Slight delay
Wife not feeling well today, which means no time for me… I’ll finish the edits tonight after the kiddies are asleep, post probably tomorrow morning.
The Veil War
"and then I was like, 'Holy crap, goblins!'"
Month: May, 2012
May 25, 2012
And while we’re at it…
Just this week I got an advance copy of Ian Healy and Allison Dickson’s upcoming novel The Oilman’s Daughter. Steampunk adventures in space, with pirates and – I am told – atomic steam forklifts. How awesome is that? Pretty damn awesome. As a beta reader, it is my understanding that I am to resist my temptation to make edits and only make general comments on the story. Nice ones, so Ian’s feelings aren’t hurt. Should be fun, and this will be only the second novel I’ve read since last fall. So I guess I’m coming at it fresh.
And speaking of Ian and Allison – if you haven’t, check out their Really Big Idea posts. (And all the others. And then buy all their books.) Click here for the series list. Lots of good stuff in there, and a long reading list for me once I finish Veil War.
May 25, 2012
Dragons!
Of a different sort:
Not the kind of dragon I normally write about here, but an awesome one nevertheless. That’s a pic of SpaceX’s dragon capsule approaching the ISS for docking – the first commercial craft to do so. Dragon is not currently man-rated, but it won’t be long before vehicles like that are ferrying astronauts to and from orbit.
SpaceX is, I think, poised to make real changes in how we get to space. Cost most obviously – Musk is pushing hard on the $1000/lb to orbit barrier. But also in a philosophical sense. If we are no longer dependent on a hidebound, design-by-committee bureaucracy for our access to space, then (miraculously!) we will have access to space on a far wider scale than we’ve seen so far.
And when the goblins do invade, it will be well for us to be able to nuke them from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
May 24, 2012
Chapter 22
Chapter 22 is up. I apologize for the week-long delay, but life got a little crazy. You may have a surprise later, though. Teaser:
Lewis saw the standard bearer he’d watched a second before tossed backward as if he’d been hit by a giant, invisible tsunami. A half step and a half second behind him, the rest of the first goblin rank was pushed inexorably and violently backward, crashing into the ranks behind as all were swept away.
It took another second before the wave hit the dragon. The dragon went from graceful and malevolent flight to sparrow in a hurricane. Again the dragon screamed in rage as it was forced from its prey.
It has been frustrating to write – or try to write – compelling prose about people watching a battle. But that is just the nature of the thing, and Lewis can’t be everywhere. Very shortly, though, the battle will be coming to Lewis. As always, please note any errors or inconsistencies, and let me know what you think about how the story is developing. Your feedback has been crucial, really, in allowing me to achieve even the modest level of quality I have.
May 10, 2012
Veil War Thursday
It is Thursday, and that means mayhem.
The shells exploded nearly two hundred feet above the goblins. Marching as they were with their shields up, they were suffering almost no casualties.
“Why aren’t they adjusting their fire?” Pethoukis nearly shouted. The next barrage didn’t explode at all. One shell landed on a goblin, crushing it. No others were even hurt.
“I think they are adjusting their fire. It’s just not the 116th doing the adjusting,” Lewis said.
Chapter Twenty-One is up, and available for your delighted perusal. Please point out to the internet any mistakes, blunders, cock-ups, typos and senior moments you detect in the prose. Because, you know, the internet cares.
May 3, 2012
Firesack
Chapter 20 is now up, and impatiently awaiting your attention. Teaser:
Lewis cursed in horror as he saw the goblins had penetrated the perimeter at least five points. Bronze-armored monsters poured into the middle of the brigade defenses. Cavalry troopers ran madly across the sand toward the rear.
By way of a progress report, this last week has been marvelously productive. I have the entire next month’s chapters ready and queued up, which means that I can focus on getting the rest of the story written. Since March was a near total wash thanks to virulent, uh, viruses – I am behind on my self-imposed schedule by about that much. I did a lot more rewriting than I had planned last month but by dint of self-sacrifice, self-abegnation, and other selfy things I still made progress. It is perhaps a vain and ambitious hope, but I nevertheless hope to have a completed draft manuscript of the whole novel by the end of this month. We’ll see how that goes.
As always, please feel free to point out errors and mistakes, infelicities and screw-ups. And thank you, as always, for reading. You are all, each and individually, my favorite people in the whole world.
The Veil War 