Solace and Zombies

WRITING UPDATE

I had to put BONES OF AFRICA aside for the moment, in lieu of doing something really cool for Tommy Hancock and Pro Se Productions. I haven't abandoned "Bones", but the deadline is a lot sooner for Tommy's project.

Also, I assure you... that is only a working title.

QUANTA OF SOLACE (did I mention that's a working title?)

Words written today: about 1500 (that's a good day for me)

ZOMBIE 5K

In other news, I signed up for the Run For Your Lives 5K in Baltimore in October. A 5K obstacle course with zombies chasing you throughout. Should be a good time... even if it's against the rules to punch the zombies in the head. I'm sure there will be pictures.

OPERATION BACKPACK

Finally, today and tomorrow are the last days you can buy the ebook pack to benefit Project Backpack. The pack includes 17 e-books in multiple formats for a measly $10 - including HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD and HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD, VOL. 2. We've already raised more than $1500 for PB, but I'm sure there are some more underprivileged kids out there who wouldn't mind some help buying school supplies. Please buy a pack if you can.

Operation Backpack Giveaway

HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD and HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD, VOL. 2 are part of an e-book bundle being offered this month to support Operation Backpack. Operation Backpack buys school supplies for kids who are homeless or in foster care. With this e-book bundle, you're getting 17 books (including both HTWWW volumes... did I mention that?) for $10 bucks. My two books alone would normally cost you $7.

• Here's a PDF with blurbs and cover images for all 17 books.
• E-books are delivered in both .mobi and .pdf formats.
• This bundle is only being offered until the end of August, so go get it now.

So... yeah, that's an awesome deal and a great cause. You should totally go buy that. You can do so here.

(And check out this Volunteers of America page for more info on Operation Backpack.)

***

In other news, I wrote a measly 311 words on BONES OF AFRICA tonight - barely more than a page's worth of new words. I have a feeling I'm not going to be able to do much better than that most work nights...

Bad Reviews and African Bones

First of all, this guy didn't like How the West Was Weird, Vol. 1. He gave us a very well written review, though. Obviously I don't agree with most of his points, but they're worth a read.

Secondly, for the first time in more than half a year, I'm working on a new story, called Bones of Africa. I'm woefully out of practice, but I've been chugging along on it to the tune of 2-3 pages a day. If I keep that up, I should be done with the first draft early next week. Let's see if I can keep up with posting my daily progress here until then.



(Thanks to Writertopia for the word count widget.)

The West Gets Weird Inside the Book Cave

Josh Reynolds, Tommy Hancock, David Boop, and I joined hosts Ric Croxton and Art Sippo on the Book Cave podcast to talk about the latest volume of HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD. We were wrestling with some pretty serious technical difficulties, but we managed to get nearly an hour of weird west talk in before Skype went quietly into that dark night.

Check it out here: http://thebookcave.libsyn.com/the-book-cave-episode-131-how-the-west-was-weird-vol-2

HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD 2 Now Available for Pre-Order

On July 1, HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD VOL. 2 will be available to the whole wide world, through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and a host of other places, both offline and on. Twenty stories by some of the top names in New Pulp, mashing the western with horror, sci-fi, and fantasy - and all wrapped in a gorgeous new cover by Jim Rugg.

But say you don't want to wait - nay, you CAN'T wait - a whole month for the release of this 368-page blockbuster. There's no need! Pulpwork Press (in association with Anderfam Press) is now taking advance orders for HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD VOL. 2.

Here's what you get with your pre-order:

1. The book, of course.
2. Free shipping.
3. A free bonus e-book: HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD: CAMPFIRE TALES. This e-book, available in just about any format you like, includes weird west stories by Josh Reynolds, Joel Jenkins, Derrick Ferguson, and Russ Anderson. These are stories that aren't included in either of the HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD books, and this is the only way you're going to get your hands on them. Here's the cover.

HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD VOL. 2 is $14.99. To order, click the "Add to Cart" Paypal button below.

This limited time offer has expired... but you can still buy the book in print ($14.95) or Kindle ($3.99) format at http://www.amazon.com/How-West-Was-Weird-Vol/dp/1461145023.