9.5 on the WTF-o-meter
Why’s it called a crawl? Because that’s what your skin does at the sight of some of the truly incredible make-up jobs. Here are just a few to give an idea. A great fun evening—I’m seriously thinking of being a zombie when they do this next year.
I’m back at work, now that the shutdown is behind us, and I can get back to where I was before the whole thing started—which is turning out to be pretty hard, actually. Two weeks is more than long enough for me to have pretty much forgotten where, precisely, I was with each of the projects I was working on. That, plus a number of distractions as other people have come to me to ask questions—so that they can remember where they were with their work, too—has made today pretty much a wipe as far as actually getting any work done. It’s going to take a couple of days to get back into the routine.
Also, I’ve become completely unused to getting up early. I allowed myself a couple of extra hours this morning, mostly because I wasn’t certain that the office would actually be open at the usual time. Even with that extra time, I feel exhausted already. So I decided to take a few minutes out to write this, and get my mind off the other stuff for a bit.
Mr. Gunn & Dr. Bohemia was released last Saturday, and I know I’ve had a few sales already, and I’ve had one four-star review on Amazon. If you’d like a copy, check out the Fiction page by clicking the tab at the top of this screen—the links are all there. It’s available as an e-book for Kindle, Nook, and Kobo. Paperback copies can be ordered from Amazon only as I write this; hopefully Barnes & Noble should be making print copies available soon, too.
Yesterday I finished a new, improved draft of a steampunk short story, which I’ll be submitting to Xchyler Publishing’s Around the World in 80 Days anthology contest at the end of the month. That’s going on the back burner for a week or so, then I’ll give another polish pass before the submissions open.
Next up, I’m getting back to work on Smoke & Mirrors, the full-length steampunk story I put to one side a few months ago to make way for Gunn & Bohemia. The plan is to get that finished in time to submit.
Enough blog for now; time to get back to work. Until next time . . .
Since I’m on enforced vacation because of the government shutdown, we decided to take a trip out. Laramie, WY is only a couple hours from here and yet we’d never been there, although we did pass by on our way to Salt Lake City a few weeks ago.
We were a bit delayed, but we finally got away mid-afternoon and headed up highway 287. Weather: fairly bright, occasional clouds, the odd spot of rain. Once out of Fort Collins it’s a pretty flat ride across mostly wilderness. There’s a store and gas station called The Forks (est. 1875), and that’s about it (so if you’re heading up that way I suggest making sure you have a full tank).
Things start to get interesting a few miles south of the Wyoming border. Here’s a panoramic shot I took at Virginia Dale:
A closer look at that rock formation:
Virginia Dale has also been hit by the shutdown, it seems:
And so, on to Laramie. First stop in town was the visitor centre, and it started raining just as we got there. It didn’t bother us. We took a little walk around the Ivinson Mansion—and I do mean around, because it was too late for the guided tour inside. The place is beautiful; this picture doesn’t do it justice (the light could have been better):
By the time we’d explored a bit it was getting decidedly cold. We took a slow ride around the town, then decided to grab a hot drink and a bite to eat before heading out. And at that moment, sleet and lightning and thunder began. We spotted what we thought was a corner cafe, but when we got inside we found that it was a full-service restaurant. And it was wonderful—great atmosphere, great food, great service. The place was called Jeffrey’s Bistro, and we can’t recommend it too highly. As far as Kate and I are concerned, it’s worth a three-plus-hour round-trip just to go there.
So, that was our (short) day trip. But we’re definitely going back, and the plan is to do it soon before the weather gets too bad (I wouldn’t want to be out in the wilds on highway 287 once the snow sets in). I want to see the inside of the mansion, and see some of the other historic buildings (Laramie has plenty, apparently), and I’m looking forward to another dinner at Jeffrey’s.
Mr. Gunn & Dr. Bohemia is unleashed tomorrow, October 12! It’ll be available as eBook and paperback, through various outlets—Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords I know about, and there will probably be others. As I mentioned before, we’re having a Facebook party; swing by and check it out, even if you can only spare a few minutes.
Talking of which, I need to get together just a few more trivia questions for the free stuff giveaway. Until then . . .
So much going on right now. First and foremost, of course, is that Mr. Gunn & Dr. Bohemia is being released this Saturday! We’re having a Facebook release party on the day, and I’ll be there to answer questions and throw a few trivia questions around. Only three days to go! This is my first professionally published book, and I’m very excited. After Saturday can call myself Published Author.
In other news, the government shutdown is biting harder. Last week I was able to work on documents, so long as the work wasn’t related to any of our government projects; this week, I’m on an enforced vacation. I hope this gets sorted out soon.
Still, it has its good side—that being that I’m on vacation during the best possible weather (not too hot, but the snows haven’t started yet), so Kate and I can do some restful, relaxing things. Yesterday we took a ride up to Fort Collins and spent a little while looking around an independent bookstore (Old Firehouse Books on Walnut), went for a walk over by Devil’s Backbone, and treated ourselves to dinner at Golden Corral.
Interesting thing about Devil’s Backbone: apparently the neighbours are hazardous:
Makes you wonder what the hazards are. Active volcanoes? Minefields? Pools of acid? Or are the people like those whackjob doomsday preppers on TV?
Today, we’d planned to drive up to Laramie, Wyoming, for a day trip—it’s only a couple of hours from here, and it looks like a nice place to look round. But that plan went down the toilet. Long story, I won’t go into it here. We might get out there tomorrow. If so, tweets will ensue.
On the writing front, I’ve been focussed on the Steampunk short story for Xchyler Publishing’s Around The World in 80 Days anthology contest. I’ve marked up the ‘script with comment markers to remind myself of the points that need work. Among other things, the pacing’s a bit off—the last couple of scenes seem terribly rushed, and something’s needed in there to slow things down and increase the suspense and tension a bit. I’m leaving it to sit for a few days before I get back on to it.
Enough on the blog for now. I need tea, and I think we’ll be getting out for a walk around the sculpture park while the weather’s good. Until next time . . .
Yes, gentle reader: a week today, Mr. Gunn & Dr. Bohemia will be released, woo hoo! This is of course a big thing for me, personally; my first professionally published book. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s been worth every moment and I’ve learned a lot along the road.
We’re having a release party on Facebook (sign up by clicking here) – Trivia quiz! Prizes! It’s going to be fun, so come along and join in! I’m working on some trivia quiz questions, and I’ll be there to answer questions about the book and other things I’m working on.
If you’ve read my bio, you know that my day job involves working for the government (I’m not a fed, though—I work for a commercial company that does work on contract). So, Monday was business as usual, then Tuesday it was all stop. I’ve been able to work on some documents unrelated to the government projects, and that’s all. Starting this Monday, that stops, too—it looks like I have to start burning up my vacation hours until this is all over. Here’s hoping it gets sorted out soon.
Of course, since I’ll be on vacation, that means . . .
Two projects are front and centre right now. First is a short story for Xchyler Publishing’s Steampunk anthology contest. I’ve got about 2,500 words down so far, and I’ll be getting back to that after posting this and getting coffee. The plan is to have the first draft finished no later than Monday night, but we’ll see how that goes.
As soon as that’s done, I’ll be getting back to work on Smoke and Mirrors (that’s just the working title), which must, must, must! be finished before December 31 if it’s to be in time for the submission deadline.
So I’d better get on with it. Coffee, come to daddy.
Until next time . . .
On Facebook, October 12. Check it out HERE!
I haven’t done anything constructive all weekend. It’s been great.
Friday night we went out for a belated birthday celebration (steak at Outback, which was disappointing; the rib-eye was tough and over-seasoned), and bought a bunch of birthday goodies—some games, a Steam gift card, and some TV shows and movies on DVD and blu-ray.
Saturday: I had to re-install my Steam client (it wouldn’t connect), then I bought a couple of games with the card: Alice: Madness Returns—the sequel to the original American McGee’s Alice—is ready to play, but I haven’t started it yet; Syberia and Syberia II were 75% off so I got those, too.
I played Syberia when it came out, but that was a long time ago, so—especially since it only cost about $2.50—I went ahead an bought it. And spent most of Saturday playing it. I hadn’t intended to—I was going to play Alice—but I started it off, just to remind myself how it looked, and got kinda hooked. Interesting game, and very Steampunk.
Sunday: started into some of the DVDs. First up was Cloud Atlas, and it’s been haunting my thoughts since. For the first half hour I didn’t know quite what to make of it, and I wasn’t sure how the bits connected, but things started to come together by about halfway through, and by the end I was enthralled. I can’t get certain scenes out of my head. I’m going to have to watch that again soon.
Next, Star Trek: Into Darkness. Damned good. I will say no more.
Rounded off by watching a few episodes of Castle, season 5. I love that show.
So: it’s Monday morning, 6:45am, and almost time for me to fire up the work laptop and get into day-job stuff. I feel rested and ready to go, so without further ado, I’d better get on with it. Until next time . . .
The title says it all; I’d mentioned here, a couple of posts back, that the date was October 13. That was incorrect (the 13th is a Sunday). It’s actually happening the day before. Next, I’d better fix my Twitter header . . .
. . . Well, you can! Advance Reader Copies of Mr. Gunn & Dr. Bohemia are available as PDFs for a short time, and you can have one in return for an honest review posted on Amazon, Goodreads, or your own blog. Xchyler Publishing might want to quote you, too. Interested? Click the Contact tab above, fill in the form (make sure to include a contact email address that I can pass on to the marketing director at Xchyler, who will be sending the ARCs out) and submit it. I’ll take it from there.
While I’m blogging, let’s have an update. Last week was a nightmare—flooded roads Monday, family member in hospital Tuesday and Wednesday, then water in the basement Friday; laid over that was a slew of day-job technical problems that had to be fixed. Despite all of which I managed to finish proofreading Gunn & Bohemia. What a week.
Today, working at home while waiting for guys to come and dry out the basement carpet. They didn’t show up until 2:30pm, but when they did they got on with the job.
On the writing front: I’ve been working up a short story for Xchyler’s next Steampunk anthology contest, which opens for submissions at the end of October. I have the whole story in my head; next step, write it out scene-by-scene.
But that can wait a bit. Today’s been busy and I feel the need to wind down. Time for dinner and telly; I have an urge to watch The Dresden Files if it’s still listed on Netflix.
Until next time . . .
A quick note to say I’m Xchyler Publishing’s Featured Friday blogger for this week!
Pete Ford 