Writing Updates

It’s been rather quiet around here lately, hasn’t it? Not without good reason, though. I’ve been working long hours, and am currently taking mandatory online courses to boot.

What free time I have is typically spent on managing the Of Metal and Magic (OMAM) authors for Fiction Vortex. Our newest member, D.W.T. Smith has been eagerly grinding out outlines and concepts for his new series, which will take place in the OMAM timeline right after Call of the Guardian. This just means that I have been spending a lot of time answering questions and getting him up to speed. It’s been a privilege brainstorming with him.

All this has left little time for my own writing. I turned off the short story submission spigot for now, and it might be off or at just a drip for a while. I need to concentrate on my own current series, the Guardian spin-off novel The Fierce. So far I have only drafted two out of nine episodes/chapters.

This project is one of the most difficult I have ever written, but in a good way. I am trying something completely different with this book. The narrative is divided into two parts. Each episode/chapter begins with a letter, written by an anthropologist living in what we consider the “modern” period of Soria in OMAM. This period is a pre-high technology society, with enlightenment and Victorian influences. The anthropologist is studying a nomadic tribe when he uncovers a text bearing a complete account of the most ancient and important legend in the world.

The first part of the narrative is, therefore, the story of this academic as he struggles to survive in the field. The second part of each episode is his translation of the ancient text, complete with interpretations and footnotes and all that academic jazz.

What is so complicated about this format is that I have to juggle two different narrative voices. The first is the academic voice of a man who suffers from a bit of imperialist ethnocentrism. The second is that grandiose and disconnected voice common to ancient legends–“And he was born on the third night of the eclipse, the darkness marking his entry into the world he would forever change…”

My first round of peer reviewers told me the narrative voice in that part sounded too arrogant, but this is the story of a legendary hero, shouldn’t it be arrogant? I am having some trouble finding the middle ground between a strong legendary voice and something that will be pleasing for modern readers.

All this work isn’t without merit. Our publisher, Fiction Vortex, plans to make a huge marketing assault this summer for all the books completed so far. That means In the Valley of Magic and Call of the Guardian will be part of this initial volley. It’s also looking like OMAM will have one or two more volumes ready for release by the summer. That should prove exciting.

Even though my focus is on OMAM right now, I still am sending out the occasional short story. To that end, I recently received this in the mail:

This is the third certificate I’ve won from the Writers of the Future Contest. And although it is only an Honorable Mention, it is worth bearing in mind that only about 100 stories out of several thousand get even this far. We’re talking single digit percentile here. What’s most amazing to me about this one in particular, is that I had little expectation for it to get noticed. I submitted it on a lark, because the story was free and I had nothing else. At only around 2500 words, “Birdsong” is far below what they want to receive. The winning stories go into a print anthology, so they obviously prefer longer stories that will make for a longer book.

In December, I submitted what I consider one of the best stories I have ever written to the contest. Hopefully that one nets me something a bit shinier than these certificates.

Lastly, though I know none of you will be able to attend, I’d like to share that I am doing a book reading and Q&A in two weeks. It will be at the SFC Ray E. Duke Memorial Library on Camp Humphreys, which is the main U.S. military base in Korea. The lead up to the event will include a AFN radio interview, which is exciting.

I will, of course, share some pictures here after the event. I’m sure it will be fun.

And a reminder that my Storm Hamilton story anthology is now out in ebook format. This collection includes stories published by Bards and Sages, Over My Dead Body! Mystery Magazine, The Centropic Oracle, and earned me one of those fancy certificates pictured above. It’s a great collection if you like science fiction, noir, or detective stories. Click on the picture to link to the Amazon page.

Well, that’s all the news I have for now. Stay tuned for some more OMAM updates in the coming weeks. Thanks for dropping by.

~JM