Rotations – cover

My novel should be published by the end of the year. At the moment the manuscript is with the editors – Lucky Bat books. Whew, getting to this point has been huge.

In the meantime I’ve got other stuff to do. Like picking a cover. This is my current rough, after ditching a few other ideas…

What do you think? What needs to change? Font size? The font itself? The angle of the words? Does it need to be busier? Quieter? Does it make you want to buy the book? Click on the picture for a bigger version.

Things will probably change when the artist (Peter Parkinson) gets hold of it. I’m hoping he has time before publication, otherwise I’ll run with something like this one.

Rotations is a near-future thriller. Or is that techno-thriller? I’m still figuring it out. Perhaps it’s sci-fi. Doubtless we’ll work out how to market it best.

As we get closer to publication date, I’ll post some snippets. Parts of it, some might recall, have been previously published online at the now defunct Infinite Windows site. It’s great to take it on again, get it professionally edited and ready to go.

I’m publishing under my Triple V Publishing imprint, where I also had my short story collection Eddie’s on Fire a couple of years back (you can still buy it at CafePress – P.O.D. for $13.95, plus shipping). Triple V is a quiet little thing, but we’ll see how it develops as things go.

Infinite Windows on hiatus

Infinite Windows is on Indefinite Hiatus. Infinite Windows was the publisher of my serialized novel The Rotated. The serialization hasn’t finished yet: it’s only about a third of the way through. This means that I’ll be looking for a new publisher.

Infinite Windows has been a cool site, though not without some glitches and problems over the years. What I enjoyed about the publication was the longer stories that Dan took on – especially, of course, some of my own – so that as well a flash fiction, there were some more immersive stories published on the site.

It was at Dan’s encouragement that I pursued The Rotated as a novel. He published the original flash fiction version of The Rotated in June of 2009, but then asked me what else was there to the story, to the concept and suggesting (quite rightly as it turned out) that it felt like there could well be a novel.

So I set to and wrote the novel. It grew and changed, remaining aligned to the original story, but naturally different in scope and development. Initially, as I drafted the novel, I thought that the flash fiction story would play out as a scene within. It didn’t work out that way, but the scene is still a microcosm of several chapters, and perhaps is a sense of how things might have gone differently.

I feel a little sad at the hiatus, which could well be an end, but pleased with my stories, and the novel, that appeared on the site. I’m working on a query letter – which is proving harder than writing the novel itself – to send to agents as I try to find a new publisher for The Rotated.

The Rotated part five, and a new short story – on Infinite Windows

Part five of my serialized novel The Rotated is now up in the November issue of Infinite Windows. Car chases, flashbacks, even a little more explanation of ‘rotating’. It’s all very fiery and fast.

This month’s issue also includes my story Pipes and Bones – a hard sci-fi adventure set in the same world, with some of the same characters, as my story Skinny Joe, which came out in the June 2009 issue. I have more stories to come in the same location – gradually I hope it unfolds and more about the world – Daron – is revealed over time.

Final note – keep an eye out for part 3 of The Rotated

While I’m on hiatus the third part of The Rotated, my novel, should appear in the September issue of Infinite Windows – probably around September 1st. Check it out – if you haven’t read any yet, start with part one in the July issue.

There is probably a way to make this post on or around the day, but I’m staying simple and lean for the moment. For the briefest second I thought about writing twenty-four posts ahead of time and letting them out a day at a time, but you know, I just don’t have that much interesting stuff to say – I’ll stick to the fiction.

Catcha later in September