News | The Veil War

In 10 Days…

Two weeks of vacation for the last week of January and the first of February. More Veil War!

When I found out that I wouldn’t be telecommuting anymore, it had been my hope that I might be able to squeeze out some writing. That has, sadly, turned out not to be the case. I need moderately big stretches of time to write, and those just don’t exist in the new dispensation. (Small silver lining – thinking, editing and planning are possible. Fer instance, I now know exactly how to fix chapters 9-17, and I’ve substantially improved 1-8 with some stellar feedback from a friend and former Marine.)

Seeing as we are so very close to the end, those two weeks will be enough to finish Lewis’ story arc at a bare minimum. I also hope to complete the other elements of the story – the ones that have not been posted here, but will make the story a complete novel. It is my sincere wish to be able to type “the end” sometime early next month. To be sure, that will not be the end of it. There is the editing to be done, the rewriting, the proofreading – but the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter at long last.

You may have some questions.

Does this mean the end of the Veil War? Not at all. Corny as it is, the Veil War will be a trilogy.

When will the excitingly titled Veil War II start? That depends on a number of things – most crucially, how quickly I can finish the clean up of Veil War I. My goal is end of Spring.

What’s VWII going to be about? Magic, ultraviolence, ‘splodey-splodey, dark forces, suffering and Coleman saying goofy shit. While VWI is set in the first couple weeks of the invasion, VWII will cover a broader range of time about a year in to the war.

Will you keep publishing online for free? Right now, that is in fact part of the plan.

Part of the plan? Once Veil War I is cleaned up, I want to sell it. Moving forward, I will continue to publish parts of the ongoing story for free.

Well, what’s the other part then dammit? That’s the big question. With a complete manuscript, I could submit to an agent/publisher and maybe two years from now you could by a book. Or I could throw it up on Amazon five seconds after I finish it. There are pros and cons with each method. Yet… I feel that traditional publishing is dying.

So what’s the other part then dammit? Right now I’m leaning toward the possibility of a kickstarter campaign, followed by sales on major online distributors.

***

Now, I have some questions for you:

Would you be interested in a kickstarter campaign?
What sort of bonuses would entice you to pony up your cash?
How high, or how cautiously should I set the goal? (Things I’d want to cover with the cash would include copy-editing, regular editing, artwork…)
Do you have other suggestions?
What price point is most comfortable for you for an eBook? (aside from free) That is, where do you feel decent price for a good story meet?

Collectively, you all have been extraordinarily helpful in the writing of the Veil War. Without the slightest hint of exaggeration, I can say that I have been staggered by the level of support, advice, feedback and information that has been showered upon my head. I think that you will likewise be just as amazingly helpful in getting the finished product out there.

12 Comments

November 29, 2012

Delays

More serious, this time. My work is requiring me to be in the office, and as I will not be working from the comfort of my home office I will also be spending a ridiculous amount of time commuting to the main office. This traveling will significantly eat in to my available writing time.

But fear not! I hope to polish chapter 32 for publishing this weekend. And after that, there are only four (possibly five) more chapters before this installment of Lewis’ adventures are complete. Much of that has already been written, and I will endeavor to maintain my weekly publishing schedule as best I can.

Of silver linings, there is not much to say but this: I have been using my long commutes for a lot of thinking and planning. Veil War II is going to be a lot of fun to write.

1 Comment

October 25, 2012

Mysterious advancing deadlines, point of view, and the Meat Planet

Breaking news: my work schedule got rearranged a bit this week, and some deadlines were moved up. This will necessitate a Veil War Friday post.

Now, admission time: I could have posted anyway. But as I wrote deeper into battle, I came to a sudden realization. My insistance on maintaining the point of view on Captain Lewis had gone too far. It was a convention, really; nothing more. And most of the story as I’ve related it to you worked fine enough within that constraint; so it was a helpful tool for a neophyte writer to keep me focused on the story and not get distracted. It has always been my intent that in the final novel version, that constraint would be relaxed. I have Lance Criminal Adventures starring Coleman, and small sections told from the point of view of Evans and Pethoukis already written. I had also planned to rewrite parts of some chapters to shift the point of view to another character for variety and dramatic purposes.

So, my realization was that most of the next chapter really can’t be told from where Lewis stands without serious contortions. And seeing how contorted it had become, I decided to relax my rules early and rewrite now. Much of the prose can be saved, of course; descriptions of ‘splosions, booms and chopping are the universal language of love after all. Still and all it requires some effort, and that’s what I’ll be doing tonight.

In the meantime, enjoy this lost episode of Carl Sagan’s justly famed science series, Cosmos:

September 20, 2012

Not yet

My work schedule got rearranged on me this week, so Chapter 26 will go up later today. In the meantime, enjoy this:

3 Comments

August 30, 2012

Reassurance

Chapter 23, revised and completed, will go up later this evening. I got called in to the office, and that’s put a bit of spoke in my wheel.

August 24, 2012

I am back

I have been less than communicative lately, if by less than communicative you mean dropping off the face of the Earth. I’ve been traveling and working and taking care of family, all of which militate against writing productivity, to be sure. But the honest truth (as opposed to sneaky dishonest truths) is that I was a little burnt out there. Trying to manage all the mundane aspects of my life and produce decentish fantastical prose was getting to be a little much. So I took a break.

And I have to say, it was nice. I didn’t think about the Veil War at all for most of two weeks. And when I did resume thinking about it, there was no longer the pall of dread that had attended such thoughts back in June and July. A whole bunch of things that I had been hung up on are now no longer hangups, and for the last couple days I’ve been happily typing.

Regular chapter postings will resume next Thursday, and I’ve already got that chapter in the bag. I hope to push out another chunk of the sword story this weekend, but no promises on that one. I also have some posts cued up, and I’ll be looking for some feedback from you, the long-suffering reader.

Thanks for hanging in there!

7 Comments

June 30, 2012

Comcast Sucks

I’ve been without Internet all day (I’m posting this via phone) and this is slowing me down. When I regain connectivity, there’s more stuff ready to post.

In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy the oven-like weather.

3 Comments

June 21, 2012

Locusts!

This is me for the last couple weeks:

Well, the trip to Ohio was excellent up until the moment when my suburban threw a rod.

I’ve had a grand total of maybe two hours in the last couple weeks to work on the story. Which sucks for me and you both. But, I did accomplish some things, and more will be accomplished in the very near future. In a slight departure from my normal mode, I’m just going to start posting stuff as it gets edited and not wait for the full thing.

So, at random intervals over the next week, you’ll be getting chunks of the Chapter 23 and 24, and as well – because I love you so dearly – bits of a bonus story. I will do this until I’ve caught up a bit.

The first bit is part one of… the back story of Lewis’ sword. Read it here.

1 Comment

June 15, 2012

Slight delay has grown, and become a medium-sized delay

Fun, fantasy, confusion and chaos. Nothing tragic, but events have conspired to keep me from the keyboard. But! Even though I am now three states away from my home, preparing to accompany my wife to her 15-year college reunion, there will shortly be new prose.

Tomorrow you will see Chapter 23. And over the next few days, I’m going to run a bonus series of stories that are related to the events of the story, but yet will not actually ever be part of the novel. They are written already, and merely need a little polishing and elbow grease to be ready for you.

So there it is. Thanks for bearing with me as life interferes with my grandiose authorial schemes.

3 Comments