Okay, first off, a huge thank you to all of you. Like, seriously, almost all of you. No, not you, but everyone else.

So many folks responded to my musings about social media in the last newsletter and offered your suggestions, support, counterpoints, and probably a few what could politely be called “stern warnings” (but still politely). It’s all really appreciated. I think these days it’s easy to say “everyone feels like this” but there’s something nice about actually getting a range of responses from folks.

All that said-- at the moment I still have no plans on switching my current social media... strategy? Does it count as a strategy if I’m just posting photos of toys, cats, random animals, with the occasional book news scattered in there? I don’t know, but I’m going to keep doing it for now. We’ll see what happens (and what things are like) eleven months form now when The Off Season comes out.

Holy crap! Less than a year until The Off Season!

Second, yeah... the dead zone. My birthday’s at the end of the month, so for a time I’m not allowed to get myself anything. No toys, no books, no random cool shirts.

It’s not a big milestone birthday or anything (a few years off from another one of those). But I’ve definitely hit the age where each birthday makes me think and reflect a bit. And this year I’ve found myself thinking about... well, growing up. Which sounds horrible on the surface, I know. Dear gods, who’d ever want to grow up? Plus, don’t I talk about toys, like, every month in this thing?

No, this was more about growing as a person, about the fact that my views, beliefs, and values have changed over time. I know some folks like to say they’ve still that same idealistic person they were in their teens, in college, something along those lines. But the more I think about something like that I think, “jeeeeeesh, really?”

I was talking to my beloved a week or so back about these musings and how, when I was in my teens, I thought I was a pretty good guy. Not, like, the greatest person ever, but pretty good. But I was also basing that off everything around me. The movies and shows I watched, the books I read, the news I saw, and the people I knew in the place where I lived. And looking back,well... some of them are, as I believe the kids would say, pretty cringe now. Some are openly awful. I know I’ve rewatched some 80s stuff with my beloved at times (she missed out on a lot) and there have been a few seriously jaw-dropping moments at what was considered “funny” or acceptable back then. So one one level, you look back and think “Oh, yeah, I was like the nerdy supporting character in a John Hughes movie back then.” And then you think about it a little more and go “Oh sweet jeebus WTF?!? Was I like the nerdy supporting character in a John Hughes movie back then?!?”

Anyway, point being, as I approach this birthday that shall remain numberless, I’m really glad I’m not that stupid teenager anymore. Or that idiot I was for most of my twenties. Really, to a degree, even a bit into thirties. I’m glad I didn’t get set in my ways, that I kept meeting people, learning new things, and trying to expand my view of the world past the one I grew up with in New England in the 70s and 80s. I think one of the best thing any of us can do is keep trying to be a better person and not assume we’re already the best person we can be. Because if I’m not trying to improve, in any sense... well, that really doesn’t sound great either, does it?

All that said, I will probably spend my birthday drinking, watching Godzilla movies, and playing tabletop games. And it wouldn’t surprise me if some toys show up at some point.

Let’s get to those writing and publishing updates you actually subscribed to this thing for.

I found out the other morning that final tweaks have been approved and The Off Season has officially climbed another rung in the production ladder. Now it’s off to a copy editor. I think I’ve talked about this before in previous newsletters but—just in case you were curious—up until now I’ve been working with a developmental/ story editor. His job is to make the story the best it can be, and (in all fairness) possibly tweak some things to fit the publisher’s general aesthetic better. The copy editor’s job is to drill down on spelling, grammar, and continuity issues. That shouldn’t be capitalized. This should probably be a new sentence, not a comma splice. Her pistol was a Glock back on page 188. Then I get to look over all of it and say “oh crap, you’re right, sorry” or sometimes “I know this is technically wrong but I prefer the way it makes the sentence read.”

I also found out it’s time to start thinking about blurbs. Which means asking favors of all your writer-friends you’ve probably asked favors of before to give up a chunk of their free time to read your work. Even worse, sometimes asking near- or complete strangers. And it sounds like this shouldn’t be a big deal, I know, but being on this side of it a lot means I know how often these requests come in and how hard it can be to fit them in to your schedule. Especially if they’re last minute. So... yeah, this bit always feels awkward.

No, don’t do the “ha ha, I’ll read it for you joke.” Nine people already did. You don’t want to be the tenth guy making the same joke, do you? Of course not.

In other news...

I’m 1/4th through a new draft of ATCS, the book you’ll see after The Off Season. I’ve changed what some characters are doing in the story to express their motivations, which is smarter and a little creepier, but also means rewriting a few chapters from scratch. It’s coming together nicely and I think this is going to be a much stronger (and creepier) draft.

And I’m already having thoughts about a book after that. But we’re waaaaay too far out to talk about that. or maybe I’ve already talked about writing it? Who knows. Who. Knows.

Also worth mentioning San Diego Comic Con. Not doing a lot there, but I am going to be there. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Oh, and if you’re reading this Sunday night, God’s Junk Drawer is the Kindle Deal of the Day! You can grab a copy for just $1.99!!! Move quickly!

What else do I have for you...?

Cool Stuff I’ve Been Watching
Like many other folks, I’ve fallen hard for Widow’s Bay which also feels... vaguely nostalgic for that previously mentioned New England town I grew up in. We also finally started watching FROM and we’re barely into season two but absolutely loving it. As some of you know, I have a bad habit of watching questionable B-movies, but I stumbled across Alien Country on YouTube and enjoyed the hell out of it. We really liked The Wild Robot and I made my beloved watch the Mortal Kombat movie from a few years back so we could go see the new one with Karl Urban (she admitted it was kind of fun).

Cool Stuff I’ve Been Reading
I’m years late but I finally got to Stephen Graham Jones My Heart is a Chainsaw and it’s absolutely brilliant (but most of you probably knew that already). Read a phenomenal little urban fantasy novella by L.D. Lewis called The Dead Withheld. Django Wexler let me peek at his latest robot-fighting sci-fi story, The Only Way Out is Up. And I’m just finishing up Sylvain Neuvel’s The Many, a wonderful hive mind story you could think of sort of like Pluribus but from the collective’s point of view.

Cool New Toys
Before the birthday embargo slammed down (I make it sound awful but she’s very nice about it and has allowed a few exceptions) I managed to snag a Figura Obscura Thoth, which I’ve wanted for a while now. Another huge BBTS box got delivered to me, which had some Cobra-La royal guards, probably too many Crimson Moon werewolf figures, and a handful of Soldiers of Fortune. Also (hahaha) a massive Yeti figure by that I absolutely did not need and have no idea where it’s going to live but look at this glorious thing. It’s almost a foot tall!

Oh, one last thing— when I do these recommendations, would anyone want links? I haven’t been including them because I didn’t want this to feel like “and now the merchandising part of the newsletter” but I also don’t know if people might be expecting them or preferring them.

And I think that’s all I’ve got for you now. Many thanks, as always, for reading. It truly is appreciated. Talk with you again next time.