Firewatcher hits the road

Well, these long-delayed novels are now in shape to be moved around, enticing agents and publishers wherever they go. Firewatcher is a two-novel set, and should hopefully break the "too long" barrier. My next novel is going to be very short indeed (or at least feel that way writing it).

The strange thing is that I wrote Firewatcher with the idea that 400 pages was about the right length for a novel, and yet agents and editors are all saying 125,oo maximum words is about right -and that's only 250 pages. I still find it odd that 250 pages is seen as the norm, since most of the movels I read today are consistently in the 400+ range, but I understand the publishing game enough to know that inches of shelf space is the measure of a novel's cost for booksellers. It makes me wonder, though, how much this equation will change as brick-and-mortar bookstores succumb to Amazon, print-on-demand, and the newly-viable e-book readers, such as Kindle.

But for now, Firewatcher is a two-volume set, consisting of The Flame Undying and The Light Within.

Now I can start the marketing process for these, while working on a new project. It's strange to move on, after working on one thing for so long.

The painting above is a concept piece I did of the protagonist, Barava. Sketches and paintings are a good way to capture the personalities of the main characters, though it doesn't really impact the writing, I suppose. I'll probably do a couple more Firewatcher character studies, even after I begin my next novel.

Penguins and Polar Bears: The Movie!

I've just finished the cover art for a video short I'm working on for Penguins and Polar Bears. It features the product box, which, of course, needs to have packaging art. So here's the cover painting for a box that will only be seen for 3.5 seconds in the short.

My Web Empire Grows

I've got my placeholder website up and running. Is it spotty? Yep. Not very pretty? No, not really. But I hope it's serviceable until something better comes along.

One of the main problems I'm having is the amount of new work I can't display. I've got a lot out there, awaiting either approval for future production, a contract for work I've already had approved, or for product to hit the shelves. In each case, I can't use any assets I've created on my publicly-available pages.

In the future more work will continue to become available, making my site more robust. But for now, sparse is better than nothing. I also intend to create a lot more work in the coming months, and that should help in filling the vast emptiness of my website.

Champagne all around

This marks the official launch of my much-delayed blog. I was asked long ago by an editor, John O'Niel (of Black Gate Magazine fame), whether I had a blog, and at the time my answer was no. I mean, who has time to maintain a blog?

Except for those few million who actually do, of course. Except for them, not many.

But I've been asked by more and more people, lately, about whether I have one, so here you all go. This blog is mostly going to be about three subjects: writing, game design, and art.

The strange thing, to those who create fiction, or games, or anything really, is the fascination others have at the process. In this regard, we've got blinders on since we ourselves want to hear more about the creative processes of others. But still, posting my thoughts on any given topic still seems to border on narcissism, but I'm a Luddite, in that way, I guess.

So for those who are interested, this blog is for you.