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A Study with Slugs: Final Chapters Available!

03 Saturday Aug 2013

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2011 Bobby Banana Slug 3 640x480

Well, I’ve been lax about notifying you–my loyal readers, whoever the heck you may be–about my recent chapter postings of my first novel, “A Study with Slugs”, on Wattpad.  Bad on me.  As I explained a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been traveling a lot, and in the previous week have been on vacation.

But I have been diligently posting chapters all the same, because I have OCD, and I just can’t stop until I’m done.  But it’s done.  You can now read Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16 (the conclusion), and Chapter 17 (the denouement in which, in fine A.C. Doyle/Holmesian style, Our Hero explains to Our Narrator all the details of the case that have not, as yet, come out.  Hey, he established the precedent; I’m just following it!)  So read and enjoy, or read and critique, or do whatever, but there you have it.

I expect to soon be posting the full novel here in ePub format for your downloading pleasure.  If you have been waiting for that, expect it sometime in the next few days.  (Though I still don’t have a cover image because my pal Paul the artist has totally fallen down on the job.  Hard for me to complain since he was doing it for free but still:  Damn!)

Coming up next will be a short story in the same milieu, with Tosh and Zack solving the mystery of the Red-headed experiment.  Don’t have to be much of a Sherlockian to know what the inspiration for that one is, yeah?  Hope you enjoy it; I’ve sure enjoyed writing it.

After that, I’m working on two separate novels:  A young-adult steampunk novel (with air ships, of course!), and a modern urban fantasy/SF/alternate worlds novel.  I don’t which one I’ll be cranking on the most, or if I’ll get distracted by another short story idea like I did with the Red-headed experiment Tosh/Zack story.  We shall see.  In the meantime, as they say: Watch This Space.

Two New Chapters Available

14 Sunday Jul 2013

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Image courtesy of Magickcanoe.com blog

I’ve fallen behind a bit in my blogging, I admit; I was traveling for work-related reasons, and I have found that when I travel, at the end of the day all I want to do is sit in my hotel room like a sack of suet, order room service, and watch a movie.  Usually a cartoon. I’m not particularly good at traveling, and it takes a lot out of me.  (Ironically, I enjoy being different places–it’s the getting there that I have a problem with.)

Also, this was in Ft. Collins, Colorado, at about 6000 feet of altitude, and given that I was only there for 3 days, I didn’t acclimate very much.  I mean, jeez, just a flight of stairs had me gasping, and I’m not in that bad a shape.

Be that as it may, allow me to compensate for those three or four of you not in my immediate family who are actually reading my book chapters as they come out, and tell you that I have posted both Chapter 12 and Chapter 13 of my mystery novel on Wattpad.  Surf on over, read, and (let us hope) enjoy.  And comment!

And We’re Up to Chapter 11 on Wattpad!

07 Sunday Jul 2013

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Image courtesy of IRMacGuyver via the IGN boards

Now up to Chapter 11 of my mystery, which (in case I haven’t beaten it into the ground enough) is a novel that I wrote during last November’s National Novel Writing Month.  I’m pretty happy with it.  A few people are reading it.  One vanity publisher contacted me about it.  (Answer:  “No thank you.”)  It’s a start.

I’m hoping to soon finish a short story set in the same milieu, a young adult steampunk novel (the setting of which I think is pretty unique and don’t want to reveal until I’m ready to either send it to agents, publishers, or publish it myself), and a science fiction/urban fantasy novel.  I’ll finish the short story first for sure and make that available on Wattpad; the other two, I’ll just keep plugging along on, with occasional input from my friend Tim, my daughter Maggie, and (as always) Sam.

If you’re interested in watching the ongoing development of a fiction writer, from unpublished hack with stars in his eyes, to (one hopes) published author, you’ve come to the right place.  In the meantime, there’s “A Study with Slugs”, Chapter 11.  Surf on over and take a look.

Chapter 9 Up on Wattpad

01 Monday Jul 2013

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The likelihood of running out of banana slug pics appears low
(Image courtesy of The Oregonian, where they obviously have slugs too)

I’m not getting any comments from anyone who’s not a friend or acquaintance, so I have no idea really if my stuff is any good.  My friends tell me it is, and that they are enjoying it, but they’re, ya know, my friends.  I’d like to think they’re good enough friends so if my stuff sucked they’d just tell me, but you never know, right?

But in any event, in my continuing effort to be an author of fiction and not just technical documentation for big computer companies–which, don’t get me wrong, is not a bad gig, and something that I enjoy–I have posted Chapter 9 on Wattpad.  Take a look, if you so desire.

Chapter 8 Up on Wattpad

28 Friday Jun 2013

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You might think that by Chapter 8, I would be running low on pictures of banana slugs. And that would almost certainly have been true in the pre-Web era, or even the Web 1.0 era, but it sure ain’t true now.

And so you know what it means when there’s a new banana slug picture up on my blog:  That’s right, there’s a new chapter of my mystery novel set in Santa Cruz, home of the Fightin’ Slugs, out on Wattpad.  You know what to do.  So do it.

A Study with Slugs, Chapter 7: “Aftermath of Apocalypse” Now Available

25 Tuesday Jun 2013

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After all, why not?

The thunder of responses in my in-box has been precedented (i.e., no comments whatsoever) and, as such, I am compelled to let you all know that yet another chapter of my non-magnum opus 1980s Santa Cruz mystery novel is now ready for your reading pleasure on Wattpad.  Because I can, that’s why!

Chapter 6: “In Which a Party Is Held” Now Available

22 Saturday Jun 2013

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It’s amazing how many banana slug pictures you can find on the Internet these days, yeah?

Chapter 6, “In Which a Party Is Held, And Tosh Gleans Some Information” of my 1980s Santa Cruz mystery novel is now up for your reading pleasure on Wattpad.  So if you have Wattpad on your smartphone or table, why not take a look?  Or just surf over there and check it out?  But whatever you do with this information, know this:  I’ll keep putting out these chapters every couple of days or so until the story is done.  So there!

Novel Chapter 3 Now Available

14 Friday Jun 2013

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A banana slug in a tea-cozy? Heck if I know!

Despite the roaring lack of encouragement, I continue to plod on, publishing a chapter of my novel every other day or so.  The latest chapter is available at WattPad; please surf on over and check it out.  And if you happen to read it, hey, it would be wonderful if you left comments there on WattPad, or here, or just IM’d me and told me what a talentless idiot I am and how I should give it up.  

And maybe if my friend Becky sees the above photo, she’ll tell us–from deep in her bag of knitting knowledge–what the heck it is.

Novel is a’Comin’

10 Monday Jun 2013

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banana slug Ariolimax columbianus 26

I misdoubt that there is a crowd of thousands out there, waiting for me to make my mystery novel, written last November and now fully edited, available to the world.  Heck, I doubt it’s even dozens of people.  There are some good friends who have told me that they won’t read it, in fact.  (“I don’t really like mysteries,” one told me, e.g.)

Be that as it may:  It is coming soon.  I am waiting on my illustrator to generate some cover art for me, and I want to present you all–my teeny, tiny readership–with as polished a product as possible.  I will be making it available in both ePub and Mobi format, so you can read it on most any device out there.

But while you wait, in the unlikely even that you want to get a look at it sooner, I have started posting the book, one chapter at a time, on Wattpad.  I don’t know at what rate I will post chapters; once every day or two is my guess.  But if you want to take a look, please feel free to surf on over and read it there.  I will follow up with updated pointers here, too.  Just cuz I’m narcissistic.