Randomness for 6/15

Standard

1) Tee hee.

2) All fame is fleeting. Best-selling books of decades past.

3) Somehow, I don’t think Syfy is taking their movie originals very seriously.

4) How to keep someone with you forever.

5) A friend made a documentary called THUNDER SOUL about a famous high school funk band from the 70’s
and their reunion tour. Listen to the band here.

6) Quote from article: “The findings do not directly link playing video games to reckless driving. They only show an association. Researchers say the impact of playing games like “Grand Theft Auto” is minimal.” Headline to the same article: “Study: Video Games Linked To Reckless Driving.”

7) The original Last Panel of Little Orphan Annie.

OOOOoooooo!

Standard

I just noticed, as I signed the contracts for the French language rights to Child of Fire and Game of Cages, that Bibliotheque Interdite is planning to publish them in hardcover!

Whoa! Also: Awesome!

How not to be lonely.

Standard

No, this isn’t actually a plan for avoiding loneliness.

As I mentioned before, my wife and son are in upstate NY for the rest of the month, dealing with the death of my m-i-l. That means I’m home alone for that time.

Normally, I’m a complete ass when it comes to productively using private time, especially when I have a lot of it. For these two-plus weeks, I have to be better. Therefore! I have made these resolutions:

1. No fancy cooking. I can’t be spending hours and hours prepping foods that I eat in 15 minutes. Sandwiches, salads, pastas, etc. Simple stuff.

2. Exercise every day. I have time for it, therefore I have no excuses.

3. Clean kitchen at the end of every day. No going to bed with dirty plates in the sink or crumbs on the table.

4. Spend half an hour each day cleaning the apartment. The kitchen doesn’t count toward this goal. Vacuuming doesn’t take long. Neither does a quick sweep/wipe down of the bathroom. Making bed: 15 seconds, tops. If I set aside this time and try to rush through it, it should be a huge burden or time sink.

5. All writing goals will be increased by 500 words a day. That doubles the quota for day-job days, and increases the day-off day quotas to 2K. I’d like to try for 3K, but that’s a lot of story for me. This isn’t listed fifth because it’s the fifth most important, but because it’ll be an easy goal to meet.

6. Only drink beer on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Moderation is the key.

7. Watch grown-up movies. Because of the boy’s screwed-up sleep schedule, the only time I have to watch movies for adults is the morning, and morning is writing time. As a result, I pretty much haven’t seen any R-rated movies for a couple of years. At this point, I don’t even care if they’re all that good, I just want to watch some. I may even go to (gasp!) a theater.

Of course, none of this works without:

8. Sensible amounts of internet time! Like many people, my time online expands to fill the amount of time I have. I can’t keep doing that. Therefore, I resolve to follow fewer links, join fewer discussions and let my email program chime to let me know new messages have come in, rather than check over and over.

Hmm. Maybe I should add: Write shorter blog posts.

edited to add: Oops! I forgot one: 9. Eat fruit and vegetables every day.

Game of Cages Chapter One

Standard

Del Rey included a teaser for Game of Cages in the back of Child of Fire, but it was just a few pages, not the whole first chapter. Behind the cut, for those who are interested, is the full deal: the complete chapter one of my upcoming novel.

GAME OF CAGES
CHAPTER ONE

It was three days before Christmas, and I was not in prison. I couldn’t understand why I was free. I hadn’t hidden my face during the job in Hammer Bay. I hadn’t used a fake name. I honestly hadn’t expected to survive.

I had, though. The list of crimes I’d committed there included breaking and entering, arson, assault, and murder. And what could I have said in my defense? That the people I’d killed really deserved it? Continue reading

Three semi-revealing things about me

Standard

1) While descending toward JFK airport, the plane I was riding hit the worst turbulence I’ve ever experienced. I was seriously thinking I might never see my family again. I also wondered if I could find a way to fold down a couple corners of a page of the book I was reading so that it would highlight a special message to my family, just in case the book made it through the crash but I didn’t. It seemed like a nice idea, but unworkable, so I didn’t try it.

2) It was only after spending 12 hours in airports and airplanes, having returned home to my own city, that I realized I have the house key’s to my father-in-law’s house in my pocket. Luckily, I know they have a way inside. I’ll express mail them tomorrow.

3) Every time I go out of town for a while, I always half-expect to come home to a smoking wreckage. What if the building burned down? Who would be able to contact me about it?

This is how screwed up I am.

Anyway, I just spent a week out of town because my mother-in-law died. I hadn’t been talking about it publicly because my apartment was going to be completely empty for a week, and what if the burglars who hit us two years ago saw something on my blog that invited them back. (Actually, I had mentioned it in unlocked posts, but then thought better of it and locked them.)

More about all this later. It’s nearly 2 am PST.