Book advances in convenient graph form

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Over at SFNovelists.com, Jim C. Hines makes a graph of his advances to show how they’ve grown. I say good for him that they have grown, especially in this difficult economy; the man must be doing something right.

And it reminded me of a section in one of Donald Maass’s books (this one, I believe, which he’s offering online for free) in which he goes through his own client list to see which writers are earning six-figure incomes. This was back in the nineties (and the numbers need to be updated) but to make six figures through royalties on their backlist, one of the things the writers had to do was be writing for at least ten years already.

Instead of an overnight success, it’s an overdecade success.

Happy Black Friday, people

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You know what makes a great Christmas present? Books. A mass market paperback will even fit inside a stocking. That’s a true fact.

I’m not saying which books you should give as gifts. No way. I’m just pointing out their excellent gift-appropriateness.

The obligatory Turkey Day post

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The pies have been made, the dishwasher has been unloaded, loaded and then run again, the coffee has brewed, and it’s snowing. Thanksgiving! (for Americans, at least) Me, I’m about to go do today’s pages before I get together with the family for cooking, eating and watching some old movie (up this year: Errol Flynn’s THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD–and didn’t my 8yo roll his eyes when he saw that DVD cover.)

But it’s a time to take note of those things we’re thankful for. Me, I’m a guy who thinks about thankfulness and gratitude all year long; in a sense, I obsess over it. I’m always measuring my debt to those who are kind to me or who love me, and I’m constantly trying to pay back. However, today is a day when those feelings are normal, so I’m going to indulge, especially since I have something new to add this year.

First I’m thankful for my family. Nothing is ever going to trump that. If aliens came down in space ships and gave the world free energy machines, pills that heal knee injuries, and cameras that never took a picture of a politician with their mouth closed, I’d still be more amazed that my wife not only puts up with me and all my craziness, but agreed to have our child.

But for the first time I have something new to add to the list. Maybe I should have said this last year, but I was still kinda dizzy from publishing that first novel. I’m thankful for all the folks who read my books, enjoy them, and recommend them to their friends. It’s a tough economy right now, and a lot of new series are struggling or have already been cancelled. The Twenty Palaces books still have a chance to continue, though, and that’s because the readers have been so great.

So thank you for reading and spreading the word.

The menu for today is pretty traditional: Filling but unhealthy breakfast, then cut vegetables with dip, along with pickles and such. For dinner: brined turkey, sausage stuffing (I ground the sausage myself), giblet gravy, mashed potatoes, roast asparagus, cranberry sauce, honey-glazed onions. If I’m lucky, the boy will try–just try–the turkey and cranberry sauce. We also have some nice wines to enjoy after dinner with Errol and sweet potato and/or apple pie.

And finally! I’m am thankful to the guys at Wyrd and all the folks doing great work on the book trailer. And because I can’t resist, one more image. This time, it’s not a photo taken on set; it’s an actual frame grab from one of the shots, showing Ray throwing his ghost knife.

Frame grab--Ray throwing ghost knife

Damn. Now that’s Ray Lilly.

Stop interrupting!

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Jason Fried gives a TEDtalk about productivity, offices, and why involuntary interruptions are the enemy of work.

This is why, even though I’m a full-time writer now, I still have to go to the coffee shop to meet my daily word count goals.

Photos from day three of the book trailer shoot

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Frank Woodward posted pics of day three of the book trailer shoot. They’re here. You can see Jim and Marissa in character as Ray and Annalise, and Charlie Talbert who’s playing Wally, a character from book 3.

I wish I could have been there. It looked like a helluva lot of fun.

Guess what I found in my email inbox?

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A notice that “A Glimpse of Darkness”, the several-thousand word short story co-written by me with several other urban fantasy authors is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. If you’re a Kindle reader, check it out.

Randomness for 11/22

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1) 10 Great Time-Lapse Construction videos.

2) 10 Great Animated Gifs from Detroit Metal City.

3) Tardis socks, with a link to the knitting pattern included.

4) Tintin in the Lovecraft world.

5) Grandmas discover PhotoBooth. Video.

6) “Not much between the temples.” Thank you, Not Always Right, for documenting the Awful.

7) Speaking of independent movies with super-awesome special effects: BIRDEMIC: The Most Epic Scene Ever Filmed! Video. Wyrd folks, don’t miss this inspirational video!

Book trailer wrapup post, snow, and happiness.

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In fact, I returned home yesterday afternoon after picking up my son at my wife’s work. It was snowing then and it’s snowing harder now–it’s not accumulating on concrete but it is on lawns, roofs, cars, etc and it’s really beautiful. I know some of you live in very northern climates and hate the snow–it’s dangerous, too–but I find it gorgeous and peaceful. Later, if it sticks a little more and this cold I seem to be building to goes away, I’ll be heading out with my wife and son to cardboard sled down the hill behind our home. (Yeah, it’s good to see them again.)

As a followup to my Los Angeles trip, there needs to be an English word that means “work that is fun but also satisfying,” because that’s what I did this weekend. The book trailer shoot, (see day one and day two with photos of the main characters from books one and two, as well as the ghost knife prop, sets and production process) was exactly this sort of thing. It was work, it was fun, and it was very satisfying to do. Writing is like this, often.

The guys at Wyrd are doing a great job. Seriously. When they asked me what I wanted in the trailer, I wrote a script that seemed cool and somewhat ambitious. They took that and ran with it, making the shots more complicated, adding effects, motion, conflict, all sorts of things. Honest-to-God, I was amazed at what they’re doing. The actors have been terrific, the footage is beautiful, and the work everyone has been putting in is profoundly humbling.

But! “Fun, satisfying work” needs a word of its own, so we can describe some of the best moments of our lives and better tell young people what they should be striving for.

What should the word be? Is there one in a foreign language we can steal borrow, or do we need a portmaneau?

Added later: To followup on Shecky’s comment on my main blog, I will now be promoting the word “vocate” as a verb form for vocation.

Here’s a photo of me with Annalise Powliss.

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Day two of the shoot was much more sedate. Not a lot of night shooting and there was no running pell mell along an insanely steep slope. Unfortunately, heavy rains postponed a shot of Annalise throwing a green ribbon and burning a guy down to his bones. You can probably guess how much I’d have wanted to see that. Instead they got shots of Charles Hammer breathing fire, Ray’s iron gate spell activating, and Ray and Catherine fleeing from a bunch of Washaway pets.

I got to play one of the Washaway pets. I feel like Alfred Hitchcock. :-) The only problem was that I was advancing with the other pets toward Ray Lilly, and when he pulled back and threw the ghost knife at us, I busted out a huge grin. Couldn’t help it. I don’t think it mattered because the shot wasn’t the keeper the director was looking for, but I had to remind myself to have fun on the inside only. Inside only!

I’m sorry I can’t stay for tomorrow’s shots, which will include some effects shots of characters going through windows and other fun. It’ll also be the first call for actors playing characters from Circle of Enemies who I would have loved to meet and get pictures taken with. The characters’ names won’t mean anything to you guys because the book isn’t scheduled until next summer, but Wyrd has been doing such a great job that I wanted to see how they handled things.

As for myself, I’m holding up pretty well, pain-wise. My left leg is pretty swollen, but the aching has gone way down. And as much as I wish I could hang out for the third day of the shoot, I miss my son and my wife. It’ll be good to see them again (and get back on a sensible schedule so I can get back to writing. Jesus, these film people never sleep). Hopefully, once I get back to my real life I can start responding to comments, answering email, the whole deal.

I’ll put the picture of me and “Annalise” behind a cut, but you can see more at the set. Continue reading

Because YOU demanded it!

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Quite a few people, including RETRACTED, have suggested that Jim Freivogel, the actor cast as Ray Lilly, is better-looking than the guy they pictured in the books. Me, I’ve always tried to establish him as a handsome dude, but you are the readers and your will must be obeyed!

So without further preamble, I present the location manager actor who has taken over the role mid-production (ladies, please position yourselves by your swooning couches): Continue reading