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Get The Crimson Pact anthology vol. 2, with my short story Karma, and 27 other tales of demon-slaying goodness, from urban and high fantasy, to science fiction and steampunk, to straight-up horror—all set in a shared multiverse. The ebook edition is only 4.99 (14.99 for the print version), at the CP site  or Amazon.

The somewhat-adequately-laid plans of rodents and hominids

Mon, 12/19/2011 - 18:39 — Rob

First, a blatant plug: My bird story comes out tomorrow (Dec. 20th) in the email edition of Daily Science Fiction! Sign up for Daily Science Fiction tonight, and you'll have it in your inbox by morning. DSF publishes one story a day, M-F, with email subscribers getting each story a week ahead of time, so if you don't sign up in time, you can still read the story on their site on, I believe, the 27th. Either way you go, it's free, and they don't spam you. (And writers, take note; they are one of the higher-paying markets for short F&SF.)

About this site, the comic, and everything else: From now on, this is where everything public goes first--before because as much of a tinkerer as I am, the site will never meet my standard of "ready." And although I still plan to migrate the things I want to keep from the legacy site, I'm not going to hold myself hostage to that process.

Blue Crash Kit--as in the relaunch and continuation of--is still coming along, just at a slower pace than any of us would like, and as I announced earlier, I'm waiting until we have a big buffer before I post a single comic. I'm giving Amee more of a free hand than I did when she initially took over art duties from Shan, and she's doing some awesome things with it. It's more of a collaboration this time around, even on how we tell the stories, and instead of trying to do "Rob and Shan's BCK (with Amee playing the part of Shan)," we're doing "Rob and Amee's BCK." And so far, it feels good.

Scrivener: Still building .deb installers for the unofficial Linux beta of Scrivener, with Lit&Lat providing the files, and me packaging them up, but I have some tasks I need to pay more attention to. The most recent Linux beta doesn't expire until March of 2012, though.

Excuses for delays on everything:

It's been a rough couple of years in every respect--health, finances, relationship, and so on. (Is that vague enough for everyone?) Despite various setbacks, though (including my current respiratory infection), I think I'm getting focused again. Which is a good thing, considering I have deadlines... ;-)

life
writing
blue crash kit

Comments

Widdershins (not verified) - Tue, 12/20/2011 - 02:23.

Just read it ... loved it ... Well done!

Rob - Sat, 12/24/2011 - 18:47.

Thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed it. (Left a comment on your site, as well. Got a kick out of the idea of someone mistaking K.D. Lang's cover of Hallelujah for a Christmas Carol.)

Christina (not verified) - Tue, 12/20/2011 - 06:10.

I just read your short story on DSF. I liked it a lot! I subscribed to the emails a few weeks ago, and it's a real treat to see a new story in my inbox every morning and learn about new authors.

Rob - Sat, 12/24/2011 - 18:51.

Thanks, Christina. And yeah, DSF is awesome; it's like, "Wow! Fresh stories delivered right into my inbox!" I was a subscriber for quite a while before I submitted anything.

Julia (not verified) - Tue, 12/20/2011 - 06:55.

I loved your story on DSF this morning. Great way to start my day, thank you.

Rob - Sat, 12/24/2011 - 18:52.

Thanks, Julia. :-)

Stephanie M. Lorée (not verified) - Tue, 12/20/2011 - 07:35.

Hey Rob, I read your bird story today and thought it was brilliant! My mother used to raise exotic parrots, and I grew up in a house filled with birds. When I was very little, some of the parrots were larger than me. And if you've never lived to see a bird larger than you, you have not truly learned humility (and fear). Though the birds were all quite nice, in truth. Anyhow, it's a lovely story, and congratulations on your publication in Crimson Pact 2. I've known Paul for some time and he's great to work with. Have a great day.

Rob - Sat, 12/24/2011 - 19:02.

Thanks, Stephanie. And wow... Yeah, I can see how growing up with birds as big or bigger than you would have its moments. (Then again, my first dog was bigger than me.) I had no experience with birds until meeting my ex's family's cockatiels, and had never really thought of them as being affectionate or having unique personalities. Of course, now I know better--as I type this with Sachi (aka the World's Most Neurotic Cockatiel) switching back and forth between grooming my hair, chewing on my computer and mouse pad, and trying perch on my hands while I type.

And yeah, Paul was wondefully patient with me working through my first-time jitters and the other weirdness I brought to the project. This time I won't need so much hand-holding, but I'm glad he was there and willing to do it on the CP story.

Stephanie M. Lorée (not verified) - Tue, 01/24/2012 - 13:09.

So there I was, reading a story in CP#2 that I really enjoyed, and thought I'd go check out the author's website, maybe subscribe to his/her blog. Lo and behold, it's you again, and I've already subscribed. Obviously, this is a sign. Of what? I'm unsure.

Suffice to say that you may count me among your fans. (If you were unaware you had fans, suprise!) KARMA is an excellent addition to the CP multi-verse. I'm glad I got a chance to read it, and I'm looking forward to future publications.

Rob - Wed, 01/25/2012 - 13:20.

Cool! And thanks; I'm glad you liked both of them, especially since they're so different in style and theme (and even genre).

And pardon me if I squee a bit, because yeah, while I knew that long ago, once upon a time, I had fans from the comic, and before that, the RPG writing gig, bands I sang in, and what-not, but a) it's been a while, and b) this is a first as far as my prose goes. But, um... any squeeing shall of course be done with a deep voice and in a manly fashion. ;-)

Stephanie M. Lorée (not verified) - Mon, 01/30/2012 - 21:08.

...that for any future fan presence, I was the FIRST prose fangirl. I demand cake and T-shirts, but mostly cake.

Squeeing may commence forthwith. :)

Jen (not verified) - Tue, 12/20/2011 - 12:14.

Congrats on the story! (This is garpu)

Rob - Sat, 12/24/2011 - 19:02.

Thanks, Jen! :-)

Diane Turnshek (not verified) - Mon, 12/26/2011 - 11:02.

Way to go! Loved it. Hope to get to meet you sometime when I'm in KS (~couple times a year).

Rob - Wed, 01/25/2012 - 13:24.

Thanks so much! And yeah, that'd be awesome. Are you coming down for the Campbell Conference? And let me hazard a guess here: I bet you're friends with Chris McKitterick and Kij Johnson, as well?

Wakefield Mahon (not verified) - Tue, 01/03/2012 - 11:13.

Thank you for providing one of my favorite stories of the year. I assume your Twitter handle is defunct so I wanted to drop a note here where you might see it.

O that we might draw a mosaic from the beauty that was destroyed in the pursuit of perfection.

Rob - Wed, 01/25/2012 - 13:22.

Wow... One of your favorites for the year? Thanks, man; that's pretty high praise. Hope you like my next one just as much.

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