I know that many of you think that being a science fiction writer is a life filled with scantily clad amoral groupies, waterfalls of booze, and crazed publishers who launch money at you every day from a T-shirt cannon. And, while that may be true or an elite few, I’m looking at you Neil Gaiman, the rest of us toil through lives far more mundane. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Someone has to shop at Aldis. May as well be me and mine.
Right now a large art of my work effort has been tied up in rebuilding every release and prepping them for relaunch. And that, it seems, is more work than actually writing the damn things. I’m astounded at the details that need to be examined, reexamined, worried over, and then discarded or enhanced. I’ll give you one example. SPLICE: HIT BIT TECHNOLOGY is being revamped from eighty hard hitting, short, chapters, into five that form the story arc.
And that’s just one book.
That kind of effort is being put into every title I’ve written. Bonus? The Brittle Riders is getting completely repackaged with new art by Ian Bristow, and a new box set for Kindle users.
And none of that even begins to touch the comics I’m working on.
Over at Hadithi Sambamba Comix they’re burning the midnight oil. Legends Parallel is getting pencils done as I type and Alokia the Kaiju Hunter is getting new character art and, hopefully, a new artist for the complete story. Other titles are in various stages of development.
As a quick overview for those who don’t know how comics get made, there are stages; (1) character design (so we know what everyone will look like), (2) pencils (this allows the creators to make changes to layouts with an eraser, which is much easier than it would be later), (3) inks (this is where the pencils get set in stone and shading gets added), (4) colors (this is where the art comes to life, (5) lettering (this is where the voices become real), and, finally, (6) assembly (so you can hold it in your hot little hands).
Each of those stages cost money and each requires an attention to detail normal humans find maddening. Yet, it all gets done.
Anyway, yes, I turned sixty-one yesterday. Kim and I celebrated by going grocery shopping. I had a blast. I regaled strangers with stories of the joy I found when I married Kim, sympathized with the overworked check out clerks, and spent quiet time with the woman I love. I don’t like celebrating my birthdays or any holidays, so a day like yesterday was perfect for me.
Until next week, here are a couple of short videos to give you an idea what’s coming.
