All posts by Mark

Writing

The New Year

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2014 turned out to be one of the worst years of my life, though it got better (slightly) as the year went along. I barely wrote anything, though I did manage to finish one short novel (October) that will be out in the next month or so. 51,000 words for the year. When I look back, I don’t even know how I got that many done.

But this isn’t about looking backward. This is about looking forward, and I have a lot of goals for the year.

  • Be More Open – Through more than a few coincidences, I was introduced to the work of Brené Brown. It, along with The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer and an introduction to the story and work of Ksenia Anske has convinced me that I’d like to share more of my process and my struggles. I don’t expect I’ll share all the details of my family life, of course, but writing is a lonely business to begin with. There’s no need to make it lonelier by trying to pretend I’m superhuman. So, more blog posts, more tweets, more attempts to connect with the half dozen of you that are paying attention.
  • Write More – The most I ever wrote in a year was 256,000 words in 2012. The second half of that year, I wrote every single day.  I want to repeat that effort, and even blow it out of the water. When I’m writing on a roll, I average about a thousand words an hour. I’ve set a goal to write three hours a day, every day. If I get on a good roll, the math says I’ll write a lot of books. At the very least, I’d like to write one book in each series this year. That means finishing Bloodweave (A Wizard’s Work 3) , and writing the second Lords of Genova book, the third Grim Repo book, and a sequel to Minders. If I just get those books finished, I’ll count it as a good year.
  • Read More – One of the casualties of 2014 was my fiction reading effort. I just couldn’t focus on other people’s stories. I think I read about twenty books this year, which is far off my normal 50-60, and most of those books were non-fiction.
  • Be Kind to Myself – One of the major issues behind my troubles of the past year and a half were outsized expectations of what I can accomplish based on a perfectionist view of the world. It’s taken a lot of work to even begin to overcome the negative thoughts that missing my expectations, or the perceived expectations of others, could generate in my head. Writing is art. It’s not subject to a set of rules that defines what the perfect book is. There is no perfect book for everyone. So there’s no point in beating myself up when sales or reviews don’t live up to some arbitrary standard. I’ll write the best books I can and be grateful for each reader that chooses to spend their time reading my stories.

Ultimately, I want to spend my time writing and enjoying the moment instead of worrying about external and internal expectations, and I want to share those experiences with my readers.

 

TrackerBox

TrackerBox Mac on Indefinite Hold

I have talked for over a year and a half (might be two years, now), about releasing a Mac version of TrackerBox. I’ve even done quite a bit of work on it, and could probably have it complete in a month of concentrated work.

But, as I’ve mentioned here before, I’ve had a lot of personal life difficulties that have pushed it out, further and further, and I think it’s time to be realistic about the chances of me ever finishing the Mac version of TrackerBox. They’re pretty much slim to none.

It’s not that I don’t want to give my favorite writer friends who work on a Mac the opportunity to shave hours off of the time they spent dealing with their numbers. I’d really love to be able to do that. However, I have an eight hour a day side job, kids to manage, books I want and need to write, a wife to keep happy, and the the current versions of TrackerBox and StoryBox to support.

Recently, after our car decided to stop shifting gears, I had to visit the doctor because I had soreness in my left arm, a high heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and unexplained sweating. After an examination and an EKG, he prescribed anti-anxiety medication.

It became clear to me that there was a reason the Mac version of TrackerBox kept slipping. I just don’t have the bandwidth for it.

I’m really sorry I’m not able to follow through on it, but I’ve got to do what’s in the best interests of my health and my family.

With all that said, if there is some intrepid Mac programmer out there who would like to help take the Mac version to completion (I estimate it’s about 30-40% done), contact me and we’ll see if we can work out the details. You would have to know Objective C and C++ fairly well, and I would like to see examples of software that you have taken to completion.

Grim Repo Files

Parted Out – Grim Repo Files #2 Emerges From The Jump Gate!

GrimRepo2_PartedOut_E_apple
After a year in the deep dark of the Fringe, Parted Out is now available almost everywhere! It’s another fast paced adventure for Captain Grimm and his crew, and I have to say that, even after the fourth and fifth read, I still enjoyed it.

If you haven’t read about Grimm, before, I’ve got a special treat for you. Grim Repo, the first book in the series, is now free almost everywhere it’s available. I’m working on getting it free on Amazon, too, but they seem to be taking their time in matching the price.

So, download Grim Repo, then treat yourself to Parted Out!

Here’s the blurb.

Starship repossession specialist Grimm and his crew, after their last botched repo, look forward to an easy and quick job, with their eyes on a much needed vacation as a reward.
Unfortunately, nothing ever goes as planned for Grimm. Caught between a salvager who wants the same ship and a bank that has him on a very tight deadline, Grimm must use every trick he knows to get the ship off station, intact and on time, while keeping himself and his crew alive.

The first chapter and links to where you can buy Parted Out are on the Parted Out page.

Grim Repo Files

Parted Out Proof In My Hands

partedoutfront I have the proof copy of Parted Out, the second book in The Grim Repo Files, in my grubby little hands. It’s twice as long as the first book, and hopefully twice as exciting.

The book will be out at the end of the month, barring any unforeseen issues. I still have to read it through one last time and correct any issues that I see, but frankly, once the book is at this stage, it’s usually in pretty good shape.

In case you haven’t read Grim Repo, you can read the first couple chapters here, and learn all about Captain Grimm and his crew of starship repossession specialists.

The last two pictures here are what Parted Out looks like from the back, and what it looks like nestled in with all the rest of my books. It looks so happy there, right next to Grim Repo, doesn’t it?

partedoutbackCollectionOfMyBooks

 

Minders

For Your Reading Pleasure – Minders

Minders CoverEarly last year, I wrote this book. It started in a sewer, and went in directions I could not have anticipated. I planned on releasing it in October last year, but life intervened and I couldn’t even read it for months.

But, eventually, I was able to right myself, pick up the book, and start working on it again. A funny thing happened. I couldn’t put the book down. Even though I was marking passages and errors, I read through it in only a couple days.

I had no goals when I wrote this book, other than to do something different (for me) and to write an exciting story, and I think I achieved both of those goals.

So, more than a fourteen months after I put the last word down on the first draft, Minders emerges from the sewer to see the light of day.

 

Alone
Steve never wanted to live his life at night, sleeping in the darkest places of the city during the day. He never asked for his body to change and give him abilities that would turn him into a pariah. And after thirty years, he never thought his life would change again.

Hunted
Deep in a dark sewer, his unwanted reality comes crashing down after he receives a cryptic message from another that shares his same fate. “They hunt, brother.”

Betrayed
In a race to learn who hunts him, Steve must dodge betrayal, clandestine organizations, and crazed people with abilities as strong as his own to learn why, after thirty years, someone finally cares.

 

 

Available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. Apple iBooks and Kobo will be available as soon as it gets through their process.

Click her for links and an excerpt.

Or, just click the links below, because you know it’s going to be great and you don’t need an excerpt!

E-Book Paperback
MarkFassett.com
Amazon
BN.com
Kobo
iBookStore (coming soon)
Smashwords		 MarkFassett.com (Signed!)
Amazon
A Wizard's Work, Grim Repo Files, Minders, October, Writing

Finished October And Other Updates

This morning, quite unexpectedly, October came to an end. I’d felt like I had started moving toward an ending a few days ago, but I didn’t think I’d stumble over it quite this soon. I would have said, when I woke up this morning, that there were at least a couple days left.

But in my second session today, things wrapped themselves up in ways I hadn’t expected, and I found myself with no more story to write.

October is, I think, a much more subtle story than I’ve written previously. It certainly isn’t like anything else I’ve done. It’s going to sit for a couple weeks before I get down to reading it and learning just what I’ve perpetrated on the world. I’ll probably let it go until just after I release Minders. It’ll be released at the end of September, just in time for you to read it in… October.

Coming up, next, though, is Minders. This bio-tech thriller/superhero origin story will be out Thursday, May 29th in most online stores. I’ve ordered what should be the last of proof copies, and if it’s in good shape, which I expect it to be, I’ll be spending Memorial Day weekend uploading it everywhere.

There’s one more thing. Parted Out: Grim Repo Files #2 has a release date, too. July 29, 2014. I’m really excited to get these books out, finally. It’s been a long, hard year, but things are finally coming together.

Tomorrow morning, I pick up where I left off on Bloodweave. I’m excited about it, too. I can’t wait to learn what Robert, Angela, Gerard, Nina, and Demetrius are going to do.