BRAINPAN LEAKAGE

Those of you who follow me on Facebook and Twitter…

Notice how I start my blogs that way a lot? Yeah, well, just one of those things…

Anyway, those of you who follow me in the aforementioned  social networking venues are aware that I have been furiously hurling words at the page for the last couple of weeks. I know many have assumed that I was working on another Rowan Gant Investigations novel.

Well, actually, I wasn’t…

(Never fear, the next RGI installment will be out next year in July…)

However, what I was working on was being a closely kept secret for a couple of reasons.

1. My publisher didn’t want to jump the gun.
2. Sh*t happens
3. You just never know

Okay… So that’s three. Be that as it may, the project was under wraps because we really weren’t sure if it would be finished in time.

You see, I came up with an idea some time back for a story. A holiday story of sorts. I pitched it. There was a good reception. But I didn’t go home with the bride, so to speak.

Then, recently, I got the green light, with the idea that it would be out next year. Me, I didn’t want to wait. So, I ran off at the mouth and made a promise I wasn’t entirely sure my sorry ass could keep. That being that I would hammer out this Novelette in time for it to be released FOR FREE as an E-book, on Christmas, of THIS year.

Yeah, I know… Stupid, eh? But, the publisher agreed to give it a try and I started flinging. Of course, you know me. A Novelette (7500 to 17,499 words) turned into a Novella (17,500 to 40,000 words). I’ve been turning in pages as fast as I could spit them out, and it seems I did not disappoint my editor.

On top of that, the “Dead Santa” project I kept mentioning? Well… EK, The Chunk Man, and I – with the gracious loan of a Santa Suit from Missus Loota-Chack, did a photo shoot as well, and provided the art department with the pictures I had in my head for the project. They’ve already been hard at work as evidenced here…

So… On December 22nd, Merrie Axemas: A Killer Holiday Tale will be released in E-book format, FREE. For those of you who have yet to get yourself one of those nifty gadgets (such as yours truly) it will also be available in a PDF format and readable online.

I had fun writing it. I hope you have fun reading it… Stay tuned for the information on where and when you can get your copy…

More to come…

Murv

Several weeks back I was doing some work around the house. It was a warm, sunny afternoon in early October as a matter of fact. I happened to be in the back yard when I heard someone at my gate calling out to me.

I turned to discover a video crew. At first I was a bit taken aback, but then I was also taken aback by a lady in the parking lot of the Home Depot awhile back when she jumped out of her vehicle, pointed at me, and started squealing “You’re… You’re HIM! You’re HIM!” So much so in her case that I dropped the lumber I was loading into the back of my truck and gave myself a nasty gash on my arm.

I still don’t know which “HIM” she was talking about, but since no police showed up to arrest me I have to assume she didn’t mistake me for someone who had snatched her purse or taken the last jelly donut at the local Krispy Kreme.

But that’s another story…

So, back to early October… As it turns out these folks with video equipment in tow had traveled to Saint Louis for the express purpose of interviewing me on their show. Why they hadn’t contacted my publicist first to schedule it remains a bit of a mystery. All I know is that what ensued was a bit weird, disconcerting, made me very uncomfortable, and might not have even been entirely legal. At any rate, after chasing them off my property while  I was wielding an axe handle and screaming obscenities, I thought I’d seen the last of them.

Apparently I was wrong…

Even under the threat of legal action, this production company elected to release the footage of that bizarro interview, and to add insult to injury they have done so in several places around the web – from PUF TV to Youtube and beyond. At first I was livid. Then I was pissed. Then I was livid pissed since dividing my energies between the two seemed a bit wasteful. I started making phone calls and planning my revenge, on many levels.

However… The Amazing Wendy, my publicist, tends to see silver linings where I do not. She has now urged me to give up on my quest to eviscerate these wingnuts, telling me that I should embrace this as a promotional opportunity instead. Wendy can be very convincing. So… Since not everyone is on Facebook, not to mention the state of obscure flux in which the FB news feed dwells, I am taking her advice and posting it here.

You know, the more I think about it, the more I’m beginning to wonder if  maybe she was in on this the whole time…

More to come…

Murv