20240805
[As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.]
Over the weekend, Flight of the Cerberus came out wide. Been out in the store since the 1st.
Not military space opera. Not as many people pre-ordered. First review was a three-star, probably for that reason. Folks probably want to demand that I write nothing but that, which is a shame. I gotta write other things than giant space battles killing thousands of nameless npcs.
And Air Pirates is a lot of fun. I certain enjoyed writing it. And exploring all sorts of things.
Hopefully, some of you will meander over and buy a copy and say nice things about it.
It’s Monday and I’m hard at work on more Action-Thriller stuff. Third Red Branch, which I have no doubts will also cause certain readers indigestion. Usually, the ones who have somehow missed the entire point of my catalog for the last decade. It happens. Folks are suddenly deeply surprised and offended that both Star Trek and the X-Men are somehow “woke.”
Seriously?
I’m not in their league, but I am in their vein, and if you haven’t realized that by now, I’m not sure I can help you, bubba.
Same same, it is August of a presidential election year, and those are always terrible for sales. People start paying more attention to politics about now, and don’t read as much. Like clockwork, that way, and I’ve been through several such elections as a writer now, so we were prepared to hunker down and ride it out.
Been that kind of year, honestly. Or two, going back to when the furnace died in Jan 2023. Just gotta hold on.
I can control my writing. And lean into it to keep my sanity. Not a lot else I can control right now.
Got a second project that kind of oozed up sideways at me over the last few weeks that’s giving me some physical work to do, so it’s helping me rebuild my physical endurance.
Emotional endurance still not for shit, but it will come back too at some point. Just gotta hold on.
Red Branch #3 should be done next week. Lot of short fiction after that before the next novel, so not sure what I’m writing after this. Mostly, I want to finish off a couple of series so I can put them out and go after a couple of new ideas, rather than writing one-off book ones for you folks.
Sometime soon, the second and third Swordmistress Zhen short stories will come out, for those of you that have read Traveler From the West. Jade Tiger and Angry Ghosts.
Gonna put out a lot of Action-Thriller between now and May, to get ready for a June book show.
Also going to Author Nation in Las Vegas in November. It replaced the 20 to 50 convention, and there are suggestions that I will be giving a talk while I’m there, as well as possibly being on panels.
Film at 11, as they say.
Not a lot past that. Another week, another drachma. Or something.
Just gotta keep one foot in front of the other.
Y’all keep up.
shade and sweet water
b
West of the Mountains, WA
—————————-
Thank you so much for being my patron and for funding these essays!
If you’re reading the free version (which is published three weeks after the Patreon version), please consider joining the ones who do pay at https://www.patreon.com/blazeward. It’s only a buck and helps keeps the lights on around here.