Yes, I've been remiss on updating this blog even after I told myself I wasn't going to be a slacker. Excuse: There's been a lot of working, editing textbook chapters (boring yes, but it pays the mortgage) novel editing, and way less audio editing than I would like. I know you're dying to know what's been going on ... (both of you)...
The novel: I did one more editing pass and it's still going through the writer's group. The problem with that, though, is it will take 5 years to read it for them at the breakneck speed of 4 pages a week. They'll hear it on iTunes and I'll have a sequel before that happens. Anticipating the audio production, I've been playing with some ideas for music and sound effects. I bought a lot of great music and sound FX from Digital Juice. I even found a theme song there that's perfect.
Social Media: Tweetdeck has a new version that brings up the Facebook update as well as Twitter. From Tweetdeck I can do "likes", open links, and comment directly to Facebook. I can also send the same update to both. It saves a lot of time. I've met a number of awesome people on Twitter including authors and podcasters who have led me to other people. Today I got a "hi" from my friend, Arlene Radasky, who then happened to respond to myself and another person in a tweet. Curious about the other person (and always curious about who my friends hang out with) I went to her profile to find Lou Riddell is a writer and pen and ink artist. I've been looking for a cover artist for the novel and considered a pen and ink drawing. She's going to play with the idea. Wahoo! I also found out that her husband is a writer and used to be a firefighter. I'm now following him and and bought his book on Lulu.
The podcast of "Bruno Fenster Saves the World and Still Gets Home in Time for Breakfast": Well, the author, Wolfgang, decided to buy some of his own recording equipment and learn podcasting. The problem is, he can't seem to get Part "A" to work with Part "B". I told him I would record the second chapter of Bruno just to get it out there. I don't want to look like a "podfader". I recorded it weeks ago but haven't had time to edit the dang thing. I'm really going to try to do that tomorrow. I did have a bit of fun with the character voices so we'll see how it turns out. Who does the third chapter will depend on whether Wolfgang untangles himself from all the cables and figures out his equipment.
I also took on a new project; something really different: I was listening to a reading of Nobilis' "Magical Clothes" and was in the chat room with him and a few other podcasters. He was talking about how he wanted to do NaNoRiMO this year, (National Novel Writing Month which challenges authors to write a whole novel in a month) and he hatched an idea. He asked all of us if we would take one of his podcasts in November as "guest podcasters". This would mean writing a story, recording it, producing it, and putting it up. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time so I was included. This is a great opportunity for me to stretch my boundaries. Although I feel confident to produce a podcast, I'm not used to writing short stories, especially in the science fiction/erotica genre. I grabbed an idea and ran with it though, and I think it's turning out pretty well. We'll see if he likes it.
"To the Rescue, Stories of Healthcare Workers at the Scene of Disaster": The website is up http://www.totherescuestories.com. The book can be found at all the usual online places. Amazon seems to have the best price. I went into a Barnes and Noble today on a lark just to see if they were stocking it. I found two copies! What a rush to see something you wrote, in hardback, on a bookstore shelf! The problem is, and maybe it's because Kaplan Publishing does a lot of medical textbooks, is that it was in the medical textbook area. Unfortunately, no one will likely see it there, so I asked my editor if Kaplan can fix that. I also happened to be talking to the community services person at B and N and asked about book signings. It seems they're having a whole lot of book fairs between now and Christmas and will give me the dates. The editor already told me if the authors set up signings and events in their respective areas, Kaplan will provide all the schwag. What fun that would be if a bunch of my local EMS friends, firefighters and authors showed up! BTW, if you do get it, please post a review on Amazon or on a site called Goodreads. If you like to read, it's a great site. I also have an author page there.
Well, that's the update. I hope more than my two followers read this. Please comment and follow this blog so I know you're out there!
