Via Pat Rothfuss’s blog… This was too good not to pass along.

My suggestion to you? Watch it without the sound the first time through. My sound happened to be muted on my laptop when I watched it first. Not realizing this, I thought it was like a silent film. It works incredibly well this way. When you’ve run through it once like that, then turn the sound up and you’ll find that it’s still brilliant.

While I was emailing a few people that have ties to the Writers of the Future writing workshop, I realized that it starts today. What a great time that I had when I was there. I can't believe it's been six years already–it's been over seven since I found out I'd placed in Quarter 1 of the 2003 contest year (the anthology came out in August of the next year). It was a week filled with great instruction, wonderful company, a lot of charged, optimistic conversation, and an unforgettable ceremony at the end of the week. Those kids have no idea what's lying in store for them.

Good luck to them all…

Roughly 3,000 words the last two days on The Straits of Galahesh. That’s caught me up for missing last Friday. That’s pretty good for me. Steady Eddie. Straight’s the ship that stays the course.

You know what would be really cool, though? If someone told me they’d written like 4,000 words today. Ever read Cherie Priest’s blog? She writes like 18,000 words per freaking day. What’s up with that? Does she have a pod of imps chained to a bunch of old Mac laptops in her basement? It wouldn’t be so bad if she wrote crappy books. But she doesn’t. She writes cool books. Really cool books.

Sigh.

So, yeah, someone please tell me they wrote like three times as much as I did in the past few days. That would be wonderful.

I’ve come to a decision on the title for Book 2. It will be called The Straits of Galahesh, though I reserve the right to change it at any time. It’s important for me to have titles, though. For whatever reason, they help me shape the book. With The Winds of Khalakovo, it captured both the Russian feel I was shooting for and a bit of the of sense I was trying to give the reader: that something was amiss. Change was on the wind. And I used that to good effect throughout the writing of the book.

With Straits, I’m shooting for more of a flavor of the Empire that stands to the west of the Grand Duchy. They’re loosely based on the Ottoman Empire, and they’re a major player in this book, so I wanted to get them in to the title right away. On the island of Galahesh are, well, straits. They come into play quite a bit in the story, but I also wanted to again, make it a harbinger of the danger that lies ahead, which helps me to shape the story.

I’m about 48k into the book so far. I’m shooting for 20k per month so that I can finish around the February timeframe and then begin immediately edits for my May due date next year. It’s a little aggressive because of the size of the books I’m writing (roughly 180k or so each), but it’s doable. I usually get in about 1k per writing session, and I write most nights, so I think I’ll be able to do 20k a month without much trouble.

The Winds of Khalakovo is now listed on Night Shade’s site. I’m now an official member of the posse! Comment excitant!

Coming April 2011

Among inhospitable and unforgiving seas stands Khalakovo, a mountainous archipelago of seven islands, its prominent eyrie stretching a thousand feet into the sky. Serviced by windships bearing goods and dignitaries, Khalakovo’s eyrie stands at the crossroads of world trade. But all is not well in Khalakovo. Conflict has erupted between the ruling Landed, the indigenous Aramahn, and the fanatical Maharrhat, and a wasting disease has grown rampant over the past decade. Now, Khalakovo is to play host to the Nine Dukes, a meeting which will weigh heavily upon Khalakovo’s future.

When an elemental spirit attacks an incoming windship, murdering the Grand Duke and his retinue, Prince Nikandr, heir to the scepter of Khalakovo, is tasked with finding the child prodigy believed to be behind the summoning. However, Nikandr discovers that the boy is an autistic savant who may hold the key to lifting the blight that has been sweeping the islands. Can the Dukes, thirsty for revenge, be held at bay? Can Khalakovo be saved? The elusive answer drifts upon the Winds of Khalakovo…

Trade Paperback – 978-1-59780-218-5
500 Pages – $14.99

I just got word from my editor, Ross Lockhart over at Night Shade, that the artist that’s been assigned to work on the cover for Winds is Thomas Scholes. Not knowing terribly much about Mr. Scholes, I quickly googled him and came across his blog (love the name: Crayon Box of Doom) and his corner over at CGHub. He apparently likes doing environments and landscapes and such. And I can see why. He really excels at it. I love the orange and ochre landscape below with the clouds above it. He also uses light and darkness very well. Many of his pieces have this dark and serious tone that perfectly matches Winds. He does these livestreams of his artwork where you can watch him work on some of his artwork. I think he believes in the chaos theory of artwork, trying a million things on for size and seeing what works. It’s very interesting to watch.

I have no idea if I’ll be involved in any of the decision making. I’m perfectly fine if I’m not. Night Shade and Mr. Scholes certainly know what they’re doing. But I’d also be perfectly happy to help if I can. If there are character’s in the finished piece (which is not a given), I have a lot of pictures I’ve dug up while researching the costumes, etc. If it’s purely a landscape shot, there are several places in the world that would match up well with Tom’s strengths. The eyrie is one such. It’s a massive cliff face where there are dozens of stone perches on which the windships of the Grand Duchy can berth.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Here's the lowdown:

• Thurs 9am – Plotting in Reverse - Craft the end at the beginning! Work your story backward! Simply decide how you want your tale to conclude, and we’ll help you figure out how to get there from page one.
• Thurs 10am – Plotstorming from Character - In some cases the plot of a book drives the characters. However, characters that instead drive the plot can make for a more compelling story. In this hour, we focus on how to grow your plot from your main characters.
• Thurs 1pm – Creating Conflict - Make war, not peace! Ruffle the feathers of your characters. Stir the pot of emotions. Add a fistfight or two. Craft a clever and entertaining argument among your heroes. Not all conflict has to be bloody or increase the body count, but it does have to keep the reader turning the pages. Our panelists discuss the art of adding a dash of conflict to your pages.
• Thurs 3pm – Pick My Brain (no zombies, please)
• Thurs 9pm – International Get Your Editor Drunk Night (don't ask)
• Fri 9am – The Protagonist - We’ll teach you how to turn an ordinary hero into an extraordinary one. Spend an hour focusing solely on your main character, a good guy who doesn’t necessarily have to wear a white hat. We’ll tackle the villain in a later panel.
• Fri 10am – The Antagonist - Mold a truly remarkable villain, a character memorable to your readers, devoid of clichés, and one who can go toe-to-toe with your protagonist. For one hour, no heroes are allowed.
• Fri Noon – Reading with Tim Waggoner, with special guests Paul Genesse and Kelly Swails, who will be assisting in my reading of The Winds of Khalakovo
• Fri 1pm – Signing at Author's Alley

I've sold a book! Check that. I've sold three books. A trilogy, even… The Winds of Khalakovo, The Straits of Galahesh, and a third book yet to be titled (and written, for that matter). I'm proud and excited to be with Night Shade Books, who are well known for publishing high quality fiction in a number of speculative fiction genres. Night Shade are a passionate group, and they have a beautiful sense of style when it comes to the artwork and layout for their books, which, as strange as it sounds, is a major key to attracting an audience, especially for a budding writer.

The first book is set to come out spring or summer of next year. Fast, I know! We've only just signed the contracts, so I know there's a roller coaster ride ahead of me. Right now I'm going through that early, chug-chug stage as the car heads for that first big drop…

I'll be posting more about the whole process and my thoughts on it, but for now, I'll close with this one simple thought: I've sold a book! Check that. Since it's a trilogy, I'll close with three thoughts: I've sold a book! I've sold a book! I've sold a book!

Mary is a wonderful writer, and I'm excited for this milestone in her growing and no-longer-so-budding writing career. We went to Orson Scott Card's Literary Bootcamp in 2005. She's come a long way since then, and it's been gratifying to see her star rise, in the same way that the indy band you love makes good. I was lucky enough to read some early chapters of Shades, and I'm very much looking forward to reading it in its entirety. Here is but one of the many glowing reviews for Mary's debut novel:

 

If Jane Austen had written a fantasy novel, Shades of Milk and Honey would have been the result. Written with painstaking attention to detail, Kowal’s prose is serenely evocative of the time period, and the fantastic elements are a seamless fit. The characterization is extremely well done and Jane is a sympathetic, strong and intelligent heroine whose devotion to her family trumps nearly every other concern. Give this one a try!

In an alternate Regency England where magic exists, young women practice manipulating glamour in their quests to land eligible bachelors. Both Jane and her sister Melody are well-practiced in this womanly art, and Jane’s ability in particular is remarkable. However, it is Melody who is fair of face and who gets most of the masculine attention while Jane, at the age of 28, is on the shelf. When Jane realizes that one of Melody’s suitors is up to no good and is getting into position to take advantage of her, she pushes her skills to their very limits and, quite accidentally, finds her very own happy ever after.

– Romantic Times, 4-1/2 Star Top Pick

So imagine my surprise when it came up with the following:

I write like
J. R. R. Tolkien

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

This is me smiling…

For some reason, even though I would have written this off without another thought had it been some obscure author, I'm immensely satisfied with this verdict. Tolkien's influence on not just my writing, but the very decision to become a writer, vastly overshadows all others.