The Speed of Everything

by
Scott D. Parker

In many ways, things are really moving fast down here in Houston. Guess it’s just the way things go for an independent publisher.

When Easter hit last week, it marked the end of Lent. Not coincidentally, the Lenten period was the exact time that I published WADING INTO WAR as I uploaded the book on Ash Wednesday. When you are giving up something, Lent can be a long time. When you publish a book, it goes by in a flash.

The only thing I’ve been having an issue with is the print copy of WADING INTO WAR. It’s a small book, to be sure, but it’s my first and I’d like to have a hard copy for myself, my parents, and those readers who don’t use an ebook reader. The interior file is fine, but it’s the cover that proving more challenging than I expected. Mainly that’s because I’m a perfectionist when it comes to my own material. Like it or not, folks will judge my books next to book by traditional publishers and I’m doing my darnedest to make the comparison as favorable as possible. That means I’ve rejected two proof copies and will be making a third. Heck, the hard copy of WADING might not be ready before the next book drops.

Yesterday, I turned over the manuscript of THE PHANTOM AUTOMOBILES to the editor. Now, for the month of April, she’ll be working her magic to make the story better. In the meantime, I’ve developed the initial mock-up for the cover. I purchased Adobe’s Creative Cloud so I now have access to InDesign and Illustrator. I still don’t have the artistic talent to make cover art so I’ll be using my friend Ike again, but, to decrease the number of review cycles, I’m doing a mock-up in Illustrator so I can show him exactly what I am needing. I’ve never used Illustrator before, but I want able to knock around enough to start the process. Next, I’ll use InDesign for the proper cover for WADING and PHANTOM. It really is exciting.

What is also proving challenging is juggling the needs to edit already finished work while also writing new material. Yet again, the hours in the day and the time needed to spend on the fun work are never equal. Ain’t that always the case? But I again proved something to myself: when I have a plan for a story, I can bust out the work. Upon reading PHANTOM, I realized I needed a last chapter so I sat down to write one. Boom! In under two hours, I busted out two chapters. Someday I’ll learn that me + plan = writing efficiency.

That’s the news from the offices of Quadrant Fiction Studio. I hope you had a good week.

Current Audiobook: The Thief by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott, as read by Scott Brick. This is one of the Isaac Bell adventures and they are splendid! Historical (this one is set in 1911 or so) and enthralling. Scott Brick is one of my all-time favorite narrators. No, actually he’s my favorite. I love his cadence and his touches of whimsy. No matter what he reads, you can bet it’ll be great.

Born to Run

By Alex Segura

It was such a nice feeling, typing those two words – “The End.” I don’t think a lot as a writer can top it, in terms of just putting in the work and getting a reward. A few things come close: getting that first box of books, doing a great event, maybe winning an award. But I get a kick out of finishing a first draft, printing it out and holding it in my hand. It exists. It’s real and is a product of my work.

But, like many things, that feeling is fleeting. I know that at some point, I will return to the draft (of Dangerous Ends, the third Pete book, to be specific) and make changes. Lots of them. This draft is just about getting to the finish line. There are plot holes. Character problems and probably lots more. But it’s done and I’ll let it simmer for a while before pulling out my revision toolkit. At some point, I may even let it leave the house and be read by other people.

So, there I am – basking in the glow of a finished draft. Head to pillow, in the quiet moments before falling asleep, I start thinking about the book. How it ends. Where it leaves Pete. What it means for the series. I manage to get to sleep, but not before realizing that I have another book in me with these characters, one I’d set aside while writing #3.
Shit. It never ends. But that's part of the rush, no? The reason we do it, etc?

I’m hesitant to even call it a book – it started as a short story I was working on to avoid writing about Pete. Then I figured it’d be cool to let Pete cameo. Then Pete started interacting and bumping into stuff and well, look, now he’s thrown up in the plant. You get the idea. Characters do what they want, we just let them on stage and chronicle what they do within the constraints of the world we’ve created.

As much as we’d like to plan as writers – whether it’s outlining, plotting our careers or coordinating detours from the things that we see as our “bread and butter,” most of it is out of our control. All we can do is make the time, even during peaks (“I finished my draft!”) and valleys (both writer valleys and real world ones), to put in the work and get better. Oh, yeah - and be kind.

Allow yourself a night off to toast to what you’ve done when you feel you’ve earned it. Then pop open your laptop the next morning. There’s more to be written.

Funk Immersion

by Holly West

Today's post will be short because I'm just beginning research into entirely new territory for me: 1970s funk culture (Funk Culture? Hey, I think I just coined a new phrase! Googling. Okay, maybe not).

Recently, I was asked to contribute to an funk-themed anthology. Actually, the theme is somewhat broader than that but regardless, it's a setting I'm not all that familiar with. I was a child in the 1970s and my parents did not participate in any of the various movements happening at the time. Or if they did, I didn't know about it, which might be a good thing, depending upon the movement.

So today begins my immersion into the 1970s. The worlds of Shaft, Superfly, Serpico, Travis Bickle, Donald Goines, Kent State, Timothy Leary, the Women's Movement, the continuing Civil Rights Movement... so many topics to choose from. But it all starts with getting the zeitgeist of the time right. And for that, I'm gonna need to watch some movies, read some books, and troll the Internet for awhile.

Funny enough, I find this whole thing to be a supreme challenge--much more so than writing about 17th century London. That was easy compared to this. The reason? I think it's because everyone who experienced 17th century London first hand is dead. There's no one around except pedantic historians to call me out on my mistakes. But 1970s urban culture? Who do I think I am?

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine gave us this painting and for this project, she is my muse:

This is gonna be fun.