We're Back!

We're Back Like Charles II

Hey, gang -

It's been a while since my last post. The election, writing assignments, and a nasty little back problem all did their bit to make blogging a low priority.

But that's in the past, and here we are. Some exciting news: I've past the midpoint of my newest novel, Conjure Man. A bargain has been struck. Mysterious happenings have raised eyebrows.  A black site has been escaped. A devastating secret has been revealed. And things are going to get even hairier from this point on.

What comes next?
Well, finish the draft, obviously. But the killer with novels is that finishing the first draft is just hurdle #25 out of, like, 70. There's still the second draft. Beta reads. Editing. Proofreading. And, of course, selling, selling, selling.

But this book is worth it. It's urban fantasy, kind of, but it stretches the genre. I'm proud to say that Conjure Man avoids one of the biggest UF tropes: the wainscot. This is the conceit that there's a secret magic world that exists alongside and underneath our own, one that silly mundanes can't perceive or refuse to acknowledge. The wainscot has been around forever. You've encountered it in the two Harrys - Potter and Dresden - not to mention The Sandman, Hellboy, and virtually every single frickin' vampire story since Anne Rice. (HBO's True Blood is the welcome exception.) Anyway, there's no wainscot in Conjure Man. Everybody knows magic exists, and everybody wants a taste.

Which is not to say Hero's Army, the sequel to The Wrong Sword, isn't progressing as well, because it is.

Fun, huh?