Adventures in Bat Country

The last week has been very busy for me. I’ve been spending most of my writing cycles researching and working on my sections of Hunters Hunted 2 for White Wolf Books. I’ve looked at so many WoD books I’m dreaming about them. I’ve been taking my time to fill my sections with the maximum amount of awesome.

My lovely wife just finished reviewing “The Murmur of Lorelei” and returned it with copyedits. This story was an informal love letter to my wife. Tonight, I will be finishing that story and sending it to the editor a couple of days early!

At lunch, I did a vague outline for the short story that Michael Dyer won titled “What I Did During My Summer Vacation by Susan Sampson.” This story will be set in my Ravenswood Academy universe of mad super science and legalized villainy. It features Robotic Ben Franklin!

Once my freelance duties are fulfilled, I’ll be making a mad dash to finish the sequel to my novel The Highway West titled A Wicked Messenger.

I have a firm mental picture of the last two story arcs and I’m very excited. I have names for all of the remaining chapters with the notable exception of the last chapter. I’m considering either “Lenny Bruce is not Afraid” or “New Ways to Fall Apart.”

Thanks to my meta-outline for the Dreamlands Chronicles, I’ve been able to see cameos from characters that will appear in the Omega Watch trilogy. Thus far my outline has:

Dreamlands Chronicles:

The Highway West Trilogy:
• The Highway West
• A Wicked Messenger
• The Man of Constant Sorrow

The Omega Watch Trilogy:
• The Omega Watch
• Project Ouroboros
• The Arc Paradox

November has been a depressing month for me. I'm not entirely sure why.

My life somehow changed and I wasn't ready for it. Friendships changed. I was forced to grow up just a little. I fought it all of the way.

I started my new contract back at the Evil Empire. I think that usually helps. Work helps ground me in a positive way.

In other news, I've been shopping the Highway West around to various publishers and hoping for a bite. It is the best thing I've ever written.

I have a list of short stories I want to write. I keep trying to start a different novel, but I can't find anything I really love. After experiencing the Highway West, I want that feeling again.

What do you do when you finish editing your novel?

Well, there are many, many steps to publication that involve querying editors, agents, and shopping your work around.

The trick to avoiding the post-novel depression is to keep writing. I didn't have any short stories I felt like writing and none of the other novels quite soldified in my mind and so I started writing the sequel A Wicked Messenger.

Other projects I am working on:

I have two sekret media-writing jobs out in the ether awaiting word from the editors.

I have a story I want to write for an anthology at the end of this month, but I am lacking inspiration. I'm going to watch a documentary tonight and see if it sets fire to anything between my ears.

I have an awesome idea for a novel that I've been working on in the back of my mind, but I am stuck because I can't find a name good enough for the main character.

I went through and caught up on the business aspect of writing.

It is a good life.

Writing a sequel is very difficult. I've never tried it before. I kept messing with the title and I realized it was too on the nose.

And then, like a blaze, the central metaphor hit me and the title sprang forth from my head. The new title is A Wicked Messenger.

Here is another fun fact about the writing process. Shortly after finishing The Highway West, I had a case of Bell's Palsy. I commented on it here and there that it would appear in my fiction. Marty suffers from those symptions in the opening chapter due to the events of the previous book.

Word-Count: 3,502.

I've never actually been in long term pain before.

I've been sick and thrown-up, but never really in pain. I broke my arm when I was around nine or so and I remember thinking this should hurt more.

I accidently cut my leg when taking out the garabage and didn't feel it properly until I noticed the blood.

The worst thing that ever happened to be was when I had a long term ear infection about 10 years ago that made me dizzy.

The Bell's Palsy didn't really hurt that much. It was numb. Ironically, the quicker I heal, the more pain I feel in my face. I've started incorporating a little bit of it into Book II with the Marty character.

It is a drain on your nerves to dread being in pain. I had a bad week, but today I feel better and have been relaxing.

I've missed out on weeks of writing. Sadly, it means that I missed a couple of deadlines of anthologies I wanted to submit to, but I've managed to cover all of my commitments.

I've been a bit cranky to my wife and friends and to them I apologize for being crotchy old man. It has given me time to think.

I recieved a good portion of feedback from my 2.0 beta readers for the Highway West. My friends have been very kind of me and for that I'll always be grateful.

I've been so silly that watching kitten videos have been cheering me up. Like this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw4KVoEVcr0&sns=fb

I plan to start my serious editing tomorrow morning based on the feedback.

New words: 4,000 or so
Total words: 90,540

During my lunch break today, I finished the first complete draft of the Highway West. This book has been my personal Vietnam. I started trying to write it 15 years ago and made a couple of stabs at it since then.

I decided at the end of last year that I was going to win this story. And by that, I was going to finish this story.

I started writing at the end of December. It took giving up a table-top game to get my head in the game and missing out on a number of events.

My friends supported me and cheered me on when I neede it.

Granted, I still need to run through my polish pass for the last three chapters, but I finished. (Note: I tend to write three or so chapters at a time and then to break up the writing return back and polish the words. I know it goes against the grain for most writers but this works for me. I feel like I trick my mind into thinking I'm getting more done.)

My short story “Spirits Are Ruthless With the Paths They Choose” appears in the anthology Literary Foray.

This story is a shorten version of Chapter One of my new novel The Highway West.

Nathan Carver is a young boy that has been abandoned on a farm. With only his dog for company, Nathan starts to listen to the wild and perhaps learns to hear spirits.

For more information, check out my webpage at http://jasonbandrew.wordpress.com/

I'm not sure that the flow of this novel will work for general audiences, but right now it is really working for me.

Elavator Pitch: The Highway West

Nathan Carver hasn’t had an easy life. His father died in a robbery when he was five. His mother abandoned him at a farm when he was ten. Raised by his grandparents, he’s been taught to ignore the strange occurrences in his life. Or at the least hide them. Just before graduation, his uncle, the black sheep of the family, Martin Carver returns with a promise to show Nathan his father’s magical legacy and the truth about their family. Together, they take a spiritual road trip across the country called the Highway West. Will Nathan accept his new role as a mystic? Or will he seek to have his abilities bound as his father did and live a normal life?

Notes:
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