Tag Archives: Grim Repo

Fragments, Grim Repo Files, Minders, Shattered, The Sacrifice of Mendleson Mooney, Zombies Ate My Mom

Fragments Delay, Future Releases, and Other Notes

First, I want to say that I am very sorry that Fragments is not out, yet. It’s the longest book I’ve written so far, twenty-eight percent longer than Shattered, and it’s taking me time to work through it. Back in May, I started formatting the paper edition, and quickly decided that I needed to do another edit of the book, which took longer than I thought. The book is better for it.

I submitted the files for the print edition last week, and I had planned to release it next week, assuming all went well. Unfortunately, all is not well. I discovered that the font I planned to use on the cover and some of the interior, while listed as public domain, may not have been stolen by the “author” of the font, and thus not public domain at all. There seems to be some question, but if there’s a question, I’m not going to risk infringing on someone else’s copyrights. So, I’ve had to redo the lettering with a font that I DO own a license to, which means I will have to order another proof, and that will delay the book by at least another week. I am going to wait and check the proof that’s already on it’s way before ordering the new one, so that I can catch all the other issues that might have cropped up. That said, the target date for Fragments is now August first, give or take a few days.

This latest delay won’t have a huge effect on future releases. I expect Zombies Bought the Farm to be released around the third week of August, and Minders to release around the middle of September, with the sequel to Grim Repo in October. I’m not placing a date on Reworked, yet, because it’s not finished, and it will need a lot of time to edit. It looks to be about thirty percent longer than Fragments, despite what the word meter says.

Finally, I’m looking for a new tile for The Sacrifice of Mendleson Moony. My wife and I talked about it, and we’ve both concluded that, as cool as the title is, it doesn’t fit the book. The book is a fantasy romance book, and nothing about the title indicates that the romance between the characters is a significant driver of the story. If you’ve read the book, help me out. I can’t, for the life of me, come up with a title that fits. Please send me your suggestions. If you suggest a title and I use it, I’ll send you a free book of mine (your choice).

Fragments, Grim Repo Files

Grim Fragments Progress Report

It’s actually a Grim AND Fragments progress report, but I thought the title was more amusing without the AND.

Off to the right, you’ll notice that Grim Repo 2 looks like it’s done, with more words than the target. It’s not done. It’s on the border of being done, and I can see the other side, but there’s a minefield between here and there that I have to cross, first.

The Fragments edit is coming along. I have five chapters left to do, and I should be able to get them done tomorrow, barring any unforeseen circumstances. It’s taken so long, because I had to do some major edits early on in the book. Several people had to be written out. It was horrible. Don’t worry. You don’t know any of them, and they’re all mostly alive, I think

Another factor in the delay is that it’s nearly 25% longer than Shattered. I’ve hadn’t written anything as long as Shattered since Shattered, and I forgot how long it takes to edit something this long. I’m anticipating that Reworked (the third A Wizard’s Work book) will be longer, still, and I’ll have to adjust my schedule to account for it.

As soon as I’m done with the Fragments edit, I’ll reward myself by doing something I’ve wanted to do for awhile. I’ll show you all the cover (again, done by Joe Slucher). I think it’s fantastic, and I’ve wanted to show it off for a long time.

Writing

The New Year (A Bit Late)

I’ve been absent for quite some time. All sorts of life type things ruined my plans for November and December. I did manage to write every day, but it was at a snail’s pace.

But, 2012 taken as a whole turned out better from a writing standpoint than 2011 by a large margin, and I’m hoping to do the same again for 2013. I have big plans for this year, which include finishing up the A Wizard’s Work series and writing the next Lords of Genova book. This year is all about working on the series that I have in progress. It’s ridiculous for some of you to have to wait upwards of two years for the next book in a series because I can’t stop myself from writing up every new idea that I come up with. So, along with those two series I already mentioned, there will be another novella or two for Grim Repo, and another Zombies Ate My Mom novella, too (that one is already started).

I’ve decided to remove the individual book progress meters from the site in favor of an overall yearly progress meter, but even that might go at some point. The only real measure of how well I am doing is the number of projects I get finished.

So, what will you get this year, for sure (unless I get hit by a bus)? Here’s the list, in expected order:

A Tower Without Doors (Novella)
Fragments (AWW #2)
Minders (working title for a standalone short novel)
Coercer’s Lament (Lords #2)
Grim Repo 2
Reworked (AWW #3)
Zombies Ate My Mom 2

I have plans for other titles beyond these, but I’m not ready to divulge them. I will say, though, that if I don’t get hit by a bus, I think you will be pleased.

Grim Repo Files, Writing

New Novella Series: Grim Repo

Grim Repo 1 Cover
My latest novella is available right now from Amazon, Kobo, and Smashwords. Barnes & Noble should be up soon, and the paperback should follow some time next week, assuming no major screwups. I’ll update the table with the appropriate links when they’re available.

I’m pretty excited about this book. It was really fun to write, and I hope you enjoy it.

I’ve included the first chapter below. You can read the first four chapters on the Grim Repo page.

 

 

Aboard the Grim Repo, starship repossession specialist Grimm and his crew don’t often fail to repo their targets.

But when his latest repo goes terribly wrong, Grimm finds himself caught between the bank that hired him, the delinquent who tried to kill him, and an ex-lover who may want to help him . . . or may want him dead.

 

E-Book Paperback
Amazon
BN.com
Kobo
iBookStore (Coming Soon)
Smashwords
DriveThruFiction.com (Coming Soon)		 Amazon (Coming Soon)
CreateSpace (Coming Soon)

 

 

: : 1 : :

 

 

Pain. I had known pain for as long as I could remember. I’m sure I knew it even before I could remember, all the way back to the day I was born, when I shot out from my mother’s womb with my arm broken.
My father once told me I was already screaming. That they didn’t need to spank my ass to get me going.
“Grimm, are you alive in there?”
The voice came from outside my head, outside the memories, outside the pitch black cocoon I had sealed myself inside.
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t.
“Grimm? Make a noise if you’re alive.”
I even recognized Alice’s voice, the subtle timbre that spoke of love and kindness and things I didn’t understand. But no. Those weren’t there. She was a Synth.
I tried to kick for her, but I couldn’t move. The cocoon had collapsed on me in the crash. They weren’t supposed to do that. Centat Systems claimed they could survive a three hundred gravity collision and keep the occupant alive.
Maybe it had done that. After all, I still lived.
But I couldn’t move enough to make a sound Alice could hear with her ears. If she had been using a listening device, she should have heard my breather, my heartbeat.
That she wasn’t using a device only meant that things were bad outside my cocoon.
I tried, anyway. I attempted to strike out with my right arm, the one limb that didn’t feel broken or crushed, but I couldn’t move it more than a centimeter. The protective gel held me too tight.
I heard two thumps against the exterior of the cocoon.
“Open it up,” Alice said.
I don’t know why I could hear her at all. The protective gel should have kept the noise from reaching me. Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t complaining.
“I don’t care if you think it’s a waste of time. Grimm might still be alive in there, and I want it open.”
Thank you, Alice.
One of the problems with the cocoons is that they’re difficult to open. They’re made that way to protect the occupant. Once the cocoon is sealed, the cocoon won’t open for anything except its own electronics or some seriously heavy duty cutting tools. The electronics had to be smashed, or the unlock mechanism damaged. Most likely, both, or they wouldn’t have had to resort to yelling through the cocoon wall.
I just hoped that when they cut me open they didn’t cut my leg off. I didn’t want to spend three months growing yet another leg, or worse. I could tell the damage was already bad enough.
The only thing keeping me alive was the breathing tube that had jammed itself just a little too far down my throat. I wanted to cough, but even that was impossible.
The whine came through tiny and tinny at first when they started up the saw. It must have been Mickey. I hoped it was Mickey.
And then the real sound and light show began as the saw cut into the outer shell. I knew, outside, sparks would be flying everywhere. Inside, the gel stopped them, but I could still see the light, a bright blue flame. The first light I had seen in three days.
Three days since I bailed out of the cruiser I had been trying to repossess. Three days since the owner shot it out of orbit.
The light moved down the length of the cocoon leaving a trail of molten metal-plastic ooze behind it. I had no idea what the cocoons were made of, but it had done its job. A fall from orbit without a parachute, and I was still alive.
As the seam of light grew longer and longer, the pressure on me began to ease, and I felt more and more of my injuries. I’m amazed, honestly, that I even stayed awake that long.
The saw stopped.
The cocoon cracked open.
I looked into Alice’s bright gold eyes.
“Welcome home,” she said.
The pain throughout my broken body erupted and overwhelmed me.
I don’t remember any part of the next three weeks.

 

Read the first four chapters of Grim Repo!