Midsummer News
So, hey... the past week’s been pretty brutal on a personal level (and, well, a national level, too, really), but I do have some cool news to share with you.
We’ve officially signed everything for GJD which I guess I can now tell you stands for God’s Junk Drawer. What’s it about? Well...
Forty years ago, the Gather family—James, his daughter Beau, and her little brother Billy—vanished on a whitewater rafting trip. No sign of them was ever found.
...until five years later, when Billy Gather appeared on the far side of the world, telling a ridiculous, impossible story of his family plunging down through time to a primordial valley populated by dinosaurs, a clan of cavemen, an alien, and an android butler from the far future. Little Billy became the punchline of so many jokes, until he finally faded away.
Now years of research and calculations have told adult Billy Gather exactly where and when he needs to be standing in order to get back to his prehistoric valley.
But the valley isn’t the place he remembered. Maybe it never was. He’ll need to navigate more danger, more violence, and even more mysteries if he has any hope of finding his way back to the present-day world again.
And so will the handful of grad students he accidentally brought with him.
And to stop you now, no, there isn’t an official release date yet. I’m guessing maaaaybe next spring, going off past experience? As soon as I know, you’ll know.
Meanwhile, I’m just over halfway through the second draft of TOS. Which is very cool. And maybe deserves a little explanation.
(if you’ve followed the ranty writing blog for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard some of this before)
When I sit down to write a first draft, I’m a big believer in forward motion. I don’t like to linger or puzzle over things or worry about if I’m getting some detail right or not. My first draft goal is to get to the end. It’s much easier to renovate a house when you have, y’know, a house, and I think it’s much easier to find the right words and details for a story once you’ve actually got a story.
Now, in all fairness, this means my first drafts often have lots of filler names for people and places, markers to make sure something gets a second look (#########), and lots of all-caps notes to myself Things like ASK JEFF RE: OLD REPORTS or DOES THIS LINE UP??? or the ever-popular DO I EVEN NEED THIS BIT???
So for me, the second draft is when it becomes a little less about the wild, fun creative process and a little more about the work. Filling in the empty spaces on the page. Researching the facts. Talking to people smarter than me about this and that. And doing a little basic editing along the way, too. My real goal at the end of draft two is to have a manuscript that I could hand to someone and they could read beginning to end with no problem. Is it the most efficient method? Don’t know, but it works really well for me.
Also, please keep in mind this doesn’t mean I do let people read it at this point. I normally do one big solid, pure editing pass after this. Examining, cutting. rephrasing, cutting more
So that’s where I am with that.
Also, hey, one last thing-- San Diego Comic Con is next week and I am not going to be there. Not officially, anyway. I’m not doing any panels or signings, but it’s just a ten minute train ride away for me so I may be wandering around (masked, because the SDCC floor was a cesspit of disease before the pandemic) just to say hi to a few folks and maybe try for one or two con exclusives. Look carefully, maybe you’ll see me there. Look for the wine-red blazer and the cool t-shirt.
What else have I got for you...?
Cool Stuff I’ve Been Watching
Deep into My Hero Academia now. Star Trek: Prodigy is back and it’s still wonderful. A Million Ways To Die In The West wasn’t a great movie, but it was pretty fun with wine and pizza (we’re going to be joking about kids with sticks and hoops for a while, I think).
Cool Stuff I’ve Been Reading
I got a bunch of Atomic Robo graphic novels to fill holes in my collection and have enjoyed all of them. I also picked up a Tintin book (Explorers on the Moon) that I had as a kid and adored, and I’m pleased that it still holds up in its own, very retro way. Currently deep in the Micronauts omnibus.
Cool New Toys
Hey, I sold a book, which meant a trip to the LEGO store for the big Jazz Club set and a couple smaller, Mandalorian-themed Star Wars sets. Also, I was very fortunate that a friend picked up the two exclusive Monster Force figs for me at JoeFest right around the time of the last newsletter and... wow. I hoped they’d be good, but I really like this translucent Forgotten King/ Omen of Doom. I also got a small handful of Animal Warriors of the Kingdom figs during Spero’s Fourth of July sale and I’m really liking them as well.
And I think that’s all for now. Thanks, as always, for your interest.