout/design jobs, this is not something I go out of my way looking for. I'm grateful for this work, as it keeps the lights on so that I can engage in what I LOVE doing, which is writing, editing, and coaching. 

The writing front is ticking along. I've got some short fiction out on sub, and I'm currently working on a bit of short fiction for a creative collective, which is really exciting. More on that later once I've got something concrete to share. What I can say is that I'm really excited to be part of this initiative. I've got a chapter appearing in Afro-Centered Futurisms in Our Speculative Fiction coming out via Bloomsbury later this year, which is Pretty Darned Big for me. I'm so excited to be part of this important work.

Things have been quiet, for the most, since Toby and I are still working hard on our five-book series, The Splintered Fool, of which book 1, The Serpent's Quest, is now in its final production stages. I won't lie, it's a PILE of work, but I promise you, once those books start coming, you'll be in for a swashbuckling swords-and-sandals epic full of derring-do, sassy characters, and cosmic horrors. Book one is tentatively releasing in May. I say tentatively, because life.

But I do have some news. If you've been following me on social media, you may have seen that my novella The Princess Job quietly released recently. It's a little nod to my love of Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards Sequence, so if you're looking for a short read that promises a little fun skullduggery, then this might be for you. It's free to read on KU.

And if dark SFF short fiction is your thing, I finally finished the most recent selection of the SA Horrorfest's Bloody Parchment anthology, Weeping Walls and Other Stories. Do pick up a copy and make me a happy editor.

Other than that, I'm knee deep writing on a super secret ghostwriting project. It's keeping my lights on, and it's a project with huge scope that's both challenging and deeply fascinating. I can't wait to share when this goes live, but as I often tell the writers I work with: butt on chair, fingers on keyboard.

So, that's it. For now. If you're on Threads, do come find me there. Although I do post updates on Xitter, the real chatty stuff is happening on Threads and also Blue Sky, to an extent. And if you've read this far, pop me an email and I'll bless you with a ecopy of The Princess Job if you're willing to do me a solid by reviewing it.

Where I'm at or IOW STUFF

I suffer from a severe problem: as fast as I clear the decks when it comes to things on my "to do" list, three more items jump onto my list. I can't help myself. My brain is constantly a few steps ahead of my physical self. If I could clone myself, I suspect I'd only multiply my problem. So I make lists.

But for the sake of an update, to bring my readers up to speed, I'd like to touch on a few of the projects that I'm planning on bringing to fruition this year.

Dawn's Bright Talons is a heart novel. Even now, if pushed, I can't quite say *where* exactly it stems from, except that the story grew. There's a girl. She's dhampir. She's also a dancer. There's a boy, but he's not into girls. He's a vampire. The setting kinda pseudo-Victorian with strong colonial themes. She's supposed to hunt his kind but they end up realising that they're just pawns in a much-larger game played by their elders.

This is also the novel that was on full sub to The Traditional Publisher I Won't Mention, who picked this out of the slush pile of more than 800 submissions for a call ... But remained undecided. I made the difficult decision to withdraw. Hell. This was my Very Big Chance.

I don't regret my decision. I've since contracted the novel to Crossroad Press, and am very happy with the editing decisions made by David Niall Wilson. Not to mention that I worked with the very talented Nathalia Suellen on the cover illustration, something that I might not have been able to do had I gone with the primary choice. So I got the cover art I really wanted. I'm ecstatic about it, because I believe that good cover art is already half the battle won. And I hope to do the cover reveal soon.

Another project that I'm excited about is The Guardian's Wyrd, which I sold to a new South African publisher of speculative fiction, Wordsmack. Once again, I've had totally ace editorial feedback from the very talented Kim McCarthy, who's been savvy to remind me about dropped story arcs and important stuff, like how long it takes to cover particular distances.

The Guardian's Wyrd is a little like CS Lewis's Narnia books in that a boy travels into a magical realm and discovers his own innate abilities. But he's supposed to rescue a prince. None of the damsels are in distress in this fantasy novel aimed at a YA market. In fact, I'd watch out for the ladies. They're downright dangerous. It's actually a bit of a bromance, to be honest.

And because I'm absolutely tardy about sequels, I'm very happy to announce that the publishers have encouraged me to get started on book two. Even better, and what I totally love about Wordsmack, is that they're looking at getting their fiction into the hands of a younger generation of readers by employing mobile technology. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

Carrie and I are busy wrapping Blood and Bone, this time a novel [gasps in horror] that follows on the heels of our novella Blood and Fire. We write a cross-over featuring our two favourite bad boys: Xan Marcelles and Ashton Kennedy. It's vampire and Inkarna teaming up to hunt down a dangerous rogue who's threatening the fragile alliance between the two races.

I'm also sufficiently shamed into picking up book two of my Those Who Return series, because the events in Blood and Bone happen way after things that went horribly wrong in the theoretical follow-up to my novel Inkarna, that first introduces us to Ash. Carrie and I never imagined combining Ash with her Xan of Crooked Fang fame would be so much fun, so I guess I'd better hurry the fuck up and finish.

Then there's the accursed The Company of Birds, which is just plain weird. I'm sitting at just past the halfway mark and it's that terrible saggy-middle slump all authors of epic fantasy can probably attest to. So maybe it's not a bad thing that I give it a breather while I finish Thanatos. All I can say is that The Company of Birds is a story I'm writing purely for myself and sod everyone else. It's not following any of the rules.

Raven Kin is sitting with the final-eye beta readers at this point. I hope I've avoided any tweeness. But then again, I totally broke from my usual by writing a talking griffin as a main character who inadvertently destroys a civilisation. And also reports on perhaps the greatest, most tragic love story of his time.

I also have an anthology of my own short fiction that's hibernating on my hard drive, but please don't tell anyone.

Whoops. Well, never you mind. You can see I'm having fun. And at some point I need to get some rest. If you haven't already signed up for my newsletter (which comes out once a month) here's the LINK.

Life in the Treehaus, July 24, 2013 #update

It’s been a while since I’ve written a little update about my own doings, and it’s more than just a little overdue, I think.

BUT FIRST THE BIG NEWS

I sold my most recent “heart” novel, Dawn’s Bright Talons, to Crossroad Press. Although Crossroad Press specialises in reviving the backlist titles of established authors in digital and audio, it is expanding its line of original titles (this is where I come in). Crossroad Press follows an author-first digital model, and includes international bestsellers William Bayer and Steven Savile, and award-winning authors Melissa Scott and Jo Graham.

A little bit about Dawn’s Bright Talons… It’s a full-on fantasy epic best described as what happens when a pseudo-Victorian colonial setting meets vampiric Machiavellian power struggles. Central to the plot are Michel, a vampire who’s sent to investigate the disappearance of his sire, and why a missing dancer might be at the heart of a secret that threatens his entire race.

We’re looking at a release some time next year, but more on that later when I’ve started the editing process and cover art is underway.

I’ve inadvertently found myself writing (and selling) short fiction this year. So getting this novel contracted made me very happy. I didn’t set out to write more short fiction, but it kinda sorta happened. I see myself chiefly as a novelist, and not a short story writer.

Another big wow so far was selling a short story to Pandemonium for its Ash anthology. I’ll be sharing the spotlight with Richard de Nooy, whose writing I absolutely adore. As well as Charlie Human, who's just released Apocalypse Now Now and who owes me a coffee. And yes. This is a Very Big Thing for little old me. To give you an idea, I tried for many years to write and sell short fiction to paying markets. I lived with the preconception that one needed to have a few short story sales notched on your belt before trying the dreaded debut novel.

The irony? I had to sell my first novel before I seemed to break the seal and started to write marketable short fiction. This just goes to show that there’s no template for writing success. It’s a blank canvas for each writer. Don’t beat yourself upside the head if you don’t have a meteoric rise to fame. It’s different for each of us, and that is how it should be. You are not JK Rowling. You are not George RR Martin. Nor are you Stephen King. And you shouldn’t compare yourself to them either.

And now... drumroll please, the works in progress...
My works in progress are chugging along nicely. I’ve got three short stories out on sub at the moment, which I’m waiting to hear. I’m planning on writing one more short story this year, and that will be for the Midian Unmade call for subs.

On the novel front, I’m currently giving a novella I wrote last year a complete overhaul for a publisher that’s keen to see me turn it into a novel-length work. All I’m able to say is that The Call of the Jackal (AKA Jackal when I tweet about it) is a post-apocalyptic African setting with strong GLBT themes. It’s as close to SF as I’ll get, and I’m thoroughly enjoying the writing process.

Then…during April this year, I wrote a MG fantasy novel. I loved it. My betas loved it. They also had lots of feedback. Then I heard about Strange Chemistry’s open call for subs and I’ve thought why the hell not… So once I’m done writing Jackal, I’ll be going into an intense period of revisions to convert The Guardian’s Wyrd from MG to YA. Since one of my betas already said the tone was more YA than MG, this shouldn’t be too difficult.

EVIL EDITOR STUFF
On the editing front, things are chugging along nicely. I’ve got two announcements about authors contracted to Dark Continents Publishing’s Tales of Darkness and Dismay line (which I direct) that I’ll be making. We’re busy finalising the contract details for The Sea anthology (so I’ll be announcing the final line-up for those too). I’ve also been inundated with entries for this year’s Bloody Parchment short story competition, and I’m wrapping edits for the Dark Harvest anthology.

The BIG editing news is that I’ll be working with Liz Strange again. I first picked her out of the slush pile when I was author-wrangling over at Lyrical Press, and she’s just had her novel, Erased, contracted by Dark Continents. I’m looking forward to sharpening my editing scalpel for her again. You can check out her Dark Kiss Trilogy in the me
anwhile.

Other than that, I’m working with a select few clients on a freelance basis. I’ve grown to know and love these authors dearly, and I’ve seen everything from dubcon capture fantasies with strong BDSM elements through to cosy mysteries and ass-kicking vampires. Never a dull moment. I also do believe that my rates are extremely competitive, so if you’re in the market for an editor, feel free to query me at nerinedorman@gmail.com

You can see a list of some of my recent editing milestones here…